This New Year

Somebody asked me if I had a new year's resolution the other day. I replied "It is good to have goals in this life so that you can intentionally be striving to reach them. I have goals, but that they are life goals."  We never have to wait for a new year to begin to begin again. We are give new opportunities every day. Life is so short! If we have no goals we'll waist our time quickly. I want to make the most of my time because the days are evil Ephesians 5:16. I want to live for God's glory. I can do nothing apart from God's grace and power John 15:5.


I want to glorify God in my thoughts, words, and actions. 1 Corinthians 10:31 That is how I will divide my list. Here are a few of my life goals.

Thoughts and Attitudes

*I am working towards having a meek and quiet spirit which is precious in God's sight. 1 Peter 3:4

*I want to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5

*I desire to practice contentment. Discontentment lead to the first sin and leads to all others. Philippians 10:1

*It is my goal to have a humble submissive attitude as did Christ. Philippians 2:5-8

Actions

*I desire to study God's word daily. Matthew 4:4
*It is my goal to memorize scripture so that I might not sin against God. Psalm 119:11
*I want to boldly and humbly share the gospel. Mark 16:15

*I want to honor and obey my parents. Ephesians 6:1-3

*I don't want to keep a record of wrongs, but I want to forgive just as Christ forgave me.1 Corinthians 13:5, Collosians 3:13

*I own nothing, and I want to be a good steward of the earthly things God has given me. 1 Corinthians 10:26

*I want to serve others and consider them better than myself. Philippians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 13:5
*It is my goal to never pay back evil for evil, but to overcome it with good. 1Peter 3:9, Romans 12:17-21
*I want to speak for those who can not speak for themselves. Proverbs 31:8
*I am striving to flee youthful lust, deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and guard my heart. 2 Timothy 2:22, Titus 2:12, Proverbs 4:23
*I want to be hospitable. Hebrews 13:12, 1Peter 4:9
*I want to be patient and kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*I do not want to be educated in evil, but rather be mature in my thinking. 1 Corinthians 14:20

Words
*I want to rejoice in all circumstances and cease from complaining. 1 Thessalonians 5:16
*I want my words to be edifying to others, and I desire to become a better encourager. Ephesians 4:29

*I desire not to use sarcasm, coarse jesting, filthy language, silly talk, or idle words. Ephesians 4:29,       Ephesians 5:4, Matthew 12:36

*I will not misuse the name of the Lord my God. Exodus 20:7

*I want to let my yes be yes and my no be no. I need not swear. Matthew 5:33-37

*I do not want to gossip or slander. 1 Timothy 3:11

*I want to always be truthful. Leviticus 9:11

*I desire to boast in nothing but the Lord. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*It is my goal not to quarrelsome. 2 Timothy 2:22

What are your goals? Have you considered the ways you use your time. Are you seeking God's glory or your own? I hope you will live intentionally for the glory of God!

Hiding In My Heart

The Challenge
I have a very difficult time memorizing things. In fact, I learned to skip count by singing a song, and I still sing songs in my head when I do my math. I can remember things for a small amount of time, but they just don't stick. When I don't use it, I loose it. I assumed I just couldn't memorize God's word either until one day something inspired me to try.

The Inspiration
I was conversing with a friend who told me of a teacher she had. He had memorized the whole book of Ephesians. The teacher challenged her, and she challenged me to memorize it. I began trying, but it wouldn't stick. Finally I made a melody up and recorded small portions of it on my Ipod. I listened to a few verses every night before I went to sleep until I had memorized them. I repeated this process until one day I had finished The whole book after about a year. As I was learning it, I went around singing it, and as a result many of my family members have memorized portions of it too.

The Benefits
It is so nice to always have large portions of scripture with you so that you can use them to meditate on if your thoughts begin to wander to sinful places. It is also good to have scripture in your heart when you are witnessing. I like the fact that if Bibles were ever illegal I'd still have some of it with me.  Not only that, but it gives me wisdom when I need to make decisions (Psalm 119:24). In Psalm 119:105 The psalmist compares Gods word to a lamp for our feet. I think this is such a wonderful picture of what scripture is. When God's word is in our hearts we have a light with us to guide our steps.

The Goal
Memorizing scripture for the sake of just knowing it will not profit you very much. You must hide it in your hearts so that you may not sin against God as the psalmist says in Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Our goal for memorizing scripture should be to apply it to our lives. Scripture is one of our defenses against temtation. We need to hide it in our hearts not just in our heads.

The Charge
Do you have a hard time memorizing scripture? Pray God will help you. God has given our minds the capacity to memorize the entire Bible. Don't you think God would want us to use what He's given us well? Be creative and look into different methods for memorizing God's word. You may sing a song, write it on paper, or pace back and forth. Just find whatever helps you to hide it in your heart! God's word is precious! Read it, memorize it, meditate on it, and obey it!