Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Happy New Year!

Well, Christmas is over. The presents are all in use and you might want to stay up late and watch some glass ball thing fall on New Year's Eve. You also might be working on your New Year Resolutions. As Christians, what should be our resolutions as we go into 2012? I want to present to you today 3 points that you should add.


We should read our Bibles.

Reading our Bibles is known theologically as "special revelation," the way God reveals Himself to us. It is a sure way to draw us closer to Him. So I challenge you to consider a yearly Bible reading plan with me. If you'd like to do this, please leave a comment so that we can keep each other accountable to it. Or if you'd like, you can send me an email at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com.


We should pray.

Where are you in your prayer life? Do you really believe that God answers prayers? Well, He does. He's answered many prayers in my life, even for small things that most people would think God doesn't care about. He really does care about you and what your individual needs are. Praying is our way of talking to God, a direct line, if I may. Praying is another vital part of the Christian life.

And last, but not least...

We should reflect on and share the news of Jesus Christ.

When people look at us, we want them to see Jesus shining through us and His joy radiating from us. This is also vital. Acts 4:13 says: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Do you want that to be said of you? That you were with Jesus and people could see Him through you?

Not only should people "see" Jesus in us, but we should "tell" them the Good News! We do this by witnessing every chance we get.


Contrary to popular belief, we do need to change. As Christians, we continually go through the sanctification process. We are changed to become more like Christ. Through the things I have discussed above, you can cultivate a deeper relationship with Christ.

I challenge you today to include these into your resolution-- that you'll read your Bible, pray, and reflect Jesus by sharing the Good News.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, feel free to contact me through my email address (above) and I'll try and help answer any questions you may have.

God Bless, and Happy New Year!

Matthew

4 comments:

Josiah said...

I accept the challange, I would be happy to share the journey with you and read the whole Bible before 2013! Awesome post! Thanks for sharing!

Allison said...

I already planned on reading through the Bible in a year, with my whole family!! I know there are a lot of reading plans, but I think I am just going to read approx. 4 chapters a day, starting in Genesis!

Josiah said...

4 chapters a day, that sounds like a good idea! :D The beginning of the Bible is always the hardest for me...only because there is a lot about the law in Exodus and Leviticus. However, these were written and commanded by God Himself, and knowing what God wanted us to do before Jesus csan be very interesting!

Tane Hannah said...

Reading the Bible is very important, and especially Genesis. I mean, if you didn't read Genesis, the rest of the Bible wouldn't make much sense, would it? :)
Lots of love
Tane♥