December 31st

December 31st

We have discussed the practical steps of discipleship so that everyone has a frame of reference to use as we move into the new year. We want the year ahead to be different, we want to have God’s results in our lives not just good results. One of the reasons for having the steps is to allow us to actually see change in our lives. It is SO easy to just keep drifting along and never address the things in our hearts and lives that need to change. But the Lord wants disciples, He wants to see transformation in us, and that doesn’t happen if we just keep doing our own thing. So, these practical steps give us a way to evaluate and measure change in our lives.

We often waste time complaining that we want our circumstances or situations to change, when we should be thinking instead about how we can allow our situations to change us. I wonder if we were quicker to learn from our circumstances, would our circumstances change quicker? Maybe. Our circumstances shape us no matter what, but we can determine whether we let them shape us for the better or worse. Do they make us bitter and cold/hardened or do they make us durable, resilient and more dependent on Jesus? Is our first reaction to whine and complain or is it to pray and ask the Lord about the situation? Our perspective impacts how we handle situations and people. As this year winds down to a close and we begin a new one, ask the Lord to give you His perspective.

Ask Him to help you see the disappointments of the past year through His eyes, ask Him to help you see the small victories, ask Him to help you see how you have grown and to help you remember all the blessings.

Ask Him to help you approach the new year with His perspective, to help you see the tasks ahead as He does and to see the people you find challenging through His eyes. Ask Him to give you the strength you need to tackle all that He has planned for you.

2 Corinthians 5:16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Ask Him to help you see the unseen, to walk in faith and remember that the things unseen are eternal and the seen is temporary. Ask Him to remind you of all that you learned in Revelation and let that affect your perspective of EVERYTHING.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

If you are weary, ask Him for strength. Troubled or anxious? Ask for His peace. Full of grief or disappointment? Ask Him for Joy. Whatever your need, look to Him. Leave this year in His capable hands, all of the mistakes and regrets, the victories, the failures and the blessings. He is God of them all, close this year out by laying it all on the altar. You are forgiven and you are loved, so walk forward in the freedom of that knowledge. -And share that knowledge with someone else today so that they can walk into the new year in freedom too.

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus, forgive me for all of my sins of this year. Forgive me for thinking I know best, forgive my pride and arrogance, forgive my neglect and forgive me for when I intentionally didn’t do the right thing because I just didn’t want to. Help me to do better this year. Thank you for making me new and giving me the opportunity to start over. I give you my heart and life Lord, let me be a reflection of you and may you be glorified by my life. I commit this past year to you, help me not to rehash any of it in an unhealthy way. Thank you for your grace, mercy and love that sets me free.