The start of a New Year means a time for New Years
Resolutions right? Which means that we resolve to do a thing or two better than
it was done the year before. And of
course there is absolutely nothing wrong with resolutions especially if it’s a
step in the right direction.
I always make them and of course I always break them but at
least I try. To be honest each
resolution that I have made over the years more often than not has become in
many ways a part of my life. I might loose some steam along the way especially
about the time I hit mid February early March, but generally speaking once I
start them especially if they produce the result I’m looking for I do seem to incorporate
that new thing into my life. Case in
point, about four years ago I resolved to start blogging and though I have not
always blogged as consistently as I would like to I have not stopped since whenever
I first began. So I would have to say at least for me resolutions have never been
bad things. They’ve always been positive additions to my life.
Ok, you're probably waiting on my list of a few resolutions
and I won't disappoint but first I want to give you some bible, remember it's
always good to get a truth from our heads and place that thing deep down
into our hearts. Check this verse out
Leviticus 23:23-25 “And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 24 Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first [day] of the month, shall ye have a
sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 Ye shall do
no servile work [therein]: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the
LORD.”
Now this seventh month for the Jew was the beginning of the
New Year. Remember seven means, for the Jew, completion or perfection and of
course for the Jew the seventh month was also the beginning of celebration of
Feast for their Jewish New Year, which is called Rosh Hashanah. It's during
this time that the Jew in the Old Testament used the start of a New Year as a time of reflection, repentance and
refocusing.
Now before you get all bent out of shape I’m not suggesting
for a minute that we Christians convert to Judaism but I am saying that there
is a great deal of wisdom in taking the time at the start of a New Year to Reflect
on the previous year, Repent of those things that
are necessary to repent of and finally Refocusing on what to do
better moving forward. This is why at the beginning of the Jewish
New Year they had what is called Holy Convocation, which was a time for them to
come together and reflect and read from God’s word together with other
Jews. This is where we Christians get
our Watch Meeting services from that are usually held on New Years Eve. Then the text says that they have a time of
“memorial of blowing of the trumpets” this of course was a time of recounting
or a retelling of what God had done or how he had blessed and delivered them in
the previous year. This is so important
for us to do as Christians. If you forget what God has brought you through it
becomes easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you're doing everything on your
own, without God’s help. We all know that this is far from the truth.
Ok I know your waiting on my resolutions and I’m going to
list them and at the same time pray that God helps me to stay focused to see
them through until next year.
- I resolve to talk less and listen more…for me this is gonna be a tuffy
- I resolve to start and finish a book…I have several things to write about and I’m also open to suggestions.
- I resolve to have more fun enjoying time with my wife and family…we do a lot together but not nearly enough
- I resolve not to sweat the small stuff…I’m going to treat more things like ducks treat water. I’m gonna let it run right off my back. This is going to be most difficult. I can’t care for people more than God does.
- I resolve to pray more…I love reading books and studying God’s word but my prayer life is truly lacking.
- I resolve to love more like Jesus…Not sure what this looks like for me but God knows
- I resolve to stay focused on my calling…this is personal. God knows what I’m talking about.
Thanks for stopping by…Let’s Go
