Head-dibs

This is New Year’s Eve, the day before New Year’s Day. Congratulations, you made it! Make this day (and the next) meaningful by taking time for personal reflection. Someone once likened our lives to be like a stirred-up pond--murky, cloudy. When the sediment settles, the bottom can be clearly seen. Perhaps you need to get to the bottom of something with God or with someone else. There is no better time than the present to take care of business, to work toward peace and reconciliation with someone. If you need peace with God, no work is required as He's already made the way by the cross of Christ if you will repent. New Years 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted. What freedoms do you need in your life? While fireworks are a common feature of New Years, some magazine and newspaper publishers burn publications of the past year, really putting behind everything that happened the previous year. What do you need to finally put behind you on the cusp of a new year? Ancie...

"Almighty and most merciful Father, I again appear in Thy Presence, the wretched misspender of another year which Thy mercy has allowed me. O Lord, let me now sink into total depravity, look down upon me, and rescue me at last from the captivity of sin. Impart to me good resolutions, and give me strength and perservance to perform them. Take not from me Thy Holy Spirit, but grant that I may redeem the time lost, and that by temperance and diligence, by sincere repentance and faithful obedience I may finally attain everlasting happiness, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord." (Samuel Johnson, 1709 - 1784).

"The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective. Unless a man starts on the strange assumption that he has never existed before, it is quite certain that he will never exist afterwards. Unless a man be born again, he shall by no means enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (G.K. Chesterton, "Daily News")

"Resolution is no strange and extraordinary thing; it is one of the most common acts that belongs to us as we are men. But we do not ordinarily apply it to the best purposes. It is not so ordinary for men to resolve to be good as to resolve to be rich and great, not so common for men to resolve against sin as to resolve against poverty and suffering. It is not so ususal for men to resolve to keep a good conscience as to keep a good place." (John Tilloston, 1630 - 1694)

Linus walked about with his eyes open as wide as possible. He just stared at Snoopy, glared at Sally, gaped at Charlie Brown. Lucy broke the silence by asking from sisterly irritation, “what are you doing?” Linus replied, “I’m practicing being a wide-eyed fanatic.” My pastor recently taught me that a fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts after he has lost sight of his goals. So, how you are doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? Fanatical, I hope not. Resolutions indicate that we want to do better; however, intention is often mixed with emotion and the resolve we think we’ve mustered becomes an exercise in frustration. The changes we so enthusiastically desire are either abandoned or resurface with a vengeance and we embarrassingly make our way through the other 350 days of the year when we can anticipate rebooting our resolve with another set of emotionalized intentions. What did you set out to accomplish this year? Here are a few things that crossed my mind: 1. Live ...

What, exactly, is a “resolution?” Resolutions could be thought of as disciplines toward change, steadfastness that requires courage, or the evidence of a made up mind. The reality is that when resolutions are made, a fresh start is the object of the endeavor. Pastor Greg Laurie mentions in a New Year’s devotional how people are making their resolutions. “Some are going to swear off alcohol or smoking or television or overeating. Others are going to try to change wicked habits like gossip or worry or losing their temper. Others are going to try to start new habits like getting in shape physically. We can develop disciplines in our lives that will build us up spiritually. This year can be an opportunity for a fresh start for us all.” These are worthy causes to pursue and one may set about with determination to accomplish one or more of these goals, but is the resolution itself the best idea? What is the resolution of the resolution? In other words: what plan will one enact to make their ...

“ Let them that love Him be like the sun when he goes forth in his might .” Judges 5:31 My prayer for this next year is that God would focus me. Right now I am too much a like a flashlight: a beam of variable brightness, sort of spread out, making some miniscule contribution to the sight of those who desire to see (self included). I would rather be a laser-beam. Focused. Intent. Piercing. To do this, I am asking God to focus me. Before the technology, I suppose this was the same sort of thing on Nellie Talbot’s heart when she wrote that great Sunday School Song: I will ask Jesus to help me To keep my heart from sin, Ever reflecting His goodness, And always shine for Him. A sunbeam, a sunbeam, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam; A sunbeam, a sunbeam, I’ll be a sunbeam for Him. Steven Sample’s book “The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership” contains a chapter called “You are what you read,” wherein he discusses the lasting influences of the “supertext.” Supertexts are important for both what they ...