| Then the LORD answered me and said: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets. – Habakkuk 2:2 |
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| As we draw closer to the beginning of a New Year please allow me to share some thoughts about WRITING out resolutions and goals for the new year. First and foremost I believe in reviewing the past where we remember and reflect on God’s blessings and on God’s lessons that He taught me during the year. I then believe in looking forward and praying for God to give me a fresh vision for the coming year. To get this fresh vision is to ask a question I learned from one of the greatest visionaries, Dr. Jerry Falwell, in which he challenged us to ask what would I attempt I knew I would not fail. What would you attempt for the Lord if you knew you would not fail? As part of asking God to help put into my heart His vision, I like to use a phrase from 1 Corinthians 16:7b where Paul said, “If the Lord permits.” What are your internal dreams that you would like to see happen and you would write (type) them down after the phrase “If the Lord permits…..” As I reflect on my past I know I will see successes and I will see failures. Without question, we all have room for improvement. What CHANGES (shall we say ADJUSTMENTS) need to take place so that the coming year will be BETTER than the previous year? Let us recall the old quote “If you keep doing what you have been doing you will keep having what you have been having.” A statement I use here is “Going into next year I am going to need to CHANGE…. This statement continues with “this change will happen by me STOPPING or STARTING. Daniel 1:8 is a huge help here. It reads, “But Daniel RESOLVED that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he REQUESTED the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 12 Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.” Using Daniel 1:8, 12 we have a resolve to stop something and to start something, What do you need to STOP and what do you need to START? One of my statements to finish going into a new year is “This year I need to spend more time …. “ FYI – Starting at midnight on January 1, 2024, you will be getting 527,040 minutes as 2024 is a leap year and has 366 days. If I were to hand you $52,040, how would you handle each of those dollars? Would you waste it? Would you spend all of it? Would you invest it? Thinking of time as money, how will you use your TIME? Ephesians 5:16 says. “Redeem or make the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” I like to use Luke 2:52 as a guide in making the best use of my time. The verse is based on the life of Jesus telling us that He increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and favor with man. Using these four areas I determine where I need to spend more time when it comes to intellectual growth, physical growth, spiritual growth, and relational growth. BTW – To those who are parents of children still at home, I would ask a very tough question about how I was doing as a dad to four children, asking how many times did I say NOT NOW to their request to do something. You might need to say going into 2024 that you need to spend more time with your children. They need both quality and quantity time with you. These are but a few suggestions. It is wise to review, reflect/remember, and then resolve at the end of a year and the beginning of a new year. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Continue Strong making the most of every moment, And Remember to DATE the Word |