The New year is before us and several will be setting their New Year’s Resolutions.  I would like to suggest only 3.

Spend more time in awe of Jesus.  Daily meditate on who He is and what He has done for you.  Thrive on His word, in prayer, and worship individually and as the body of Christ….What more do we need?

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. ~ 2 Cor 5:21 ESV

Love like He did. Find ways to love those around you.  Sacrifice for your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let needs of others not go unmet this year.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers ~ 1 John 3:16 ESV

Be content whatever the earthly result.  Don’t look to your circumstances to find contentment but look to Jesus and trust in Him.

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The post What Are My 2015 Resolutions? first appeared on Brian Friedl.

Then at some point in the journey, I realized my life was about a harvest of lost souls.  God transformed my heart to leave my dreams behind and enter into the broken world of those around me.

My life of careful control became filled with mess and chaos.  I was broken in my own sin as well as the sins of others.  I began to see the world in a different way.   My spirit groaned inside of me for the wholeness and peace that God can and will bring. I began to experience grief beyond human endurance.

While longing for peace and wholeness, we must not grow weary.  When we are surrounded by depravity, grief, and fear, we must remember who it is that we serve. We serve the One true living God who upholds all things. The one who paid for all of our sins and is transforming us from glory to glory.  The One who never leaves nor forsakes us.  We must not forget our mission to carry the good news to those around us through our words and actions of love.

What does God have for us around the next corner?  Opportunities to demonstrate His redeeming power and faithfulness. He is looking for those who call on His name to stand in the gap and fulfill His great commission.  Don’t get weighed down by the cares of this world.

Our eyes and hearts are open to see and feel the pain of the fall. We can have compassion as a result. There are days where we just want to weep over the great tragedies committed against the name of our God Personally and globally.

We must press on and not lose site of Christ and the vision He has for us.  We must fight with zeal our tendency to settle in comfortable patterns.

Let us leave the comforts of our Egypt and follow our Lord through the desert to the promised land.  Eating and drinking day by day on what He provides. I invite you  a life of adventure never losing our zeal for His name!

Reflection 

What things are causing you to be weary and heavy laden?

Take time today to fix your eyes back on Jesus and the mission he has for you.

Prayer

Father, you have rescued us for a reason.  Let us be the ministers of reconciliation you have called us to be. Fuel us with the joy of Your salvation.  Teach us to embrace the broken and yet be overflowing with joy.  Help us to know, live, and speak the truth, be equipped to love and serve, and skilled to make a difference.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

The post My Fight To Live first appeared on Brian Friedl.