New Year’s Resolutions

 

Thank God for leading us into the year 2010! The writer first prays to and thanks the Lord on behalf of all of us: “May God who bestows peace and grace consummate you in all manner of good things so that you will obey His will, and do what pleases Him through Jesus Christ who dwells in your heart. May all praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, authority and power be to our God, forever and ever. Amen!”

 

This year, the theme by which the church will learn together and exhort one another is: “love the house of God through mutual concern and care; follow the way of the Lord in unity of mind and spirit”. The writer hopes that everyone will also apply this as the index of your spiritual pursuit this year. Learn to love God and your brothers and sisters in Christ with all of your heart and soul and mind and strength. Think always of the needs of others, share joy and gladness with your fellow members, and bear each other’s burdens. Be faithful to the Lord in your service positions, recognize and wisely utilize your gifts, build up one another in the Lord, and accomplish what He has entrusted to you. Brothers and sisters should interact without suspicion, jealousy, grumbling, and self-righteous criticism. Also carry a compassionate and humble heart, learn to empathize with and accommodate members who are weak, and be patient with and accept those who inadvertently make mistakes. Resolve to seek God at a deeper level this year, yearn to be close to and know Him, apply the teachings of the Bible in your everyday lives, and frequently keep watch over and intercede for the church.

 

At the start of the New Year, have you resolved once again to set for yourself some targets that will renew your spiritual life? Paul, the servant of God also made resolutions and admonishes us by saying, “Brothers, 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, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things.” (Philippians 3:13-15)

 

If you are dedicated to setting some achievable goals for yourself this year, the writer would like to make the following suggestions. Do you willingly resolve to:

1.     Intercede in prayer for a church member every day in sequence?

2.     Ask for God’s salvation every day for a family member who is not yet a believer?

3.     Share your testimony of salvation with someone who does not yet know God once every two weeks?

4.     Join the church’s prayer meeting at least once every two weeks to keep watch and intercede in prayer with your fellow members?

5.     Join in the church’s monthly mall outreach?

6.     Enroll in Sunday School every quarter, and dedicate to earnestly analyze and study some of the books in the Bible?

7.     Follow the church’s Bible-reading plan and faithfully read through the New Testament and Psalms once this year?

8.     Rely on the Lord this year to confront and discard some bad habits or vices that have entangled you?

 

When you set your targets, you can employ the smarter goals principle, i.e. they should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound, able to be evaluated, and subject to reward. The writer feels that it is not hard to set smarter goals. The important thing is to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit, and carry through with determination, dedication, steadfastness and thoroughness from beginning to end. The writer wishes that we will seize the opportunity this year, and all ardently pursue the spiritual goals we have set so that together we can fulfill the church’s theme this year to ““love the house of God through mutual concern and care; follow the way of the Lord in unity of mind and spirit”.

 

By: Daniel To