January 07th, 2019

January 7, 2019
 
              A week of our new year has already scurried by! Did you make resolutions which you are already breaking or “bargaining” about? And was that what you expected to do because it always goes that way? Or perhaps are you doing pretty well but aware that one of these days the breaking or bargaining will kick in?
              Resolutions are not a bad idea, and often they represent sincere thought about our lives and about what could be improved. The problem is the way that we approach change and the priorities we base that change on.
              At the risk of sounding a little “preachy,” I want to share some thoughts I have had as I have dealt with years of broken resolutions and then a change in direction which made a lot of difference. I can tell you that the one resolution I keep for sure is to make sure that my relationship with Jesus is solid and my prayer life focused.
             Jesus makes it very clear throughout the Gospels that better lives require more than just the changes we think should be made – like the blind man who received his sight or Mary Magdalene who needed to be saved from stoning. Jesus would provide what they needed, but then he would ask that they “go and sin no more.”
             The key, then, is within ourselves and our relationship to God, something which must be changed or improved before any of the other behaviors can change. If we want weight loss, for example, the goal must be to see ourselves as God would have us be – healthier and more energetic, more able to live our best lives in company with His expectations.
                If we ask forgiveness for past bad habits and get ourselves square with our God, then we can accomplish the life improvements we honestly want. If we place our intentions in front of our Savior in prayer, then He becomes a partner in the process and our walk with Him becomes richer because it includes viewing ourselves through His eyes as well as our own.
                May your 2019 find you walking with Him and viewing yourself through His eyes.