Commitment of Steel: How About Those New Year Resolutions?
This January, we will most likely see a glut of opinion pieces written on how to make and keep new resolutions… and even what to do if we fail. They’re intended to encourage us to not give up- press on- be patient- and imagine the reward at the finish.
We find our story in Matthew 4. Right after Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and His Father speaks some of the most reassuring words a son could hope to hear. Matthew also says that Jesus successfully completed the 40 days and nights of fasting before the tempter came to distract Him (Matt. 4:2).
And still, I’m intrigued by the timing of the tempter.
So, here are a few of the nuances that got my attention.
So here’s a couple encouraging tips to remember:
Keep in mind that’s the enemy’s job.
Don’t allow him the satisfaction of making you feel weak or victimized.
God will use the opportunity to continue growing you in wisdom,
further grow you up in His ways, and even toughen you up in the process.
Making a Plan and Putting it into Practice
Based on I Tim. 4:8
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
As you work through setting new resolutions and taking on good advice of how others keep them,
remember these bits of encouragement to help you keep your focus on Jesus.
With His help and in His power, you can turn your resolutions into commitments of steel.
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Jesus at the Center
I want Jesus to be the center of everything…
the center of my life
the center of my family’s life
the center of the Church
the center of my work
We live in a world with so many distractions… and let’s not forget our adversary,
who loves to use those distractions to try and pull us a way from Jesus.
One distraction I have found to be a hindrance- a roadblock- in my Christ-centered life is getting involved with too much. Being too busy can be a tool the enemy uses, and one that is a common struggle for most people. Personally, I’m active in a lot of different groups, meetings at work and at church. All the things I’m a part of are great causes and have great meaning, but the tasks and time that each one of those things takes can take over my true purpose very quickly.
I have found, when I try and put an order of importance on my priorities and stick to that order, I sometimes fail miserably.
I tend to allow all these good, meaningful things to become the center of what I am doing instead of Christ being the center of all I do.
There is a difference.
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Intentional Spirituality | Focused Meditation
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on it he meditates daily…
To help with this, I meditate on the words to understand better what God intended in giving them to us.
Pastor Jon would say, “Let them marinate.”
So too is the progression of sin. It can look like this:
- We look to the crowd- the world- and start listening to their advice (…council of the wicked)
- We justify wrong behaviors, instead of evaluating the advice of God’s absolute Truth
- We begin to slow down, stop to accept the advice, believe all the lies and do what the ungodly do (…stand in the same way as sinners)
- After sinning repeatedly and ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we begin to sit comfortably in the sin, justifying behavior we know is wrong and often even begin to defend the behavior to others or in secret (…sit in the seat of mockers)
But then Psalm 1:2 goes on to say …but his delight is in the law of the Lord and on it he meditates daily. So while the Psalm warns about the propensity for sin to creep in to our daily lives, verse 2 tells us that by being in the Word (the Bible) we delight in the law of the Lord.
This means that by being in the Word consistently, we are directly connected to the Source of Life itself.
We are not just understanding absolute Truth, but actually delighting in it!
Eighteen years ago I didn’t look forward to my long drive to work, but I can now say that this drive continues to be a real blessing. It has provided the time I may not have otherwise carved out for my daily spiritual feeding and meditation. My time in the car encourages my intentional and focused discipline and draws me closer to my Savior.
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Living in the Light
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee
Thou changes not, Thy compassions, they fail notAs Thou hast been, Thou forever will be
There is no light source other than God. He is the source.
There is no shadow when He turns.
There is no other source of Light and Truth.
He is constant, everlasting, and never-changing.
Without Him, there is only darkness… not even a shadow!
Consider James 1: 17
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
…or I John 1: 5-6
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
So what does it mean then; to live, to worship, to embrace His light?
When we live and worship in the shadows, it may look a little something like this:
Faking it, in fear of being fully and honestly known
Denial of our own character flaws & how they impact others
When we live and worship in the Light, it may look a little something like this:
Embracing God’s grace and forgiveness, and extending that to others
Allowing for vulnerability & relationship, with ourselves and others
Realizing none of us are perfect, only humans saved by an incredible, merciful God
Exposing the lies we believe & replacing them with the light of Truth
When we truly believe the concept that we are not the Source of Light and Truth- only God is-
we can then understand that we are mere reflections of His light.
We don’t have to perform. We don’t have to be harsh with ourselves or others.
We simply reflect Him.
But here’s the other thing: it also takes effort on our part… the practicing the Truth part.
It takes a whole lot of honesty and humble introspection.
It takes letting the Spirit reveal the Truth to us and embracing it deep in our souls.
You can read more of Michelle’s writing on her personal blog PianoGirlSpeaks,
or for Seedbed.com.
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Thankful In All Things
Our children
Our parents
Our siblings
Colossians 3:15 says,
Psalms 100: 4-5 says,
God calls us to be thankful in all things, at all times, because of His great provision and love for us.
His care covers us, sustains us, and carries us through challenges in life that call us to thankfulness.
When we look at how He provides for us, we see His hand of provision through
every circumstance that faces us daily.
It is amazing how the Lord works!
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In the Eye of the Storm
In my life currently, God has used Ryan Stevenson’s song “In the Eye of the Storm” to help me through a very difficult situation. Not only am I experiencing some trying times, but our country too, along with those severely impacted by hurricanes and natural disasters.
The LORD is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life of – whom shall I be afraid?
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soulYou alone are the anchor, when my sails are tornYour love surrounds me in the eye of the storm
Are you experiencing troubled times or difficult situations today?
He is our light and salvation…our stronghold in the storm.
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