My New Years Revolution
It’s that time of the year again where most folks are either busy making New Years resolutions or breaking them. I’ll admit that I set a few last year and in each of them I came up a bit short. I wanted to read 24 books and lose 10 pounds. I ended up reading 23 books and even though I lost more then my 10 pounds at one point, by the end of 2006 I had gained it all back. This year I will attempt once again to tackle those same resolutions with hopefully different results. Now what about you? More importantly, what resolutions will you and I make to God? I recently challenged my church to some tough commitments for ’07 and I thought they were worthy enough to pass along to you the reader. What if in 2007 we looked at three areas in our own spiritual lives and committed to be a bit more “involved “ then in past years. What are these areas I’m speaking of? I’m glad you asked.
The first is Communion (in Relationship with Christ). This is accomplished by digging into God’s word and through worship. How much time daily do you really spend reading and studying the bible? Is it the first thing you pick up in the morning or the last thing you put down at night? Or does it stay in the back seat of your car until you have to carry it into church the next Sunday? How much time do you spend in worship? I’m not talking about the time spent in church each Sunday morning but the time between the Sundays. How much time do you spend praising and thanking God during the week?
The second area is Community (in Relationship with One Another). This first comes from learning through your pastor’s teaching, small groups, or bible studies. How much did you learn about God, your faith, Jesus, or your spiritual journey last year? Did you not learn very much because of bad teaching or because maybe you were a bad learner? The second part of community is our fellowship with friends. How much time did you spend developing new friendships and encouraging the ones you already had last year?
The last area is Commission (in Relationship with the World). How much time did you spend serving and giving last year? If you’re able to count on one hand the total number of hours or times spent helping someone other then yourself then I’d say not much. What about sharing the gospel? Can you think of one person that you told the amazing news of Christ hope and love to? Is there anyone closer to Christ because of something you say or did for him or her?
These are all tough questions and if we are really honest, they needed to be asked. If you want to push yourself a little more this year, try committing to these three areas. Not only will your life be changed, but your church’s life and the people around you will be too.
The first is Communion (in Relationship with Christ). This is accomplished by digging into God’s word and through worship. How much time daily do you really spend reading and studying the bible? Is it the first thing you pick up in the morning or the last thing you put down at night? Or does it stay in the back seat of your car until you have to carry it into church the next Sunday? How much time do you spend in worship? I’m not talking about the time spent in church each Sunday morning but the time between the Sundays. How much time do you spend praising and thanking God during the week?
The second area is Community (in Relationship with One Another). This first comes from learning through your pastor’s teaching, small groups, or bible studies. How much did you learn about God, your faith, Jesus, or your spiritual journey last year? Did you not learn very much because of bad teaching or because maybe you were a bad learner? The second part of community is our fellowship with friends. How much time did you spend developing new friendships and encouraging the ones you already had last year?
The last area is Commission (in Relationship with the World). How much time did you spend serving and giving last year? If you’re able to count on one hand the total number of hours or times spent helping someone other then yourself then I’d say not much. What about sharing the gospel? Can you think of one person that you told the amazing news of Christ hope and love to? Is there anyone closer to Christ because of something you say or did for him or her?
These are all tough questions and if we are really honest, they needed to be asked. If you want to push yourself a little more this year, try committing to these three areas. Not only will your life be changed, but your church’s life and the people around you will be too.
Comments
hope you had a great New Years Eve!! We ended up veg'in on the couch at my mom's watching a Man vs. Wild marathon (you'd love it! though you would never make it through all the things he goes through with those shin splints!!)
Happy New Years Revolution!!!