Resolve

So, it’s the 31^st of January….Just how many of those new year’s resolutions have you broken?  Yes, I’m calling you out right here, right now.  There is probably at least one of them that you started that you’ve already given up on.  You did know that you aren’t in the minority, right?  Every year they give us the stats for percentages of people who ‘ve already given them up on certain days. 

I personally am not a resolution person.  Instead of giving myself some unrealistic list of things that I’m going to do this year, I’ve instead given myself one goal a year to try to reach.  Three years ago I wanted to become more physically fit.  Two years ago I wanted to be more spiritually fit.  Last year I wanted to be more family focused.  This year I decided to be more active. 

Now being more active can mean a lot of different things, and I think that is exactly why God has given me this goal.  This is the year that He wants me to put it all together from the past. 

Physically I have gone downhill since I worked hard a few years back at getting back in shape.  This year I’ve felt that it’s time for me not to be lazy when I have free time, but instead it’s time to get active again.  I’ve started doing a few things that are already helping with that.  I hope to ramp it up even more in the future.

Spiritually I’m feeling led to get more involved in His Word.  It’s not good enough to just show up to church and listen to a sermon.  It’s not good enough to just read the Bible, but instead I need to study it.  I also need to do studies with my wife and make sure we’re both on the same page.  Oh, and not to just pray for the basics, but instead pray that God moves in my life and those I feel led to pray for. 

In the area of family focus last year I worked hard on really engaging more and more with my whole family.  My kids are getting older all the time comma and I want to make sure that not only do they know me, but that I know them as well.  I don’t know what the future holds for them, but I want them to use their talents to the best of their abilities.   I want them to focus their lives on God, and to trust in Him to help them in their lives as He has mine.  I also am continuing to make sure that Traci and I are invested in each other and don’t drift off from one another.  We pray together and work on our finances together to stay closer to each other, and hence closer to God.

I guess that my point in telling you all of this is to give each of you a different perspective on resolutions.  They are so easily broken because they are so easily made.  It’s time to focus all of our lives on God and what changes He wants to make in our lives.  I’ve felt for years now that He puts the “resolutions” in my life for each day, week, month, and year.  If we follow Him and what He wants for our lives, then how could we ever fail to meet a resolution again?

Nail Clipping

Have you ever clipped your nails?  I’m guessing if you are old enough to read this you’ve done it once or twice in your life.  (Or should I say, I hope you have!)  Why do you clip your nails?  I think it’s obvious.  You clip them in order to get rid of something you don’t need or that gets in your way.  They get to a point that you just can’t handle them the way they are and so you have to do something about them. 

The funny thing about your nails is that they all seem to grow at different speeds, right?  One won’t need clipped when you clip the others, and then a week later it’ll need clipped when the others do not.  It’s an endless cycle of clipping and possibly even filing them down.  Yet, you continue to do the maintenance on your nails because it’s needed.

Sin is a lot like your nails.  Different sins can creep up in different areas of your life and you need to keep doing the maintenance in order to not to allow them to interrupt your life.   The problem is that we don’t often see sin this way.  We let one sin creep in, and instead of taking care of it when it becomes a problem, we let it linger.  As it lingers there, the sin keeps growing, taking up more and more space.  If you allow it to stay in your life long enough it may even become a permanent fixture and can lead to other sin finding a way in.

What if we started looking at the sin in our lives like a finger nail.  As soon as you notice it, you should take care of it and keep it in control.  Don’t let it grow like crazy and make things difficult in your life.  It’s time to deal with these intrusions as soon as you see them and clip them in the bud.

Lesson from Sports

As you’ve read on here from time to time, I like to play sports.  I enjoy the competition, the fellowship with the other people playing, and the exercise I get from playing.  Well, one thing that I’ve relearned lately comes from my exploits in softball.

Due to the constant rain all summer and fall, the softball seasons this year were a complete mess.  Makeups of makeups of makeups were scheduled.  We’d get to play every 2-3 weeks in both seasons.  There really was no way of getting any consistent at bats all season, and so you couldn’t get a rhythm in fielding or batting. 

I really started to feel that lack of rhythm in the fall.  My batting wasn’t too bad (actually better than the summer), but my fielding was very hit and miss.  So we finally get the last two games of the season in on a Monday night.  It’s pretty cold (I’ve never played softball in November before) and it was hard to keep my hands warm.  I have two balls hit to me at second base from back to back batters from the opposing team.  One hits my glove hard and my hand went numb instantly.  So, I missed that out.  Then the next one gets hit to me and because I still had numbness in my hand I couldn’t field that cleanly either and they get another runner on base.  So, what does the next batter do, he tries to hit it to me as well, as he figures that they’ve found a weak spot.  Well, all of a sudden I find my inner Roberto Alomar and make a very difficult play that ends the inning.  Then the next two times the ball comes my way I easily make outs that I’d been missing before.

So, the next game comes, and a ball is hit to my right and I dive to get it, but I don’t come up with it cleanly. I quickly get it and throw the ball to the shortstop covering second base to try and force out the runner coming from first base.  Of course, I didn’t make the play in time and he’s safe, and they end up getting a few runs out of it.  Then an inning later a ball is hit to me just out of my reach.  But, at the end of the game I make the final out on a ball that if I don’t get it not only gives up the hit, but would cost us the game.  Instead we preserve the one-run lead, and finish the season at 9-3.

What did I learn from this?  Well, first off I’m not perfect.  It’s very humbling to have a ball come to you that you know you should make the play on, only to goof it up.  God seems to really enjoy reminding me of this lesson.  Secondly, I learned that although I may not be perfect and have messed up before, there is always a chance at redemption.  I messed up numerous times in those games or just didn’t make the play that was needed.  Yet, in the long run everything worked out for the best, according to His plan. 

These lessons are the same in the rest of my life.  I’m not perfect and everything isn’t always going to work out perfectly.  Instead, at times there will be rocks in the road, but eventually we’ll hit some smooth sailing again.

Protection From The Big, Bad Wolf

Everyone remembers the story about the three little pigs, right?  They each build a house with a different type of material and in the end only one is protected from the big bad wolf.

Have you ever applied this thinking to your spiritual life?  You can build yourself a spiritual life that is pretty shoddy and the big bad wolf known as the devil will easily be able to take it down.  If you build one that is only partially stable, then it may take a little longer, but the big bad wolf will still find a way in. 

What if you were to build that spiritual life out of the best materials you can?  Do you think that it could withstand the hardest and longest huffs and puffs from the wolf?  Do you think that any weak spots could easily be built back up and only make it stronger and stronger?

The next time you are under attack spiritually from the big bad wolf, I want you to think about the structure that your spiritual life is made from.  If it looks like it may be weak, it just may be time to rebuild that structure, only this time stronger than ever.  Having a prayer partner, joining a small group, reading His word, and individual prayer are all examples of ways to rebuild that structure and gain the protection you seek.  Yes it’s not always easy to fit that into a schedule, but it is better than letting the big bad wolf knock your house down, isn’t it?

Unread

Recently I was going through the stats from this blog that I started back in 2009.  I like to review the posts to make sure that I haven’t written about the same topic too often.  When I was looking through those stats I found something that was rather humbling.  There have been multiple posts that I’ve written that haven’t been read…by anyone.  Does that mean that the topic on which they were written wasn’t worthy of people’s attention?  Does it mean that I should have given up a long time ago?

As I began to reflect on this fact I came upon a realization:  That it’s very possible that those posts will never be read by anyone…ever.  When I came to grips with that fact I made a decision:  that I’m ok with that fact.  You see I write this blog every week for a couple reasons.  I hope to help others that want/need a stronger relationship with Jesus.  I also hope to use these writings to help me to develop my own relationship with Jesus.  Lastly, I write the blog because I enjoy writing and I enjoy this outlet – even when it is burdensome as it’s just another thing I have to get done in a week.

So, I will continue to write this blog for the near future.  I’ll write it if it is read by others or not.  I’ve felt since I began this blog that God had a purpose for me doing this blog, and who am I to question what He has in store for me?  So, in this new year I’ll continue to write on a variety of things that God brings to my attention in my walk with Him.  Whether you read it or not (and I hope you do) isn’t going to be my concern.  Instead I’ll continue to wrestle with what He has put before me, and if you want to come along for the ride you are more than welcome.

Happy New Year!