Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Years Day

Today starts the New Year!  

Resolutions should be firmly in place and started today right?  Does anyone else take today off and plan to start tomorrow?  I mean really today is a holiday right?

As much as I truly LOVED my class last semester I found myself reading so much theology that I didn't read my Bible.  This semester and this year I don't want that to happen.  My resolution is to read through the Bible in a year.  I know, a lofty goal.  I've never accomplished it before (I have read through the Bible, just not in a year).   So why choose now when I have a so many other things going on ?   Really, my intent behind this resolution is to open the bible and read it everyday.  Yes I would like to get through the whole thing but   I will consider it a success if a year from now I read something from God each day in 2013.

I have to confess though, that I have kind of already cheated!  I started early.  I started after Christmas and since I don't have any theology to read right now, I have read a handful of chapters every day.  I printed out a schedule that has me skipping around a little but it does look like there is some kind of method to the madness so to speak.

One day as I was reading Romans 2, I was struck by this whole idea of New Year's resolutions.  I too have made commitments to eat less, exercise more, have more quality family time, etc.  These are all very good goals to have, don't misunderstand me.  But what if instead of making goals to improve our appearances we made goals to improve our character?  To be more like Christ.

I remember a song from when I was young, "and they will know we are Christians by our love..."  is that still true today?  Do people recognize us, me, you as a follower of Christ based purely on the way we love those around us? Do we obey what we hear in church on sunday or read in our bible throughout the week, or is it simply head knowledge?  Do we love like Jesus did?  That would be a good New Year's Resolution!

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