A Life-Plan for the New Year and Face it without Fear
God is the God of new beginnings
“You crown the year with your goodness, and richness overflows wherever you are.” (Psalm 65:11 GOD'S Word)
What a joy to seek an eternal and spiritual perspective as we begin a new year. David wrote Psalm 65 some 3,000 years ago; "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance." God’s goodness is going to be made manifest in 2013 by abundance and we know that God crowns each year with his goodness. This has been the case from beginning of times and beyond! in the thankful cries of the psalmists who reflect the care of God for his people we see a God who is there in the darkest night, in the most hopeless of situations, who provides strength support, nourishment and sustenance time and again. God provides for us, he allows us the strength to raise our heads up and hope. He restores the joy to our living; he is our hope and salvation. As we come to the end of another year, let us pray that 2013 will be a year filled with love, hope, and peace.
A brand New Year is about to start and a new year is in full swing, How to use every aspect of our life and time to make an impact this year? Nothing will change this year until we change. This is now the time to contemplate on our previous years. Have we achieved our goals that we have set from the past? Have we learned something from our previous endeavors? It’s never too late to start again. We have the opportunity to make it right this time. With the advent of New Year, a new era begins and with it comes new hopes and new possibilities. Every year teaches us some of life's most important lessons, and with that learning we put our step forward and stand on the threshold of a new year. Most people generally look at the New Year as a fresh beginning, as an opportunity to kind of start over, to overcome a habit, or do a better job of something they see as important and that needs improvement. It may be parenting, being a better spouse etc. It may be developing different priorities, using our time better, or a whole host of things that people would like to change. So, we usually hear a lot about New Year's resolutions, resolutions which are usually broken in a matter of weeks. Many people are very pessimistic about the whole issue of making resolutions, and rightly so, because so many good intentions are followed by a history of past failures.
Bible says “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
God has a reason in asking us to remember not the things of the past. Perhaps we have made a mess of our life. Failures, frustrations, sins and sufferings, hurts and offences have marked our journey. With this heavy burden we cannot move forward. Whatever might have happened, we need to leave it all to the ocean of the mercy of God. We are called to trust Him for He promises us to meet us where we are.
As Paul said "One Thing I Do, Forgetting What Lies Behind And Straining Forward To What Lies Ahead" (Philippians 3:13)
Firstly we require the attitude of letting go of the old. There are people who are resolute about holding on to the past. Many things have happened to us in the last year that caused us pain, guilt and regret. We have a store of unhappy and unholy memories. Absolutely nothing good can come out of keeping alive the past that is dead. Yet we have a tendency to cling on to this past. We end up then living our life from the premises of our past experiences. If this is so, we are incapable of living this New Year in the vision that God has for us. Therefore along with the New Year, God is offering us the grace at this blessed moment to forget the past.
"Cast All Your Anxieties On Him, For He Cares About You" (1 Peter 5:7)
People carry a great burden of complaints. Their bitter experiences of the arrogance of the offensive words and deeds of others leave them disillusioned. People never rose up to their expectations. When people linger on with these thoughts, many linger on in time; they are consumed by the fire of anger and bitterness. They slip into self pity or languish in guilt. When we provide room for such ugly emotions and attitudes, the peace of our heart is quenched. God does not want us to dwell in the past.
Bible says “My times are in your hands.” Psalm 31:15.
Life and Times are very unique gifts from our God. When Adam violated God’s word he activated death and we lost our life & glory and become slave to sin and the limitations of time, death and space. As we all know, sooner or later, every single one of us is going to die and cross over to the other side. The death of the body, some day, is strangely linked, in a way that we do not fully comprehend, with the death which is at work in our inner lives, right now. That is, inner death is what we experience in a thousand ways - sometimes as loneliness, bitterness, emptiness, despair, depression of spirit, and sometimes it is malice and resentment and violence.
Whatever it may be, it is not what God intended for man. It is an enemy which has seized man and lives with him and haunts him in everything he does. When our hopes crush, & dreams collapse, the Grace and Love of Jesus is designed to relieve and to bring hope to us. God send His son to restore us back to everlasting life. Jesus said “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”(John 10:10)Therefore the greatest gift God ever given to mankind is Jesus. Jesus defeated the death and demons by his risen power. And the result is everlasting life and peace instead of condemnation and restlessness, acceptance rather than guilt, love in place of lust or hate, power to replace weakness, joy for mourning, beauty for ashes, hope for despair, courage in place of cowardice, and cleansing from all dirt and filth of spirit. Bible says “blessed are the dead...who die in the Lord.” Jesus is our life and will be our life forever. He is indispensable and He is all-sufficing. He is our joy unspeakable and full of glory. Without every other we may live, but without Him we cannot.
The great Judge of all men had passed the sentence of death upon all the race of man (Romans 5:12). Jesus came to revoke this death sentence and to give life unto men. He says to all, “I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” Look up, the day of glory is soon to break upon us with its gladness and rapture, “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thess. 4:17). Then shall the last tear have dimmed our eyes, and we shall see each other clothed in the unfading, incorruptible beauty of the Lord.”Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2) “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones...” (Ps. 116:15)”God himself will be with them and be their God and He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more Death” (Rev.21:4)
Another wonderful gift from God is Time. Time is past, present and history. All sorrows in the world are compensated with time, as they rightly say time is the best healer. Time waits for no man and time once lost cannot be re-created so it is pretty much important for everyone to make the best use of time to get the best of time in the present as well as in the future.
What we do today, determines where we will stand tomorrow and the person who makes the best use of time today gets the best of life in the future. Time has created kings as well as beggars. Riches turn into rags and rags to riches over a matter of time. Every work that we do requires time and time cannot be negotiated or replaced. The best use of time will most likely give you the best in life. Some things in life are beyond our control and we need to make up for things before things run out of time.
Time management involves carefully analyzing how we currently spend every minute of our day and then determining ways we can make better use of those minutes. This often includes eliminating many or all of the time wasters that each of us must contend with on a daily basis. It also involves learning to set priorities.
Most people in the world are driven by wrong priorities that occupy and control their entire lives. Psychologist Abraham Maslow, who after studying the motivations of human behavior, concluded that all human behavior is driven by the same basic “hierarchy of needs”: water, food, clothes, housing, protection, security, preservation, self-actualization, and significance. However, Jesus affirmed God’s number-one priority for all human on the planet He said “…Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes...But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:25,33).If our priorities are correct, we preserve and protect our life. When we establish our priority according to God’s purpose then our success is guaranteed. Correct priority simplifies our life. Failure to establish correct priority causes us to waste our time & energy.
Every second we have in life is a gift from God. Has it ever occurred to you that for you to cease living, God would not have to take your life? All God would have to do is stop giving you time. “Your time is in His hands.” You are a steward of the time He has given you. We have 86,400 seconds in a day no more, no less. Our responsibility today is evaluate the day. How do we redeem our 86,400 seconds each day to the glory of God? Are you lagging behind God or running ahead of Him?
Let it be our prayer as we enter in to 2013 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. Let it be our resolution this year, I will seek His kingdom rather than possessions, Godliness rather than selfishness. I will seek to please God more than respectable before men; I will meditate God’s word daily, think quietly, talk gently, and act honestly. I will listen to Godly advice, Nature and birds, babes and saints, with an open heart. I will bear all things cheerfully, do all things bravely await occasions and hurry never.
The practice of making New Year’s resolutions goes back over 3,000 years to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a New Year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning. Common New Year’s resolutions are commitments to quit bad habits, to stop wrong practices and corrupted communication, to manage time and finance more wisely, and to spend more time with family. By far, the most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with exercising more and eating more healthily. (Which by the way, is the number one resolution according to polls)These are all good goals to set. The vast majority of New Year’s resolutions, even among believers, are in relation to physical things. Few others make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible every day, and to attend church more regularly.
These are fantastic goals. However, 1 Timothy 4:8 instructs us to keep exercise in perspective: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” The Scripture says, “physical training is of some value.” Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit and we believe that properly taking care of our physical nature is a means of glorifying God. But comparatively speaking physical training is of little value in relation to spiritual training. “Godliness has value for all things.” Godliness impacts every area of our personal life, family, church, work and our society at large. And this godliness holds “promise for both the present life and the life to come.” That’s why we need to “train ourselves to be godly.” Surely the apostle Paul is speaking here of the spiritual development and disciplines we volitionally participate in that contribute to a growth in godliness such as Bible reading and study, Scripture memorization, prayer and praise, church participation and service.
“Train” translates the Greek word (gumnaze) from which we get the English word “gym”. It is in the present, active, imperative, which indicates a present, ongoing action we participate in and is strongly enjoined upon us. “It is not the self-centered ascetic struggle of the individual for his own moral and religious perfection, but the training necessary for the unhindered pursuit of God’s purposes. This exercise was a vigorous development and application of all Paul’s strength and ability that he might bring glory to God with every thought and action.” “Train yourself to be godly!” A foundational component of this training is the implementation of God’s Word to our hearts so that it is carried out in our actions. What we need to realize is that, what you think about Heaven determines what think about the present. C.S. Lewis said, “It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.” Paul says that an eternal perspective, about “godliness.” and so he is saying what kind of person ought you to be in heart and in behavior, in motive and in action, in attitude and in duty” because Godliness impacts every area of our life for both the present life and the life to come. Remember, in regard to the pursuit of godliness we are always in training!
Our intimacy with God – His highest priority for our lives – determines the impact of our lives because this is how we receive the strength, wisdom, & patience we need to endure & succeed. It’s only through our fellowship with God that we can truly affect other people's lives in a way that lasts eternally. our genuine intimacy with the Father through prayer, the study of His Word, worship, & times of praise will become evident in every area of our life—& that will positively affect the influence that we have with every person we encounter. As the Creator of all that exists, God has the power to conform all circumstances to His will, and He can bring a good result from your situation if you will obey Him. Just remember that His directions are for your growth, benefit, and protection and you can always count on Him to lead you down the best path possible. Your choice in this situation will determine your spiritual growth and the quality of your relationship with the Father. Therefore, obey Him and leave whatever consequence is causing you anxiety in His capable hands.
Now the New Year is a time to reflect and think about what the past year has brought and what the New Year could bring. It is a time to stop and analyze, to take stock of our priorities, values, pursuits, and goals. We need to ask questions like "Who am I, what am I doing with my life? What should I be doing as a citizen of Heaven with my life and the stewardship God has given me?" After all, according to the Holy Scripture, all of life is a stewardship--a stewardship of our time, talents, treasures, and God's truth. We cannot live on yesterday's blessings nor should we dwell on yesterday's failures and disappointments. This is a time to forget the past and move forward into the present and the future.
It's a time to look ahead with a sense of anticipation and excitement towards the new things God wants to do in our lives.
It is a season of setting new goals and putting into effect those things you have been putting off doing.
It can be a day of new beginnings for each one of us.
Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless we have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually, or is it because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor yourself? So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should we make? Here are some suggestions: (1) Seek the Lord in prayer for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2)seek God’s guidance, wisdom and discernment as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) rely on God’s grace and provision to strength you; (4) identify a prayer partner and a mentor who will edify you and encourage you; (5) don’t become discouraged with occasional failures; instead, allow them to motivate you further; (6) don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”(Proverbs 16:3)
May this New Year bring you Immense Blessings in all you do, Happy New Year
