New Years Resolutions....

 Therefore we… know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight…So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. II Cor 5:6&9

My Brothers and Sisters a Blessed New Year to You in Jesus our LORD,

A new beginning.  A fresh start. Another chance to do better.  Many resolutions are made after reflecting over the past year.  A perfect time to come humbly before the Lord of heaven and cry, “Examine me O Lord.”

Resolution: noun, a firm decision to do or not to do something. (will power) 

After becoming a Christian I realized how futile it was to make “New Year’s resolutions”!

My experience revealed that such thoughts and actions were another way of trying to make the old sin nature better, hence  acceptable to God. In my strength I was planning to live better and be kinder and love others. I would stop complaining and grumbling and express gratitude! My feeble attempt to live in such a way was to bring glory to God. This lasted about as long as a snowball on a hot sidewalk, and brought frustration and discouragement along with shame and failure. God has condemned the flesh and will accept nothing from it. Still it is so easy to fall back into self-dependence vs Christ-dependence.

 When a believer begins to discover something of the awful tyranny of the self-life, he becomes intensely concerned about the denial of self with the resultant freedom to rest and grow in Christ. ms

We have many ways to try and improve ourselves, one of which is making resolutions. How exhausting it is to keep our rebel self under control. More meetings, more Bible study, more prayer. All feeble attempts to have victory over sin and self, but it is not God’s way. Prayer, Bible study and scripture memory are very important and strengthen the ‘new man’, but will not accomplish actual change anymore than making a resolution; as it places our focus on keeping the resolution (on ourselves) rather than on Christ. God’s way of dealing with our rebel self and the beginning of all Christian living is the Cross. Death. The flesh will only yield to the Cross. Ours is to appropriate this truth: our old sin nature is crucified with Christ and we are risen with Christ; alive in Him.(Gal 2:20, Rom 6)

 

Paul: 'For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.' I Cor 2:2

 'I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God, in Christ.' Phil 3:14

Setting a goal by faith, knowing you cannot attain it without God, puts the focus on Him; for what is impossible with man is possible with God!  

Paul stated that he ‘might know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings being conformed to His death’… this was Paul’s goal! Being conformed to the likeness of Christ does not take place by taking up a resolution, but by taking up a Cross. Paul's goal was to please Christ  Cor 5:9.

And after all, is there anything in all the world to be compared with the joy of doing His will? I know of no other like it. ac

When you aim at nothing you will hit it every time. I set goals with the aim of pleasing Christ. I love to take one or two verses of scripture to be my 2012 verses which I record in my journal, memorize, pray and paraphrase. I love God's word it keeps on giving all year and sets my feet to dancing! Along with setting goals for exercise (physical/health) relational goals, artistic and intellectual goals, by faith I set spiritual goals. I desire above all else to know Him more intimately at the end of 2012. 

I want to ‘please’ Him. I do not have tomorrow nor do I own the next minute of life and it is arrogance to set resolutions that I believe I can keep. My prayer is 'Lord make my goal be to please You more than myself.' I know it to be truth that without Him I can do nothing. John 15

Father of every tomorrow, Keeper of my heart, You are LORD. You are worthy Holy One, You whom I love and follow. I know I cannot follow without a cross, keep me faithful to deny myself and take up my cross. You came and lived humility and gentleness and patience and You know I struggle with pride and fall short in every area. Pride always wants pass itself off as something more than it is. Lord thank you for Your mercy and goodness. I need Your grace. Without You I am nothing and can do nothing that matters beyond the grave. Teach me to walk with You humbly. I want to be like You. When Your Spirit is filling me I am not struggling to produce the fruit only You can produce, it is then You are glorified in me!  I am in awe of You, blessed be Your name Adoni, I am your servant. I pray this imperfect prayer, to my perfect Father, in the name of His perfect Son. I love You precious LORD,     Amen and amen

Without Him I am nothing and can do even less, there is great freedom in this! The Christian life is not about me, but about Him... O how He loves you precious ones,

az