Happy Tuesday - Happy New Year

What sort of New Years Resolution should a Christian make?

The practice of making a New Year's Resolution goes back over 3000 years to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a New Year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning. In reality, there is no difference between December 31st and January 1st. Nothing mystical occurs at midnight on December 31st. The Bible does not speak for or against the concept of a New Year's Resolution. However, if a Christian determines to make a New Year's Resolution, what kind of resolution should he or she make?

Common New Year's Resolutions are: to quit smoking, to quit drinking, to manage money better, and spend more time with family. By far the most common New Year's Resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with exercising more and eating healthier. These are all good goals to set. However, 1 Timothy 4:8 instructs us to keep exercise in perspective: "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." The vast majority of New Year's Resolutions, even among Christians, are in relation to physical things. This should not be.

Many Christians make New Year's Resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible every day, to attend church more regularly, etc., etc. These are fantastic goals! However, these New Year's Resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual resolutions. Why? Because there is no power in a New Year's Resolution. Resolving to start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually or is it because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor yourself?

Philippians 4:13 tells us, "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." John 15:5 declares, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." If God is the center of your New Year's Resolution, it has chance for success – depending on your commitment to it. If it is God's will for something to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a resolution is not God honoring and/or is not in agreement in God's Word – we will not receive God's help in fulfilling the resolution.

So, what sort of New Year's Resolution should a Christian make? (1) Pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) in regards to what resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2) Pray for wisdom as to how to fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) Rely on God's strength to help you; (4) Find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you; (5) Don't become discouraged with occasional failures, instead allow them to motivate you further; (6) Don't become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-
6, "Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday." Amen

Take Time To Be Holy
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

Daily Smile:
Pulling into the crowded parking lot at the shopping center rolled down the car windows to make sure my puppy had fresh air. She was stretched full out on the back seat and I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there. I walked to the curb backward, pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically, "Now you stay. Do you hear me? "Stay! Stay!"

The driver of a nearby car, a pretty young lady, gave me a strange look and said, "Why don't you just put it in park?"

In The News:

Hobby Lobby Won't Violate Faith Over Abortion Drugs
The Christian owners of Hobby Lobby say they must remain true to their faith despite the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to block the Obamacare contraception mandate, CBN News reports. Hobby Lobby's attorney, Kyle Duncan, said the company would not provide the morning-after and week-after pills in its employee insurance plan when the health care mandate takes effect Jan. 1. "The company will continue to provide health insurance to all qualified employees," Duncan said in a statement. "To remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs." Hobby Lobby faces a fine of $1.3 million per day for ignoring the Obamacare mandate; the company is still fighting the law in court.

Islamist Constitution Spells Trouble for Egypt's Christians
Egypt has approved a new, pro-Islamist constitution, and Christians and other minorities foresee bleak and repressive days ahead, Patheos.com reports. Voter turnout in the two-stage nationwide referendum was reportedly limited, and Christians were particularly underrepresented -- as low as 7 percent in some areas. Intimidation from Islamists kept many away from the polls, and in one instance, an estimated 50,000 pro-constitution Egyptians marched through Christian areas of the city of Assiut before the election. Men on horseback with swords led the way -- evoking the seventh-century Muslim conquest -- as marchers chanted that Egypt would be "Islamic, Islamic, despite the Christians." Under the new charter, the rights of Christians and other religious minorities are "undermined beyond salvage," says Hudson Institute scholar Samuel Tadros. According to Arizona congressman Trent Franks, who co-chairs the bipartisan International Religious Freedom Caucus, "The first few constitutional articles -- the foundation of Egypt's new legal framework -- are especially frightening once the implications are assessed and the articles are viewed in context o one another."

Putin Signs Bill Banning Americans From Adopting Russian Orphans
Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a bill on Friday banning American families from adopting Russian orphans, apparently in retaliation for U.S. criticism of his nation's human rights record, Fox News reports. The law will block dozens of Russian children expected to be adopted by American families from leaving the country and cut off one of the main international routes for Russian children to leave orphanages. Russia is the single biggest source of adopted children in the U.S., with more than 60,000 Russian children being taken in by Americans over the past two decades. According to UNICEF estimates, there are more than 700,000 Russian orphans but only 18,000 Russians waiting to adopt a child. The U.S. State Department previously expressed deep concern about the Russian measure. "The welfare of children is simply too important to be linked to political aspects of our relationship," said spokesman Patrick Ventrell.