In celebration of the new year, we’ll take a look at what the world is saying about resolutions and expectations for 2010.
The Danger of Distracting Ourselves
Alvin Reed, at Between the Times, writes that he sees the problem with most resolutions is this:
Rather than asking God to show us what truly must be changed—the rock upon which we continually stumble, the question we never want to face, the one habit we know we SHOULD change—we choose another area on which to focus. Problem: even if we make a valiant commitment to change in another area, we may succeed in that commitment and yet fail at discipleship.
Read the rest of his post to see why he says you should have a resolution in only one area of your life that desperately needs improvement, rather than planning sweeping changes or doing something easy.
Planning an Intentional Devotional Life for 2010
If, after reading The Danger of Distracting Ourselves above, you are convicted to focus on your devotional life, then JR Vassar offers some tips. The advice he gives is classic yet timely and his introduction really caught my attention: “You won’t accidentally get close to God.” He continues with these two points (out of many):
Have a no exemption time and place to meet with God. If you do not schedule in focused time with God, everything else in your life will schedule it out. Have a time and place and treat it as an appointment with the most important person in the universe. And, keep it; no excuses. It might be morning, evening, night, whatever. Just pick a time that you devote to seeking God with uninterrupted focus. If you have to put it on your calendar, do it.
Have a plan. What will you do during that time? The obvious answer is that the time will at least include contemplative bible reading and prayer. But, what will be the content of that contemplative reading? There are several options and no one option is best or right. You need to find what keeps you engaged and maybe even mix it up a little.
Be sure to read the rest of the article for ways to improve your devotional times.
Justin Taylor at The Gospel Coalition references a list of 10 Bible reading plans from ESV.org and reviews four of them. Pick one out if you need a plan for your Intentional Devotional Life.
What are your New Year’s Resolutions? What’s your plan to accomplish them? Leave a comment below!
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