From my family to yours, Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that 2012 is already over and we are starting over again. Each new year reminds me of God’s grace and the second chances He gives us. Both a new year and God’s grace are undeserved, and both are not promised to us. So many times as the new year begins we make resolutions or vows that we will do better. Yet so many times those resolutions or vows end up failing, and this causes us to feel like failures. We get in our minds (partly because satan puts it there) that we have yet again let God down. Let us remember that we don’t hold God up, it is Him who holds us up. I would like to suggest a few things that may help keeping those resolutions a reality for you this year. First and most importantly it must be a “love thing.” Many times our resolutions to follow God closer this year are done because we are dissatisfied with our walk with Christ. Guilt may be a good motivator for a while, but eventually it just fades into shame. If we are truly going to follow God closer this year it must be because we love Him and appreciate Him more. The second thing is that it must be a “want to thing” not a “have to thing.” Much like guilt, obligations can motivate us to do certain things for a certain amount of time, but eventually it fades. If I love God the way I am suppose to (see Mt. 22:37) then I am going to want to spend more time with Him and get to know Him better. If I do it simply because that is what a Christian is suppose to do, eventually the cares and concerns of our life will choke this out and we will end up back in the same rut we are closing 2012 out in. Finally, and this one sums up the other two in many ways, it must be a “relationship thing” not a “religion thing.” By God’s grace I have been married to Diana for eight years (almost nine). The key to our relationship (one of many) has been we enjoy spending time together. The reason I enjoy spending time with her is because I love her, but I also want to know more about her. The only way I can learn more about her is to willingly and deliberately choose to spend time with her. The same principle that applies to marriage, applies to our relationship with God. I pray 2013 we will become more like Christ.
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him