Resolved

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“I do not run without a definite goal; I do not flail around like one beating the air.”—1 Corinthians 9:26, Amplified

It can be easy to talk yourself out of making resolutions for the new year, especially when research shows that many are broken after the first month anyway. Why bother? But when you’re walking in the adventure that is God’s kingdom, you quickly realize that He is all about resolve, intentionality and purpose when it comes to our destiny and our everyday lives…

“For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].”

—Ephesians 2:9-11, Amplified

Which means there is always one resolution truly worth pursuing, a resolve "to decide firmly on a course of action; a firm determination to do something"—getting to know God more and more so that our lives will walk more and more in paths that reflect His goodness and love.

Perfect? Like all other resolutions, this one will be broken within the first month, if not sooner. Potholes, misfires, and wanting do-overs along the way will be a given. But the difference between this resolve and all the other resolutions that people will make on January 1 is that a broken resolution in the hands of the Redeemer is not a failure. Because God’s great grip of grace, how He loves keeping His promise of making all things new, and how He loves continually singing “Perseverance!” over us from January to December, will trump every epic trip and stumble, every time.

In fact, some of the best resolutions we can make for a new year are not resolutions at all, but prayers—a reminder (and relief) that all the outcomes ahead will be in His hands, not ours:

“God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course;

Give me insight so I can do what You tell me—my whole life one long, obedient response.

Guide me down the road of Your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!

Give me a bent for Your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.

Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets; invigorate me on the pilgrim way.

Affirm Your promises to me—promises made to all who fear You.

Deflect the harsh words of my critics—but what You say is always good.

See how hungry I am for Your counsel;

Preserve my life through Your righteous ways.”

—Psalm 119-33-40, Message

For a new year, even just for today, so be it, Lord.

“Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will.”—Jonathan Edwards

[ADAPTED FROM 12-28-14]

Lessons from a Deer Crossing

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"As the deer pants longingly for the water brooks, So my soul pants longingly for You, O God."—Psalm 42:1, Amplified

It is amazing how often what we see everyday that seems routine and matter-of-fact can be a type and shadow of something eternal and essential. 

Like deer crossing signs on the highway. The message is loud and clear: slow down and pay attention.

But how do they know? How do they know that deer like to cross along this particular stretch of highway and not that one? Researchers at Penn State University learned that deer don't usually cross the highway randomly but use known crossing sites taught by those that have gone before them. “Deer didn’t just approach the closest fence section and then decide to cross. It wasn’t just chance that brought them to a particular place. They were seeking them out.”

Further, deer tend to cross the road for two primary reasons: they’re being chased or, depending on the season, they are in pursuit of relationship...

"...the report of His power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear Him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer."

—Luke 5:15-16, NLT

...The root word of the place to which Jesus, and deer, often withdrew is “wild-deer-ness”—a place inhabited only by wild animals like deer, or simply any place where there are no people. No noise. No distractions.

We are never told in the Gospels exactly why Jesus went to the wilderness other than to pray, and that He did so as was His custom. For guidance on choosing disciples? For wisdom on where to minister next? To get away from the never ending pressing in of the crowd and to seek intimacy with His Father without distraction and noise? Probably yes, yes and yes. After all, He once said,  “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”—John 5:19

The great and wonderful mystery of it all is that in one sense, because Jesus is God in the flesh, it would seem that He didn’t need to do any of those things. And yet in Love, He did so anyway, to leave an example for all of us who would follow in His footsteps...

“I am the vine, you are the branches—apart from Me,

you can do nothing.”—John 15:1

...Especially in this hectic month, when people and events and demands are pressing in on all sides, and on top of all the other craziness of the world and daily life, it is good—no, essential—to follow the deer and find that known crossing site of the deep woods, or the woodworking shop, or even a favorite chair in a quiet room, and make it our custom, too, to seek it out regularly.

And pray. And seek guidance and wisdom. And love. And exhale. And be still. And just be. And none of it to merely escape or live passively but to be refueled, like the deer at the brook, to go on in wonderful pursuit of Him, with all we've got.

It could be the greatest gift any of us receive (or re-open) this or any year.

"The pursuit of God is not a part-time, weekend exercise. If it is, chances are you will experience a part-time, weekend freedom. Abiding requires a kind of staying power. The pursuit is relentless. It hungers and thirsts. It pants as the deer after the mountain brook. It takes the kingdom by storm...The pursuit of God is a pursuit of passion. Indifference will not do. To abide in the Word is to hang on tenaciously. A weak grip will soon slip away. Discipleship requires staying power. We sign up for duration. We do not graduate until heaven." - R. C. Sproul

In the Moment

"Should I _____?"

"Wouldn't it be better if I had______?"

"Is _____ what I'm supposed to be doing, and is this it?"

"What if I try ______ over there instead?" 

It's actually a good thing to be asking most of these probing questions, of yourself and of God, as a sort of discipleship tune-up. Simply because it's easy to wander off course and realize you sometimes need a two-by-four awakening to realize you've been fixing your eyes on what really doesn't matter all that much after all. Like that thing you wished you'd never bought as soon as you walked out of the store...

"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."

- Emily Dickinson

...Contentment may be about being satisfied with having just enough of just about anything, but maybe more importantly, it is not about "stuff" at all but about being satisfied with place and purpose — where we are in actual location, career, relationships, or in station of life at any given time. 

Because that is where God has us at the moment, and the greatest sense of contentment that I could ever know is that, no matter what, wherever I am, He is already there, and that is enough. 

Even here, even now...

“A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that’s enough … go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage — do good, be rich in helping others, be extravagantly generous… build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.”

—1 Timothy 6: 6-8, 17-19, The Message

[ADAPTED FROM 6-5-16]