HAPPY NEW YEAR
Ralph, at a New Year's party, turns to his friend, Ken, and asks for a cigarette.
“I thought you made a New Year's resolution to quit smoking,” Ken responds.
“I'm in the process of quitting,” replies Ralph with a grin. “Right now, I am in the middle of phase one.”
“Phase one?” wonders Ken.
“Yeah,” laughs Ralph, “I've quit buying.”
New Year Resolutions are always a tricky thing. We want to make them high enough to inspire us, but not so high as to be out of reach. Mark Twain said “Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving the road to hell with them as usual.” Ouch! The whole point of making a resolution is to keep growing to be more like God wants us to be.
Last year my resolution was to make 2011 a year of more blessings. Remembering that “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” I wanted to find ways to live a more generous life. As with most resolutions, it is easy to slip back into the way we have always done things. Here are a few things that did change.
We started to support a new missionary. It’s set up on an automatic withdrawal from our bank account each month so I don’t forget; not a great amount, but it is something to encourage her as she gets started in this journey of following God. I’ve been blessed in return every time I read her updates in knowing I have a part. And I have been more inspired to pray for all our missionaries.
Speaking of prayer, another resolution was to give one day a week for fasting. At first this was much harder than giving money. By nine o’clock I was reeeallly hungry! It’s amazing how our bodies can get used to a new rhythm, though. God’s promise is true – more blessings come when we give. I have seen more prayers answered. Perhaps that means that I can see better what God has been doing all along. One notable example of answered prayer involves Church Camp. We started the year with a financial need of $4000.00; to increase our faith, we prayed that God would bring in $10,000 in contributions. By the time camp was over, the total came to $10,080! Finances are not the main thing about camp, of course, but you do have to pay the bills. More importantly, several campers opened their hearts to trust Christ as Savior.
As we approach 2012, I want to resolve to be more intentional in listening to the Holy Spirit. Not just in daily devotional time, but paying attention to Holy Spirit “nudges” all through the day. What would God have me think? What would God have me do? How can I be part of the answer to someone else’s prayer?
What about you – how do you want to grow in following Christ? God cares about our body, mind, emotions, and spirit; our relationships with Him and with our neighbor. Looking back, a year is such a short time; but a life is built one year at a time. May we pay attention to how we are building.
Have a blessed New Year!
Steve