Are you ready for 2017? Ready or not, here it comes!
How we thank God for His continued goodness and grace toward us! How wonderful it is that a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. (Deuteronomy 11:12)
In 2017 our goal will be to become stronger DISCIPLES for JESUS CHRIST.
The following are the goals one man set for himself as the New Year began:
1. I will mind my own business and not gossip, “Nor” believe anything discouraging about any person.
2. I will not wear my feelings on my sleeve nor be so sensitive as to look for personal offenses or slights.
3. I will not be headstrong and will remember that other people with ideas different from mine might be right.
4. I will play the game of life on the square, doing nothing to discourage an honest man, offend a good woman or cause a child to weep or go astray.
5. I will move out into some battle for a worthy cause. I will get under some load of human need and help life, realizing that my personality will break down and my soul will shrivel up to dryness if I do not give of myself in some unselfish service.
These are certainly excellent goals, but they are restricted to our relationship to others. We would also do well to do some serious thinking about our relationship to God and to set some goals for 2017 in this important area. Although there are many goals that could and should be set in this area, I will mention a couple-
- Making Jesus a priority in your Love, your life, in your family, in your finances.
- Be a better Disciple of the Lord by reading His Word every day.
- Praying for this church and pastor every day throughout the year.
- Witnessing to others what Jesus has done for you and what He wants to do for them.
These goals may sound simple or easy, but the truth is, they require a lot of discipline. However demanding as they may be, they will pay enormously rich dividends. They will not only increase your closeness to God, but they will also cause your love for God and his children to grow by leaps and bounds.
In a day when so many who have professed faith in Christ seem so powerless, let's pray every day for Sullivan Southern Baptist Church and rejoice in the glorious truth that nothing is going to happen in 2017 that will surprise God or stop His ultimate plan.
