Well everyone, since I know that the New Year is already upon us...

I thought perhaps there might be some bold New Year's resolutions in the arena of spiritual growth.

Since, after all, this blog is intended to be of some help in that very arena, it seems proper to offer some manageable ideas.

Why would I emphasize "manageable"? The reason for this is fairly simple. I myself have had the experience of trying to set unrealistic goals for my own devotional time and reading, prayer time, etc. I have talked to many who share the same frustration. To use the analogy of driving..haven't you ever noticed that the single greatest gear shift a car to make is the leap from 0 mph (standing still) to 1 mph (moving forward). It is best to take it slowly and carefully. Soon enough you'll be cruising along just fine.

At any rate, below are some modest proposals:

  • Start a daily devotional...it's easiest for beginners to purchase one and let it guide you rather than leaving it all up to you, your Bible, and the Holy Spirit. Need ideas? I will likely post some soon. From Bible reading plans to through the year devotionals, etc. there are a ton of resources out there.


  • Start a journal. At the church which I serve, I recently heard a pastor give this simple suggestion. What should you write about? Prayers are good, goals, memories, etc. He simply suggested this: Starting out, you can simply answer a question: "Today, what did I say, see, or 'step into'(do)?"


  • Forgive. There are so many people who live lives of bitterness, refusing to forgive someone who has hurt them. The holidays may bring these pains especially close to home. Isn't this the year to let it go? After all, choosing not to forgive really hurts ourselves more than anyone else.


  • Prioritize. Cut and paste, delete, insert. What are the things you need to cut out? What do you need to give your time to? Where can you be most effective? How can you bring God the most glory with your time? Biblically and responsibly managing our time is one of the most important things we can do after we have become a Christian.


  • Make New Year's every day. This may sound strange, but it is a biblical practice. Here's why: In our popular culture it is always thought that we all make New Year's resolutions around New Year's. It is the annual time for people to set goals for themselves and TRY to change if they can...sometimes they don't even have the desire to make the change, it is just that New Years comes and we HAVE to come up with some resolutions!

    For the Christian, this practice of evaluating the way we live our lives, praying about what we need to do or undo, setting goals and reshaping our priorities, asking God to show us where we need to change, etc. is supposed to be as regular as inhaling and exhaling. This is how an eighty year old Christian can be as young at heart, as shapeable, as vibrant, and renewed as a twenty-something! With Christ, every day is a new chance to be transformed.




Have a thought, response, or comment, or a topic idea? Let me know with a comment or an email!

-RCW
This entry was posted on 12/28/2008 and is filed under , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 comments:

On January 5, 2009 at 4:13 PM , Anonymous said...

A very positive and encouraging post. One of my resolutions is to show you more love on a daily basis! I'm so proud of you!

 
On January 9, 2009 at 12:36 AM , Unknown said...

Me too!