Some Reflections.....

I am so thankful for a new year....a new begining. I am very much in need of one. A friend of mine shared a verse that is taking him into the new year....and I really like it. "Forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal."(Phi. 3:13 b,14)
Another passage that stands out in my mind is one that Matt taught on two weeks ago. I haven't been able to shake it. II Timothy 2..."be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." I know as I approach this next year...there are many things that I hope to change..but as Matt pointed out...I can't will myself to do them...the power to change comes from the grace in Christ Jesus..his gospel. That I am covered in all my efforts and failures. Paul goes on to say "endure hardship with us like a good solider of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets involved...or entangled in the affairs of civilian life--because he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not recieve a victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. I was very convicted because in so many ways I have broken rules this past year. Lastly...The hardworking farmer should be the first to recieve a share of the crops. To this Matt pointed out..it's not the lazy farmer who sits on his couch and prays for God to remove weeds that gets a crop....but the farmer who gets up at sunrise and toils and crys out to God...pleads for God to bless his effort...bless this crop. This man...is completely dependent on God. Surely this man will receive a crop.

This has been playing over and over in my mind for two weeks. As I was sitting in church...and in my time of reflection over this..how much I wished I could say I was the hard working farmer....but I have been lazy. Wanting God to move and work in my life..but not putting forth the effort I should. I have broken rules...I have built idols. ..

"to place sacrifices at the feet of idols, she destroys her temple. There are no golden calves or statues of Baal hidden in her home, but look in the secrets of her heart, the hidden places of her insecurities and her idols abound. Idols and temples are not made of brick, stone, or gold. Everyday actions, so routine they become a part of who we are. We cannot recognize the idolatry in our own behavior, much less that we are the sacrifice."(1)

Idolatry is a divided heart.

"The greatest consquence of living with a divided heart is the eventual inability to know which love will bring life and which will bring death.(2)

~Who Calls Me Beautiful:Regina Franklin (1. pg 61 2. pg. 65)

So I come this new year....in hopes of not being as James says...the double minded man unstable in all his ways....but I pray and hope to be able to live as if "whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them but rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. The last part scares me...because to truly know Christ..the power of His resurrection is to also know his suffering....becoming like Him in death...to attain resurrection from the dead.
I really pray that at the end of this year...2009 I will find my heart closer to God.... with less idols in my life... and striving hard for what lies ahead.
I have taken on the challenge of reading through the whole Bible this year. As I have started out I am already seeing the blessing of cultivating my heart...with the Word of God. I have had to say no to some places and people....but already my heart is being renewed and I pray that mind will be transformed as well.
Blessings and Peace to you this new year. I pray that your heart will be stirred with new and deeper affection for Christ as well. I pray that together we can spur one another on to love and good deeds...all the more until the day of Christ Jesus.