A good New Year’s Resolution

December 26, 2008 · Filed Under general · Comment 

With 2009 just around the corner, a lot of people start talking about “New Year’s Resolutions”. It those promises we make to ourselves to, like:

  • Lose weight
  • Stop smoking
  • Get out of debt
  • Start exercising
  • Go to church
  • Drink less

Or, maybe it’s a time to set some personal goals, like:

  • Write a book
  • Run a marathon
  • Make a short film
  • Start painting
  • Try sculpting
  • Start an Internet business
  • Go back to school

I’ve made many of these resolutions before, and I’ll probably make many of them again. But something has really got me jazzed about 2009. It’s going to be an exciting year! I believe we are incredibly ripe with opportunity for this coming year.

So, how do we move forward? What are some good, Godly new year’s resolutions? Where do I start?

I think the first, most important step is learning to look forward, not back. Your 2008 may be filled with mistakes, regret, discouragement, and failures. And, you want to enter into 2009 with hope, faith and strength. You can!

I came across this promise while running the Whiterock marathon two weeks ago. It was on the back of lady’s shirt as an encouragement to other runners. It simply said, “Forgetting what’s behind, I press on.”

I knew the scripture. I had read it before. So, this week, I pulled it up in my Bible program and read all of it:

    I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven. (Philippians 3:12b-14)

I just love that. Here’s Paul–the writer of the New Testament, the most devoted of Jews, a follower of Christ to his death–and he writes, “I am still not all I should be.” He knows he hadn’t arrived. He wasn’t perfect. He was still working, moving, striving for the goal. So, what did he do?

He focused all his energy on this one thing–forgetting what was behind, and pressing on towards the goal.

This is my New Year’s Resolution: to forget about the mistakes, the failures, the sin, and the regrets from 2008 and focus on what Jesus wants me to be in 2009.

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Surrender

December 12, 2008 · Filed Under renewing our mind · Comment 

My family and I spent Thanksgiving at my parent’s house just south of Austin. We made the 4-hour trek down there the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. We had a great time with the family. It really was quite restful for me.

On the drive back, I just had this most wonderful connect time with the Lord. Often, when I drive on long trips, I take my iPod and earphones and just listen to sermons or podcasts or praise music. This trip was no different.

I was really sensing a call from the Lord to just surrender. I knew there were a few things in my life that I was holding on to–things I put my hope in. And, I knew the jealousy of God was fighting fiercely for my heart.

As I drove back to Dallas on Sunday, I listened to Jimmy Evan’s message on The Power of Surrender. And, through it, God really just touched my heart on the need to let go of those things in this life that I trust in for peace, for provision, for whatever. Because ultimately, God is my source of peace, my source of provision, my source for everything.

As we were about to roll into Dallas, God outlined four steps to help me surrender:

    1. Guard my heart
    “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

    2. Take thoughts captive
    “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

    3. Speak Godly thoughts
    “May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14).

    4. Believe
    “Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it” (Mark 11:24).

Guard, capture, speak, believe.

As I studied these four steps, I kept wanting to add a step 2.5, to listen, because you can’t really do much until you listen to God and hear his heart.

Then, just yesterday, I knew that it wasn’t a step 2.5. Rather, it was the encompassing step that wraps around all four of those steps. Think about it:

  • To guard your heart, you must listen spiritually to what’s attacking your heart.
  • To take thoughts captive, you must listen to those thoughts and discern the source.
  • To speak Godly thoughts, you have to listen to God to know what his thoughts are.
  • To believe, you must first listen, because faith (believing) comes by hearing.

So, let me challenge each one reading this to guard, capture, speak and believe, and do all those things while listening!

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