First of all, may I wish you all a very Happy New Year. As we look back over the past year to God’s faithfulness to us as a church, we have much that should give us encouragement to trust him to continue to be at work amongst us by his Holy Spirit in 2010.
I wonder how many of you made New Year resolutions. According to research, the top four resolutions that people make are
1. Lose weight and get in better physical shape
2. Stick to a budget
3. Reduce debt
4. Enjoy more quality time with family and friends
Sadly, many of these good intentions will have been discarded within a few weeks – attendance at the gym or Weight Watchers will have tailed off, the limit on spending will be broken as you see ‘just what you needed’ in the January sales, and the ever-increasing pressure to work longer hours will yet again impinge on family life.
The trouble is not with the intentions people make, but the fact that many of us lack the will power to carry them through for any length of time.
This is where being a Christian should make a difference to our lives. Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, says ‘I can do everything through him who gives me strength’. And therein lies the answer! It is possible to succeed, but only in God’s strength, not in ours. Rather therefore than make a ‘one-off’ resolution at the beginning of the year, why not make one daily? - asking God for the strength to overcome one fear or failing, or putting aside a short time for prayer and Bible reading. Then when you get to the end of the day be able to say to God ‘ We managed it together!’ Tomorrow will then bring another new day to prove his power afresh.
