New Year's Resolutions

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2Cor 5:17

It's baffling how many lessons can be learned through this thing we call life. There are a ka-jillion-zillion different things we could decide to pursue in life. There are so many roads in which we can take. The possibilities are unlimited. You could become anyone you dream to be. And this isn't just limited to a career. We have been given the ability to create ourselves. You can become who you want to be and decide what you want to do in this life. We have the power to change the world. We have the power to change lives. We have the power to make Jesus known in this world. We have been given the choice to follow God's perfect will for us or deny His ways and chase after our own plans.
How we live our lives will depend upon our choices. Will we decide to make a difference and stand for Christ? Will we be different from the world? Or will we just become another number in the sand. My question to you the reader is, "What will you chase after?" Why not take time to examine where our life is going? Why not ponder the intentions of our heart? Why not meditate on our ambitions, dreams, and desires? Who are we focused on glorifying? I am not here to lecture, or preach as if i got everything together. To be completely honest, I often find myself only concerned with what I want. I find myself chasing the approval of others. I find myself indulging in only myself, thinking only about my temporary desires, and serving only myself. As i attempt to organize my thoughts and reflect on what God has been teaching me, I pray that someone would be able to take something from this blog.

1) Loving Others
2) Recess
3) New Year's Resolutions
4) Identity
5) Discipline

1) Loving Others
This has been a reoccurring theme again and again. So this is definitely a new year's resolution. What does it truly look like to see others how God sees them? Now days our love is often superficial and conditional. God has been giving me dreams, pointing me to how i should be loving others. The first step to loving others is reaching out to people with attention. I know tons of people who would just like a friend to spend a little time and listen to them. Friendships and new relationships with others needs to be intentional. Taking a step to meet and greet someone may take an ounce of courage, but imagine the impact and joy we could bring to someone who is just lonely or down. If you wish to change or impact someone, you must first learn to love. And it's impossible to love others without filling up on God's love first. Soak up on God's love, then glorify Him back by loving other people.

2) Recess
Remember back in the day when were only a few feet tall? Remember back in elementary school when they had breaks throughout the day? What did they call those 15 minute breaks again? That's right. They called in Recess! Recess is what we need today. Whens the last time you ran around laughing with friends just for fun. When is the last time you played a game of kickball, tag, foursquares, or dodgeball? Whens the last time we sat down and decided to catch bugs and put them into sand mazes. ( i did that all the time, lol) When we were kids, we knew how to enjoy life. Now days we trap ourselves in dark theaters, sit down in front of television screens, and spend hours watching someone else live life. We're addicted to movies because we consider them more entertaining than our own lives. We watch other people chase their dreams, experience love and live their lives. Why?? Because we want to escape our realities. We rather watch some imaginary people on a screen rather than be the main character in life. Im not saying movies are bad, (Avatar was bomb!). Im saying we need to relearn how to create our own realities instead of getting caught up with every new sitcom. Why spend hours listening to music, when you can go out and create your own unique tune? Why watch a basketball game when you could go out and shoot some hoops? Why not experience life for ourselves? Don't waste your life in the audience when you could be out chasing your own dreams and passions. Recess is a time to go out, experience God, play at the beach, have a water balloon fight, and create memories with friends. Recess is a time to meet with God and soak up His infinte love. Recess is a time to forget about all your stupid worries. Recess is a time to live, play and enjoy being a child of God.

3) New Year's Goals
Many people use the New Year to bring about a fresh start. This New Year is a time to reflect on our mistakes, forgive ourselves, direct our focus on our goals, deepen our relationship with Christ, sharpen our character and look forward to what the future holds. This year my walk with God has had its ups and downs. It's great to hear the voice of God say "I love you my child", "Dont worry, I am with you." It's great to see the Holy Spirit alive and active in your life. It's great to truly connect with God and embrace His salvation. I grew a lot in many areas, but also had many dry seasons. It's so easy to get distracted from your goals. It's so easy to lose sight of your ambitions. Anyone can make goal, but only few hold themselves to it. My main goal for 2010 is to spend more quality time with God. I have been lazy and sloppy in my pursuit at times. I want to learn what it truly looks like to trust Him daily, to have a life of intimate prayer, and to abide in His love. I want consistency and growth. I want my heart obsessed with Jesus. I want to grow in knowledge. I want a stronger pursuit of righteousness, and joyful obedience. I want to sanctify my sins, and leave them at the cross. I want to grow in the transformation of my mind, and set my heart on 24/7 worship mode. These things all come down to spending more quality time with the Lord and by living by the Holy Spirit. The more i soak up God's love, the easier I can love and help others.

4) Identity
The reason i wanted to talk about Identity, is because it seems many are looking for who they are. Not everyone is searching. Many have given into false identities. (Living as someone they really arn't.) Some have given up. Others have never tried or even pondered the thought. Why settle for the status quo? Why aim for average? Why are so many satisfied with just following the american dream? Why have we become more concerned with finding our significant other, with the number in our bank accounts, with our social networks, with our apperances and reputations, with the new fashion styles and new restraunts? We have numbed our minds and are no longer even curious about God. It's probably because it has become inconceivable that there is anything greater than this world. As John Piper says it, "We have become so awashed in the water, we have become like fish. We no longer dream of air anymore. We have lost our capacity to even know we miss it, because we are so comfortable down below in the warm water." Most people are still craving a sense of purpose, meaning and significance. We all want to be loved and valued. But don't bother looking to the greatest lover. We all want a sense of fulfillment. But we continue to turn to the approval of others rather than seeing ourselves through God's eyes. We all look for a place to fit in. But the only way to find our true meaning and purpose is to first find our identity. I believe our identities can all be found in Christ. When we realize that we are a beloved child of God, it becomes clear in what we are to do. Why be defined by social standards, by other people or even by ourselves, when we are already defined as a child of God? What does a child of God really look like? How exactly do they live? What does their heart look like? If you're searching for yourself, I would suggest finding who you are in Christ. How does God see you? Who does God say you are? What's His will for you?

5) Discipline
One of my goals i forgot to mention in my goals, is Discipline. I definitely need to grow in self control. It's easy to follow Christ when you're on spiritual highs and your heart is on fire for the Lord. But when trials arise and competition against God distract us, it comes down to how we manage ourselves. God disciplines us and calls us to repentance, but we also have a part in disciplining ourselves. How do we accomplish our goals when we lose our motivation? I think it can be solved with just devoting time to God. If we can truly sit and wait upon the Lord, and just talk to Him as our Abba Father, then I believe He empowers us with the Holy Spirit. Getting just a taste of God's love should be enough to motivate us to live for Him. When you're in your time of need, trust upon God, and He'll give you the strength to accomplish your goals.
"Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever." Psalm 73:25-26

Rejuvinated

"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14

Worship

Lately God has been reminding me of the importance of worship. God calls us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices as our spiritual act of worship. True worship is giving our entire heart to God, and standing strong for Christ daily. We worship God through our joy, obedience, and through loving others. In fact we were created to worship and glorify God with our lives. We worship in Spirit and Truth to life His name high. I find it interesting that while we worship and praise Him, God fills us with the Holy Spirit to help, strengthen and guide us. Worship brings the believer into a closer and deeper intimacy with the Lord. Worship and prayer is a direct window to connect with the Living God.

In this busy and stressful season, God has shown me that He is truly everything i need. I lack absolutely nothing because i am completely satisfied and delighted in Jesus as my treasure. When i walk through storms, God speaks and says "Don't worry, I am with you." There is no greater comfort than knowing how faithful our God is. God basically tells us to abide in Him, and to lean, trust and rely on Him. His love diffuses and surpasses all our fears. We have all the reason to worship and rejoice, because our God has redeemed us, conquered sin, and by His grace given us eternal salvation in Him. We need to be reminded of these things daily and not take our eyes off the cross.

In the book of John, I love how Christ testifies for Himself. He basically talks about Himself in third person and points to Himself as the Way, Truth and Life. He says that God the Father glorifies Him! That He is the Light to this dark world. He reveals Himself as the Good Shepherd. He is also the gate unto salvation. He is also a King, a Cornerstone, a Vine and the Resurrection. On of the best illustrations is how He depicts Himself as the Bread of Life.

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
John 6:35

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14-15

"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."
John 15:5