Why New Year's Resolutions?

New Year's Resolutions are an age old tradition that has some origin roots as far back as the Mideastern Babylonian era (around 4-5,000 years ago).  Obviously, people have been ringing in the New Year with new promises and grandiose ideas of a new beginning for hundreds upon hundreds of years.  So what is so spectacular and significant about a New Year's resolution? 

Honestly, not much.  You stay up all night and watch the clock change, the ball drop and the confetti fly and then you go to bed on the first hour of the first day of a new year. Its only a day.  Its only a moment in time. What is the big deal?
The Big Deal is whatever YOU make of it!  You can have a new start in the middle of the year (you do not get a "do over" for the whole year but you can change whenever YOU commit to it and decide it is important .  When you decide it is time for change - then it is time for you to do something about it!
I think that may be some of the significance of a New Year's Resolution... You take some time and reflect upon the last year and all of its events and work through what you think should be different this next year. When I do it - I try to spend some time praying and asking God to remind me and to refocus me.
I want to be reminded of what went well, what didn't and what were good choices and what were bad ones. I want to learn from the good and the bad of my past and then make some course adjustments for the future.
That is how I refocus - small adjustments, incremental steps toward a long term goal.
That is what New Year's resolutions are made of... That is how you move forward, how you grow and how you develop as a better leader!  Not huge sweeping turns but personal evaluations and honest reflections to make small changes that will produce huge results when you stick with it over time.
That is why we make a New Year's Resolution or any other resolution!

Merry Christmas

Thanks God for sending Christ for me.

John 1:14 (NIV)¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Thank-you for Mary and Joseph who were obedient and trusting of your uncomfortable will for them...

Matthew 1:18-25 (NIV)
¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
²³ "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
²⁵ But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Luke 3:23 (NIV)
²³ ...He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,... 

Thank you for honoring the lowly to elevate the Son of God!

Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
¹⁰ But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Thank-you for saving me!

John 3:16-17 (NIV)
¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

You can count the cost and ask Christ to rule in your heart today, too!

Luke 14:28-33 (NIV)
²⁸ "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?
²⁹ For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
³⁰ saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
³¹ "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.
³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

  Romans 10:9 (NIV) 

⁹ That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Do it this morning - Surrender to Jesus Christ, the ONLY Savior of the world.

D.T.R. - Every Day

A group of us guys are reading a book by Kyle Idleman called "not a fan".  It hits some areas of our lives (every area actually) that we need to address in our relationship to and with Jesus. 

Recently, we hit a chapter that challenged us to have the D.T.R. talk with ourselves about our relationship with Christ.
D.T.R. - Defining the Relationship:  setting the boundaries, setting the vision, addressing where this thing is going.  It's what the younger generation does when their friendships or the person to whom they are "talking" needs to know if this is going anywhere...
They have the D.T.R. talk.  
When a bunch of guys are sitting around drinking coffee and talking about what it means to have the talk with Jesus, we realize that this is a little weird but it also brought up a number of good points.
Every day we can redefine our relationship with Jesus.  In fact, every day we DO redefine our relationship with Jesus.  Every day we wake up and find hundreds of things  - good things - that we can easily place at the center of our existence instead of our Savior.  Truth be told - every day I easily find ways to place other things in front of my love relationship with Christ.  And yet - every day, He loves me and has only my best in mind for His glory.  How do I keep putting other things in front of Christ?

• I let my schedule derail my relationship with Christ.
• I let my family schedule do it, also.
• I let my desire for material things jump in front.
• I let my worry about the uncontrollable things take center stage.
• I let my sin nature creep onto the throne.
• I let my insecurities overtake my prayer life.
• I let my victories plant seeds of pride in my heart.
• I let my desire to make others happy overtake my sense of mission in making Christ happy first.

Some of these things are bad things and some are good things when placed in the right order with Christ at the center.  What do I know?
I know that, for me, and probably for you, it is critical that I roll out of bed in the morning and hit my knees and commit my day to Him.  Every day I must Define the Relationship, renew the commitment and set patterns and habits in place for this relationship to continue to grow.
What will you do?  It does get easier - as I look back at where I have been and where I am today - I see hope!  But I also see where I want to be - I have that vision for the future of what my life should look like with Jesus, so I press on and keep taking the little steps each day to make the relationship all that it should be - I am not a fan.  I am a follower of Jesus Christ.

Ready, Aim... Wait!

Two short stories of my first year trying my hand at bow hunting for white tail deer:

Story #1 - Opening Day

There I sat (yes, "sat") watching for a deer to come through as the sun arose through the trees.  It was clearing up and I could see a good distance.  Suddenly behind me in the woods, I heard something making its way through the undergrowth. I looked and it was a good sized four or six pointer - I could not tell for sure and I am pretty new at this.  WOW!  In the first hour of my first day of bow hunting I see a buck coming along!  I slowly stood,  slowly reached for my bow while keeping an eye on where he was and where he was headed the whole time.
He walked behind a tree and I realized, as I anticipated drawing back the string, that I still had a mitten top covering my hand,.  I slowly reached down to pull it off and he came through and stopped and looked my way - BROADSIDE at 25 yards!
I waited... he looked away...I finished and prepared to draw... he looked back... I froze... he ran off.
Disappointment set in.  I missed the opportunity because I was not ready to take the shot.

Story #2 - Several weeks later...

In another location, I was again waiting as the sun arose and praising God for the beauty of the sunrise while anxiously watching the woods for signs of movement. I saw it!  Slowly moving through the woods about 60 yards away was a deer and the closer it came I realized it was a buck!  Maybe today was the day!

I was already standing... I was not going to let that happen again.  As soon as I saw him at 60 yards, I made the patient effort to get the bow ready and my hands clear. I was ready to draw with the bow raised! It came toward me.  I watched it walk behind a tree and past some undergrowth so I drew back and took aim toward where he would emerge.

He came right into my sight!  Moment of truth... I saw that I was looking straight on into his chest.  Questions popped into my head... is this a good shot or not?  I do not know - I was always told to look for a broadside shot.  I waited - he stared directly in my direction... it seemed like eternity but no more than 30 seconds passed while I questioned my judgment. I thought I was ready but I still did not KNOW if this was right.  I hesitated even though he was right there in my sights.  It was simply a release of the bow with a flick of my finger.
I hesitated.. he ran off.

Again, disappointment set in.  I knew it was a shot worth taking at 20 yards but I hesitated. Again, I missed another opportunity because I was sill not ready to take the shot. 

Are you ready?  This parable by Jesus reminds us of the penalty of missed opportunity to be prepared.
Matthew 25:1-13 (NIV) 

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'  "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'  "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'  "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.  "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'  "But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'  "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. "

Have you heard the message of salvation about what God tells us about believing in His Son, Jesus, in faith and about making Him the Master of our lives?  What are you waiting for?   You are like me and my bow hunting.., you know what to do and you just are not doing it!  Make a decision - have the courage to trust Jesus with your whole life!  He does not fix all of your problems but He does walk through them with yo and promises that if you take the steps to be ready  - when He comes you are going with Him!

Anticipation

This year I took up bow hunting for white tailed deer.  I just started hunting three seasons ago and have used a shot gun and a muzzle loader.  Both seasons are just two weeks long and I have found that I really enjoy being outdoors watching the sun come up or go down, seeing the woods come awake for the day or settle down for the night, enjoying the stillness or the little creature activity and carefully, expectantly watching for deer.

actual picture from my deer stand this year!

So, I took up bow hunting to spend more time in the woods and increase my chances - or so I thought.  Often what I see is this...  lots of trees, lots of open areas and lots of "no deer".  But here is what is strange.  

I wait expectantly.
I seriously know that there are deer out there and I truthfully expect them to come past me EVERY time I am out.
I will watch for several hours.  Trying to barely move. Letting my eyes rove around the known trails and letting my peripheral vision pick up the motion of that one deer that is going to come out.
I do things to occupy my mind - things like working on the latest problem that I am facing in life. Things like reviewing the verses that I am trying to commit to memory.  Things like praying for the people in my life and for the direction of our church.
My mind does a million things while I watch.
But...
I am always alert to see what is coming and I am always anticipating a deer to step into view at any moment.
I have hunted more this year than the last two years combined.  In all of those days, I have only taken two shots with my bow at two different deer in a six week long season.  I have seen many deer but in archery season you have to have them a lot closer than in firearms season. So I wait for them to get in close.  Expecting them to come this way at any moment. In the many mornings and evenings that I have been out (and a few afternoons) I have climbed into that tree stand and begun to immediately look around for what I KNOW is coming. I have not doubted.  I have not questioned whether they will show - I always expect them to show - even when I see nothing - my mind still looks with that anticipation that "today is the day"!
I thought to myself just the other day...

Jesus has told me - PROMISED me - that He will come like a thief in the night and that I should EXPECT to see Him returning and calling me (and every believer in Christ  - dead and alive) to meet Him in the air and return to heaven with Him.  

Do I live each day as though I am anticipating His return to call my name?

Do I anxiously await His return and live as though He will catch me living to His glory?

Do I look up to the sky to see if the clouds are rolling back or if He is breaking through?

Why can I sit in a tree for hours with that joyful anticipation of seeing a deer arrive on the scene and I have trouble contemplating and even anticipating the return of the One who saved me from my sin and changed my life forever?

Don't let yourself be so caught up in the everyday problems that you cannot take a few moments and watch the sky, think about your Savior's return and live like you anticipate His trumpet call at any moment. It is coming.  Maybe sooner than we want to think or believe.  

Sunrise photo from my stand - what if it where Christ's return?

I feel  like as believers we should be anticipating the return of Christ and live as though He is coming soon.  I feel like while we are anticipating that event we should be sharing our faith like crazy and hoping to bring as many into heaven with us as possible!

Are you anticipating or fearing the return of Christ?

Pull the Trigger

Three years ago a friend asked me about my hobbies and I told him about things that I do to stay busy but none are really "hobbies" - in reality, they sounded more like chores when I listed them. He said, "We're gonna have to take you deer hunting this season."  I said, "OK".
So, we went out and shot his gun - I found I could hit a target relatively accurately.
I found some cold weather gear to try to stay warm. I certainly did not "look" the part but I would be warm.
We set up a tree stand - never saw one before until then... We talked forever about deer...
Then... firearm season began and so we went hunting.

Sidebar: The term "hunting" is to men as the term "shopping" is to women.  Think about it.

Firearm season lasted two weeks and a day.  We went out several times and did not see anything to shoot at until the last day and almost the last possible minute.  The sun had set and we had another 30 minutes to see something.  Suddenly, out of the woods walks a large doe and she just walks right into view and presents us with a broadside shot!  The adrenaline began to flow. My friend whispered, "get ready"... so I did - I raised my gun, sighted down the barrel, watched her walk behind a tree and then out again.
I was about to pull the trigger as she walked and my friend (sitting next to me in the stand) grunted a noise that I had never ever heard come from his mouth before and I just about jumped out of my skin... however, I held still and as he grunted the deer came to a halt and looked around.
BANG!  I pulled the trigger and down she went.
He whispered again, "Hold still, wait and watch.  She is gonna get up and you may have to take another shot."  So I held... and held... and held... finally he said, "Well, she must not be going anywhere."
We sat a little longer and then went down to field dress her. (another story for another time)
Later, sitting at his house drinking a cup of coffee he says to me, "I am proud of you."  I was puzzled by that so I asked him why he was proud of me.  Was it that I had actually hit something?  Was it that I had dropped it in place with one shot?  I was truly curious.
His answer, "That you actually pulled the trigger."   Really?  What were we doing all this time?  We practiced, we talked about where to shoot them, what to aim at, how quiet we had to be, how still I was going to have to sit, etc.   We talked about deer walking patterns, herding habits, eating habits, what to look for in placing a tree stand, shooting lanes, etiquette (yes, there is hunting etiquette), what to wear, etc.
I asked, "Why were we doing all of this if I was not supposed to pull the trigger?"
His answer (wildly profound), "Greg, you would be shocked at the number of people that do all that we did and invest lots of money to look the part and when it gets down to it - they cannot and will not pull the trigger."
When it gets down to it - do you know what you are supposed to be doing as a professed "follower" of Jesus and yet you do not seem to have what it takes to "pull the trigger"?  It takes courage and a step of faith to live out what we know in our head and want to live with our hearts and lives.
When it comes to your spiritual life - stop thinking and PULL the TRIGGER!