HAPPY NEW YEAR!! It’s 2019 y’all! Before you begin to read this, I encourage you to read Philippians chapters 3 & 4, and pray about this upcoming year. My purpose in this is to share what the Lord has revealed to me. Feel free to comment what sticks out to you in those chapters!
So last night as we entered 2019 I am sure that most of us while ringing in the new year, have been thinking about some goals or “Resolutions” to meet this year. It’s common. With a new year comes new goals and visions to better yourself. I like many, can identify with making a resolution and not following through OR giving up a couple of days in.
Philippians 3 and 4 can be very applicable to this time of year. Paul writes to the church of Philippi about living his life out for Christ. Starting in verse 12, Paul makes the metaphor of pressing on to finish a race in which the prize is:
“the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”
I would say in my life this is a goal. I want to let God take control of my life, and have Him mold me, and let His divine plan for me be lived out for His glory. This is a daily surrender, and I do fail a lot when I act instead of letting the Spirit act through me. But letting God have control instead of me trying and failing to do good is a goal that I am trying to reach.
If you read on in chapter 3, verse 15 says,
“Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this same mind…”
And in verse 21:
“who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself”
To be conformed to God’s glorious body should definitely be an individual goal this upcoming year, but also a goal as a church. What if the Church kept it’s members accountable and led each other in example like Paul did? How could God use YOU individually, and the CHURCH, to impact your community when you begin to “forget those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”(verse 13)!
As 2019 unfolds, we need to keep our christian peers in check to ensure that progress is made, and that we are glorifying God in all of our actions! We need to realize the truth in verse 20:
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”
From the moment we repented and stepped out in faith in Jesus Christ, we have belonged to heaven. The remainder of time that we spend on Earth, we are supposed to go out and share the gospel with those who haven’t heard the good news! We eagerly wait for Jesus to come back for us, but we need to fulfill the work that we are ALL called to do.
Moving on to individual resolutions, I feel like I cheat myself when I write that long list of things that I need to do to be happy with myself, and then don’t do it. Sometimes we say that we want to get into shape or lose weight because we want to look better and then we don’t come up with steps to do it. Resolutions like these doom us because we aren’t intentional about reaching that goal. When we look at Philippians 4, we see that there are steps to achieve goals.
Philippians 4:6-7 says,
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your praises be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”
If you are a worrier, chances are you know this verse. Philippians 4:6-7 aren’t just comforting verses..they are steps to trusting in God!
For example: One of my resolutions is to read the Bible every single day this year! How am I going to do that? Well, I have a One Year Bible that has daily sections, and I have several devotions on the YouVersion app to get me through the year. I can also set alarms on my phone for each day to remind myself to read and study the Word. The goal is not to read the bible every single day… although that IS what I want to do. The underlying goal is to be obedient to God and give Him every day to do something amazing through me.
To close, I hope that you will look at your goals and wishes for 2019, and look for something more eternal in those things. What is the purpose of these goals? To glorify God, or yourself? How will you meet these goals?
My prayer is that this year, Christians will not be afraid to share the gospel and be sold out for letting God doing something BIG in their lives.
~Terin E. Waller
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Set Apart 