T.G.T.H.A.O.
January 5, 2010
by Christie Mullins
Thank God the holidays are over. Don’t get me wrong—I love the holiday season. I love the Christmas story and thoughts of that holy night when Christ was born. To think that the Creator of the universe in a miracle of condescension sent His Son, the King of kings, to this earth to live with His creation is incredible! And to further think that this holy and superior baby was born in a stable and spent His first night on the planet in a feeding trough is almost too much for my feeble mind to grasp. Such passionate abandon of human conventions for the sake of love and reconciliation! And as much as I tried to remain pensive and not to let the hustle and bustle that inevitably comes overtake my December—it inevitably came. As I struggled upstream against the flow of a commercialized holiday, I was lost in a flood of presents, holiday traditions, and food preparation.
One good thing about the busyness of the season is that it leaves me hungry for the fresh start of the New Year—the chance to resolve to do better! At this moment I am trying to remember if any of my New Years resolutions have actually lasted all year. I resolve annually to spend more time reading my Bible. I did keep that one in 2009 with a “Through the Bible in a Year” plan. Did I actually read through the Bible in one year? That is a different story and a new resolution! Getting more sleep is another repeat resolution. I could make that one year after year and never feel that it has been fully resolved! Any Moms out there that can relate? New Years resolutions are really a matter of momentum. Seizing the opportunity afforded by the New Year and harnessing the momentum of a fresh start is the heart of New Years resolutions. I do prayerfully make resolutions at the start of the year, but I am so thankful that the Lord offers that same fresh start throughout the year. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that the Lord’s compassions never fail and they are new every morning! In 1 John 1:9 we read that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. What better start is there than knowing we are cleansed from all unrighteousness? Is there anything better than knowing that God credits our faith as righteousness and will never count our sins against us as Romans 4 says? Praise God that no matter what we resolve to do in this New Year and no matter how soon we fail in our resolutions, God is faithful and will not disown us (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Let us, therefore, resolve to accept all the grace He has offered us and use it to seek Him and know Him this year.
[...] Read the original here: T.G.T.H.A.O. : Wisdom for Women : Christian Articles [...]