Resolutions And Revolutions

RESOLUTIONS AND REVOLUTIONS!

Scripture reading:

Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go!

Ephesians 4:32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Ephesians 1:4 God has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love!

2 Corinthians 13:7 Now I pray to God that you do no evil; so that that you should do that which is honest!

Proverbs 16:19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Rev 2:10 Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.

How many of you have ever heard of a boobee bug? Anyone? Well, a boobee bug is a little guy that lives on the underside of flower petals. Whenever a bee lands on a flower to get his daily fare, the boobee bug crawls to the edge of the underside of the petal, and shouts ...BOO! BEE!

Well, OK ....maybe that wasn't the most brilliant little story you've ever heard .... but, you can share that one with your grand children, knowing they have NEVER EVER heard it before!

Today, though, we won't say anything else about boobee bugs ... but we do want to talk about DO BEEs! How many of you recall ROMPER ROOM .... that TV show that featured DO BEES? Sure, you do! Remember how the DO BEE character would fly around the studio, and the little boys and girls would flap their arms and fly around with him?

Today, we want to look at some New Year's Resolutions on the SPIRITUAL side of life ... After all, this is the time when we make resolutions ..... I think one of my favorite resolutions is about the man who said he was making only ONE resolution, and that was to do everything in his power to make his wife happy! When his wife was asked her resolution, she said, "I'm making only ONE resolution, too! My resolution is to see that my husband keeps HIS Resolution!"

Resolution # 1 Joshua 1:9 Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go!

The first DO BE is this: DO BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE!

There are so very many things we won't even attempt to do, simply because we are afraid ...and if asked about what, and we are honest, we will say something along these lines .....

I am afraid I will fail, or perform poorly ... and it may be the most common fear we have of trying something different.

We fear the unknown...and so very often, fail to even start, because we don't know how things will turn out!

We fear the uncomfortable ... it's so much easier to do things that we are comfortable doing ....but, there's no challenge in doing something you have done for years, and do well!

A DO BEE will just go ahead and try! So, friends, BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE!

Resolution # 2 Ephesians 4:32 And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

One of the great truisms of life is that we don't even have to agree about anything, to be kind to one another! A DO BEE is ALWAYS kind, no matter the circumstances. You see, in the words of William Barrett, in his excellent book, A WOMAN IN THE HOUSE, "No one knows what devils drive a man."

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle that you know nothing about, and has stresses and strains that would break a lesser person. The kindness you show may be the ONLY KINDNESS that person will receive today ... and it may very well make a life and death difference in that person.

So... DO BE KIND to one another!

Resolution # 3 Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

In the coming year, DO BE THANKFUL! We don't know what devils drive a man, to be sure ... and it is just as true that many folks would simply LOVE to have your BAD days!

I don't know what is the worst day of your life ... but if one readily comes to mind, and it probably does, someone, somewhere has had an infinitely worse day than that, and would gladly trade days with you.