Okay, it’s been a while since my last entry - I took a vacation during the holidays. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas followed by an incredible new year celebration. For those of you who weren’t able to join us at the Point on New Year’s eve, you missed out. We wrapped up our 36 hour prayer cycle by seeking the Lord together in prayer and worship. We heard many testimonies of what God had done in people’s lives in 07′ - which was very encouraging! God has been so good to us, and I know even greater things lie ahead for our ministry in 08′. God met with us on New Year’s eve and it was a blessing - for me it wasn’t one of those overwhelming times of brokenness, but just a sweet time of fellowship with the Lord and each other. I love you guys, and I love when we all come together just to seek the Lord - there are few things better than that.
Before going to the Point that night, my family and I had a New Years dinner with some friends. They have a tradition of making resolutions for the coming year. They can be something physical, spiritual, emotional, silly or serious; whatever. As we were going around the table and sharing what we were “resolved” to do in 2008, I began to consider my walk with the Lord. “What am I resolved to do for God this year?” I was reminded just then of my greatest problem in my walk with the Lord - resolution. Not necessarily my desire to live for Jesus, but my “self effort” to do so. I have heard people make statements like this over the years, “I believe that you just need to do your best in everything, and then let God take it from there”. That sounds good on the surface (sort of like a New Year’s resolution), but at it’s core it is a very self centred statement. I am going to do my best, and then let God take it from there. God doesn’t want our best and he doesn’t care about our resolutions. From what I know of human history and my own life, trying our best has brought utter failure when it comes to the things of God. It didn’t work for Adam and Eve in the garden, and it’s still not working. The Lord is doesn’t want us to try harder, he wants us to die harder. We are constantly trying to offer him the best of our “self effort” - our flesh, our old life. Paul said in Romans 7 that in us there is no good thing. We have nothing of our own to give that is worthy of God’s use. But we have been deceived (especially in the U.S.) into believing that when we bring our best effort to the table, then God will bless it - because “God helps those who help themselves”. Well, check out Genesis chapter four and see how that theory worked out for a guy named Cain. God is our Help - period. We have nothing to help ourselves with. When we finally come to the conclusion that Jesus was actually telling us the truth in John 15 when he said “with out me, you can do nothing”; then God can begin to work in and through our lives.
So, when it came my turn to speak at our New Years dinner, my resolution was “less of me, more of God”. I want to offer God this life that He has given me - not my old man, but the new man that is renewed in Christ Jesus. I don’t want to give him my best (which the bible calls a filthy rag), but I want to give him his best. I am resolved to do less in 08′ so that God can do more. What is your new years resolution?
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