Focus on Jesus THE ONLY RESOLUTION WORTH MAKING
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt. 6:33.
There was a father who wished his son would stop chewing his fingernails. He talked to him about it, but the son responded that his father's smoking bothered him. So they made a deal that the father would give up his smoking if the son would give up chewing his fingernails. Now the father is chewing his fingernails, and the son has taken up smoking!
What sort of resolution do you make at the beginning of a new year? I'd like to suggest that almost all resolutions have to do with some problem in behavior. They are connected with something that should have been done that wasn't, or something that shouldn't have been done that was.
Our scripture today reminds us that the God we serve is big enough to take care of all the necessities of our lives, when we seek Him first. He can take care of not only our physical necessities but all the rest of our needs as well--including the sorts of things we usually make resolutions about.
Have you ever discovered that your promises were like ropes of sand? Steps to Christ, page 47, talks about it. Have you ever discovered for yourself the truth that "our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them" (ibid., p. 18)?
All our efforts toward fixing up the external, behavioral areas of our lives are of no avail, because they simply focus our attention on ourselves and draw our minds away from Jesus, who is the only source of power. He has said that all power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. He is able to take care of that problem in your life you have been struggling with all year--the one you made the resolution about last year, and failed after the first three days. He's big enough to take care of every problem we face today.
I would like to invite you today to make a resolution not to make any more resolutions, except one. It's the only resolution worth making. It has to do with the heart, not with externals only. And there is only one resolution that affects the heart, the motives, and purposes. It has to do with choosing the relationship with Jesus day by day, of seeking to know Him, of spending time with Him who is the answer to all life's questions.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matt. 6:33.
There was a father who wished his son would stop chewing his fingernails. He talked to him about it, but the son responded that his father's smoking bothered him. So they made a deal that the father would give up his smoking if the son would give up chewing his fingernails. Now the father is chewing his fingernails, and the son has taken up smoking!
What sort of resolution do you make at the beginning of a new year? I'd like to suggest that almost all resolutions have to do with some problem in behavior. They are connected with something that should have been done that wasn't, or something that shouldn't have been done that was.
Our scripture today reminds us that the God we serve is big enough to take care of all the necessities of our lives, when we seek Him first. He can take care of not only our physical necessities but all the rest of our needs as well--including the sorts of things we usually make resolutions about.
Have you ever discovered that your promises were like ropes of sand? Steps to Christ, page 47, talks about it. Have you ever discovered for yourself the truth that "our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them" (ibid., p. 18)?
All our efforts toward fixing up the external, behavioral areas of our lives are of no avail, because they simply focus our attention on ourselves and draw our minds away from Jesus, who is the only source of power. He has said that all power is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. He is able to take care of that problem in your life you have been struggling with all year--the one you made the resolution about last year, and failed after the first three days. He's big enough to take care of every problem we face today.
I would like to invite you today to make a resolution not to make any more resolutions, except one. It's the only resolution worth making. It has to do with the heart, not with externals only. And there is only one resolution that affects the heart, the motives, and purposes. It has to do with choosing the relationship with Jesus day by day, of seeking to know Him, of spending time with Him who is the answer to all life's questions.
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