Thursday Devotional - Goals for 2020

Have you made some goals for this coming year? How well did you do at your goals from last year?

Joe, the kids and I have talked about our goals for this year, but we haven’t written them all down yet (maybe later today!).

Yesterday, my Mom brought out some of our goals from when my sisters and I were younger and read off some of them (go skiing, play a family game a week, read the Bible more, share the gospel with at least one person, etc.). It was fun to hear what some of our childhood goals were. Sometimes we even wrote goals for other family members (i.e. for Mom and Dad to have another baby or for baby Mary to learn how to walk)! 😊

God has a goal for us to drink less milk and eat more solid food:

Hebrews 5:11-14 ¹¹ We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. ¹² In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! ¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

We eat more solid food from God’s Word by studying and applying it daily. Reading these devotionals or a chapter of the Bible daily isn’t beneficial unless we use it and put it into practice (“constant use,” as verse 14 says). I’ve learned that journaling what I’ve learned and how I plan to apply it is helpful.

What goals will you and I set for this year in line with God’s goals?

Happy New Year!

Alice  

Do As I Have Done To You

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing?  You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am.  And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.  I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.”  John 13:12-15

Happy New Year to you and your families! I wanted to give you some insight on my resolution for the New Year.  In thinking about my past year and goals that I have set, I plan to spend a lot of time focusing on preparedness.  Another theme that resonates with me is that I should focus more on those things that are strengths of mine. In that vein, words that come to mind are ‘love for others,’ ‘honor,’ and ‘servitude.’  In saying those things, I realize there is no greater driver for me than love, and as I look toward my devotion writing, I plan to spend more time writing in this area.  It is my love for others that tends to motivate me to be better than I would be motivated on my own.  It is that which I start the year focusing on; love for others.

We are truly followers of Christ when we understand that the relationship with Him is one where we give without attention toward receiving. I have read these verses on many occasions, and focused rightfully on the idea of Jesus as Lord serving His disciples.  However, we tend to lose sight of what Jesus wants here.  He does not want anything!  He invited them to do as He has done.  He did not say, “You must wash each other’s feet, or else.”  This lesson He gave them is emphasized by His saying, “I have given you an example to follow.”  Other versions (“should do” – NIV & KJV, “should be done” – NLV) mirror those words.  While He does say, “Do as I have done to you,” this is not a commandment.  It is a gift of spiritual knowledge!  It is meant to inspire understanding of the expectation of being a follower of Christ.  Becoming more knowledgeable of God does not elevate us above others.  It should instill us with a heart to serve them.  It has the Master as the servant.  It pushes us to ask not what price those who would do us harm must pay.  Instead, it asks how I can better aide in their troubles.  That is the spirit of Jesus’s teaching in these verses.

Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all in sacrificing His life for our sins. It covers past, present, and future sins.  Because of this, we should feel a weight lifted from our shoulders that allows us to live without guilt or suffering.  However, we know that Jesus does not command anything from us in exchange.  Yet life as taught us that those who love us the most command ask nothing in return.  Perhaps if we truly love Jesus as we say, we ought to give our lives toward serving Him without any expectations.  That’s what a loving relationship with Christ resembles.  Is your walk of faith like the examples of Jesus?  Do you act either because God says so or willingly and freely out of love for Him?  My prayer is that we start the New Year doing what Jesus taught His disciples; Do as I have done to you.  Amen.

The Year of The Lord's Favor

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.  Isaiah 61:1-3

For most of my life, I would hear that the term A.D. meant ‘after death,’ as in after Jesus Christ died, and B.C. meant before Christ.  However after reading and studying for a Bible Study class, I found that first part was entirely wrong.  The term ‘A.D.’ is actually a medieval Latin term meaning “the year of the Lord.’ Thus, the beginning of the New Year is yet another reminder of the birth of our Lord and savior, and while many believe the approximate date is a little off (His birth approximated to be somewhere between 6-4 BC), there is a clear connection anytime the calendar changes.

The New Year brings forward a time where we have a chance to celebrate our own rebirth through Jesus Christ. The 61^st Chapter of Isaiah is simply titled ‘The Year of the Lord’s Favor.’ Its introductory verses point out what the coming of Jesus would mean to us all.  While we often focus on God’s awesome and mighty power, these verses also remind us how infinitely thankful we should be for His love and mercy.  The words are telling us how indeed Jesus Christ would change the world freeing us from sin, comforting mourners, bringing joy and praise, and planting the seeds of righteousness.

Psalm 118:24 states, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.” (NKJV) As other look to make resolutions, let us rejoice and be glad as the New Year is a reminder once again that Jesus is the reason for the season.  What thanks will you give God for this soon to be past year?  How will you give glory to God this New Year?  My prayer is that we are used by God to make this indeed a year of the Lord’s favor!  Amen and Happy New Year!