God Given Resolutions as you enter the New Year!

“God Given Resolutions”
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God" - Romans 8:14

Many people make a New Year's Resolution to loss weight, exercise more, read the Bible more, pray more, etc.  Although these are good, when next year rolls around you know what, people will once again be making resolutions to loss weight, exercise more, read the Bible more, pray more, etc.  A lot of people will be making the same resolutions they did last year this year (and likely next year). Why? Because they didn’t keep it. 

Thus, comes the question of why didn’t they keep it?

I think the answer can be found primarily in three areas. 
We either are (1) not taking our resolution seriously, (2) are having a problem with a lack of discipline, (3) it may be that your resolution wasn’t a God given resolution - one led by the Spirit.

Though I’m not against New Year resolutions, I do believe God would prefer us to live in a “God Given Resolution.” By that I mean that we should resolve to live our best for God everyday. Don’t wait for the new year (Jan. 1st) to make changes, make them as soon as God speaks to your heart! As matter of fact, some of you may need to let go of YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION and pick up on GOD'S RESOLUTION for you, it might be quite different than YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION.

Also, as the year goes on, constantly be letting God work new changes in you, then when next January 1 rolls around, you will either have no new resolutions to make or you’ll have one that just happens to fall on January 1.

Good bye New Year's Resolutions, hello to God's Resolutions!

"Are you weighed down and struggling in your walk" (Hebrews 12:1)

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." - Hebrews 12:1

Sin is a big issue that we must deal with and keep out of our lives, but today I want to talk about "weights."  I'm not referring to that extra weight (body fat) many are carrying on them.  I'm talking about a different weight subject.

In Hebrews 12:1, it states that we are to "...let us lay aside every weight..."  By definition "weights" are not sins (weight and sin are distinguished from each other in this passage.)  Hopefully, every one reading this knows they aren't suppose to sin.  But what about those things that aren't necessarily sin, but hinder us (weigh us down) in our walk with Jesus.  A weight is something which in itself to another may be harmless or even legitimate, but in our own case is a hindrance.  We all have to look into our hearts and ask ourselves will this be a hindrance in my Christian walk.

The Christian life is compared to a race.  The ultimate goal of the race (the Christian life) is to be able to say as Paul said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." - II Tim.4:7. Paul also said, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." - I Cor. 9:24. God wants us to give our all in this race.  You can't expect to give your all if you have heavy weights in your life; they will slow you down spiritually!

Can you imagine a champion runner running with a 120-pound sack thrown on his back right before the race? Though he may be the best in the world, you would not expect to see any world records broken on that day.  Though he's the best, that 120-pound sack is going to slow him down. He would admit that even being over his optimum weight by the slightest amount could cost him a win in a race.   Well, my fellow Christian, that's exactly what weights in the Christian life will do to you; they will hinder you from being ALL that God intended you to be. Let me encourage you to get rid of those weights and run this race of the Christian life like the Spiritual Champion that God created you to be (Rom. 8:37 & II Cor. 2:14).

I even believe there are things that God may say to me in the future, "Hey Jim what about ____________ (fill in the blank)".  I could say, "Lord, you want that to go? Lord what's wrong with that?" The Lord would say, "Jim it's a weight,"  and there will go some more stuff in the life of Jim.   Poor Jim!  No, BLESSED Jim!  FREE Jim!  I want to be used of God to my full potential, I want you all to be used of God to your full potential. I want you all to be truly FREE in Jesus! 

So, in closing let's remember it's time to get rid of not just sins, but also those weights and be the person God has called you to be!

Heavenly Father,

We come before You and ask that You reveal to us by your Holy Spirit those things in our life that our weighing us down. We thank you for the liberty that will come forth as we get released from these weights, so that we will then walk as Champions in You!   In Jesus; Name AMEN!