Monday the 4th

 

Philippians 3: 12-14

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 

 

Forgetting what is behind us and looking forward to what is ahead, pressing onward to the goal. This is the very essence of the new year. The bible is full of new beginnings. Of course we start with the beginning of life itself, the moment that went form nothing to something. The great flood. We have the covenant made between Abraham and God. A new beginning when God Gave Moses the 10 Commandments. The building of Jerusalem , Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after they had sat in ruins. The birth life and death for Christ, the forming of the new covenant. Paul turning from persecuting Christians to becoming the most outspoken prophet. All of these were times in history where the course was re-charted. Places where direction was changed.  That is what new years is for us. A time to change course, make changes, improve, and overcome. We might not have an entire city wall to rebuild, but what about our wall of faith? What kind of repair is it in? We might not have a city to build, but what about our life? Are we building a life in honor of God, or is it a life for the world? 

We might not be actively persecuting Christians, but are we working to advance the example of the life of Christ?

 

When we set out to make new years resolutions this year, what typically happens? We come up with something good, a good life changing choice. We are going to get fit, we are going to lose weight, we are going to make it to Church, or read the bible. Maybe we decide that we are going to do more for others……then what happens? Life happens! It is smooth sailing for a week maybe three, then reality sets in. Too tired to get to church, not enough time to read the bible, too hard to stay on the diet, too painful to go to the gym…..in short the choices get hard. As a result we slip, we break that resolution and go back to our old ways. What do many of us do? We give up! We decide that it is just too hard, and go back to life as it was. This is what we should correct. We are going to stumble, just don’t give up. We have to quit looking behind us, and press on to our goal. Making the resolution is the easy part, giving up is even easier. The hard part comes form the perseverance. The acknowledgement that we have fallen short of where we wanted to land, but making the choice to carry on. To look at the goal and not the failure.

 

Life will get tough, but remember you are not supposed to be trying to do it on your own. Wait on the Lord, and he will give you the strength that you need. So when you start those new year resolutions, know that yes it will be tough, the devil will make sure of that. Know that there will be stumbling points along the way, but don’t give up. Press onward toward the goal.

Happy New Year,

Brian