“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6

You’re at the beginning of a new year. What plans do you have for yourself in the year to come? And how do you choose your goals for each new year?

As we stand at the beginning of another year, Proverbs 3:5-6 offers us direction and guidance. You and I desperately need God’s direction in our lives. How do we receive it? By trusting in the Lord with all of our hearts and not leaning on our own understanding. God doesn’t ask us to stop using our brains, but He does want us to avoid relying on our own self-confidence, despite the world’s affirmation of that trait. Often what the world affirms, the Lord abhors. God wants us to rely on Him and Him alone. So as you choose goals for the year, trust God to guide you. Don’t use your own reasoning to back up your plans; ask God to guide you, then listen for His answer.

The Proverbs passage promises us that if we acknowledge God, He’ll direct our paths. So how do we acknowledge God? We acknowledge our Lord by seeing Him in every aspect of our lives, by having a vision of Him and His providential workings in and through us. We acknowledge Him by seeking Him first in all we do and by obeying His commandments. What has God done in your life recently? And how can you remain obedient to His call on your life?

As we acknowledge God’s rightful place in our lives, He’ll direct us along the pathways of our lives. He does this in three main ways. First, God directs us through His Word. As long as we follow Scripture, we can be certain we’re traveling the right path. Second, God directs us through circumstances in our lives. Sometimes He guides us by opening doors, sometimes by closing them. Sometimes He makes our paths smooth; sometimes He allows us to fall flat on our faces. Sometimes He removes obstacles; sometimes He throws them in our way. Third, God guides us through His Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit’s “still small voice” pulls us back from a venture we’ve planned, and only much later we discover that He has spared us from disaster.

Although we may not always see God’s hand immediately, He does guide us when we trust Him. Often we only see His guidance in retrospect. But we can rely on His promise to provide direction if we trust Him in every aspect of our lives—in our home lives, at work, at school, as we drive our car, as we eat our meals, as we conduct business. As you ponder your goals for the year, invite God to guide you. As you acknowledge Him, He’ll direct you down the right path for your life.

“Jesus, Savior, pilot me, over life’s tempestuous sea.”
Edward Hopper

“. . . one thing I do . . .”

— Philippians 3:13

Have you ever watched interviews of athletes who have won come-from-behind victories? What do these people almost invariably credit for their ability to win games? Focus. Concentration. Fixing their eyes on the goal, then playing their best to achieve it.

As Christians, we, too, need to focus our attention on our goal—to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The apostle Paul knew his goal. He pressed toward the mark, keeping “one thing” in mind, just as Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem. Paul was not distracted by past failures. Instead, he persistently reached forward, toward things ahead. He wanted to share the Gospel with as many Gentiles as he could. Though beaten, imprisoned, and shipwrecked, he never gave up; he pressed on with the “one thing” he had to do.

Think of the impact we could make if we imitated Paul just as he imitated Christ.

Unfortunately, we often lack this kind of concentration. We begin something but get sidetracked and go on to something else. Then something new further distracts us, and off we go in that direction. In this way we hop from one distraction to another.

Does this sound familiar?

For those of us who feel this scenario hits a little too close to home, I believe we need to pursue the same thing pursued by athletes, the apostle Paul, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: self-discipline. How? By engaging in three actions that will contribute to our success. First, we need to carefully select definite and clear-cut goals, both long-range and shortrange, that lead to our ultimate goal—to glorify God and enjoy him forever. We must choose these goals with the intention of glorifying God and advancing His kingdom. Second, we need to stay focused. We must maintain a burning desire to reach our goals. If something distracts us, we need to return our focus to our ultimate goal. And third, we need to create workable plans. We cannot reach a goal without charting a course to meet it. I agree with the maxim “People do not plan to fail; they just fail to plan.”

Today take some time to evaluate your ability to maintain your focus. If you think you’ve fallen short, read through the three actions that lead to self-discipline, and prayerfully commit to one way you can cultivate focus in your life. Then put it into action, and wait for God to show you the results of focusing on that “one thing” in your life.

“Plan your work, and work your plan.”
Unknown

“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years . . . it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”

— Psalm 90:10

Each morning we receive one brand-new, shiny, golden day, set with twenty-four jeweled hours. Every one of us receives precisely the same amount of time each day. Today some of us will use our twenty-four hours to God’s glory and the betterment of humankind, others will waste them, and still others will use them for evil. Each of us has the same amount, and what we do with this day will have eternal consequences.

How will you invest this day?

Time is an irreplaceable asset. Once it’s gone, we can never get it back. Scripture tells us that one day time will cease and eternity will begin. When that happens, we will have to account for how we spent the time God gave us. So we must choose wisely the ways we invest it.

When we speak of investing, we usually speak of investing money. People invest money because they realize that they must prepare for their future, for later years in this life. As believers in God, we must realize that we have an eternal future to prepare for and that we need to invest our time wisely that we might have dividends, not only in this life, but forever.

So what are wise investments of our time? We invest our time wisely when we concern ourselves with the things that concern God—when our hearts break with the sorrows that break God’s heart. And what breaks God’s heart more than lost people? Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He gave His life looking for us. He died to redeem us. This was His joy. Christ finished the work God gave Him, and He sends us into the world to do the same.

So today, invest yourself in people as much as possible. As you invest your time in people and the great work of Christ’s kingdom, you invest in eternity.

“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked with a
mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are
mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is
immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and
exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.”
C. S. Lewis

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me . . .”

— Psalm 23:6

Do you have bright hopes and ambitious plans for the year ahead? I think we should purpose to make this year a great one for God’s glory. But how can we do that? We lay our plans and make our resolutions, and yet, sometimes what we deemed the year of great prospects turns out to be a year of disaster. One recent study found that seventy percent of people couldn’t keep their new year resolutions even through the month of January, much less the whole year.

So how can you and I make this new year great? Let me offer a prescription of five elements that can contribute to an excellent year . . . even to a successful life. You can find these elements in Proverbs 3:1-10, wherein God promises that if we obey His commands, we will experience “long life and peace.” As you read through the passage, you’ll find these themes:

1. Keep God’s commands for a long and happy life.
2. Live by mercy and truth for popularity and a good reputation.
3. Trust in and acknowledge the Lord for direction and guidance.
4. Fear the Lord, and forsake evil for good health.
5. Honor and give to the Lord your possessions for financial well-being.

Generally speaking, if you follow each command, you’ll receive each corresponding reward. But keep in mind that these are general principles, not guarantees. Many people who live good and godly lives do not experience all five consequences.

Neither are these “five easy steps” to Paradise. We don’t achieve admittance to Heaven by following any set of rules or living a good life. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that we receive salvation by God’s grace only; never by human works. But if we love Jesus, we want to show Him that love by obeying His Word.

This year ask God to show you what goals He has for you. Then ask Him how you can achieve those goals. Submit yourself to Him and purpose to love Him in all you do, and you’ll most definitely have a happy and spiritually prosperous year.

“A year of self-surrender will bring larger blessings
than fourscore years of selfishness.”
Anonymous

The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from now and for evermore.

— Psalm 121:8

As we come to the close of another year, we see that the Lord has been with us. He has watched over and protected us. Yes, there has been trouble and pain, but He has been with us every step of the way.

The Lord is the One who helps us through it all. As the psalmist said, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2).

In all the hurry and hustle and bustle of modern life, we need to give God time to heal us and cure us, to build us up and strengthen us in Him. We need to trust in Christ and find that place of quiet rest. As one poet put it:

Slow me down Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory…
Let me look upward to the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.

Question to ponder:
How have you grown in the Lord this year?

And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye than having two eyes to be thrown into the fire of hell.

— Matthew 18:9

Jesus took hell very seriously. He spoke about it as a real place to avoid at all costs.

The most awful thing imaginable would be to die and go into eternity without Christ; to stand before the judgment bar of Almighty God, who knows your every thought and word and deed, and to have all of your sins brought out before the universe and be justly condemned unto eternal perdition and cast out into a lake of fire.

There are some people who have tried every conceivable way to deny the reality of impending judgment for unrepentant sinners. This ranges from denying that there is a God who could possibly punish them; to denying that there is a Hell where they could be punished; to denying that a loving God would ever send anyone there (even such a reprobate as themselves); to claiming that God must, at least, give everyone the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

Not that this would help them, because they have been doing what people constantly try to do, which is to justify themselves by condemning God and end up proving that God is unjust and unfair and unloving, and they themselves must be, by comparison, pretty decent sort of folks.

Since Jesus took hell so seriously, so should we.

Question to ponder:
Is there anything in your life that you should get rid off, anything that hinders your Christian walk?

Truly I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, will not lose his reward.

— Mark 9:41

Christianity is not a spectator sport. Christ does not call us to be “spectator Christians.” There are some people in our churches, however, who, to my knowledge, have never done any work at all. They have merely seen themselves as spectators. They come to watch on Sunday morning, and that is the extent of what they do. They never put their shoulder to the wheel. They never dirty their hands. They never exert themselves in any work.

But Christ says in His letter to the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2:19, “I know you works, love, service, faith, and your patience, and that you last works are more than the first.” Christ had not forgotten their good works.

I am so glad that many Christians are always working and serving the Lord with love and patience. Christ calls us to get into the arena and glorify Him by our good works. Any deed done in Jesus’ name is precious to Him and has its reward, whether in this life or the next.

Question to ponder:
Saved, not by works, but saved unto good works—how do these truths connect?

… if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and are not removed from the hope of the gospel …

— Colossians 1:23

In his book To Light a Fire, Jack London describes a man walking through the freezing, frigid cold of Alaska, where the temperature had dropped down to 40 degrees below zero. The biting cold was searing his lungs and throat, freezing his breath and his hands and feet. He was utterly exhausted. He felt, at length, that if only he could sit down for a few minutes and regain his strength, perhaps he could go on and make it to his home.

Having sat down and leaned back against the snow, he began to feel the burning pain assuage, until he felt a warmth that surged through his body. He began to relax. He thought, “If I could just lean my head against the bank of snow and perhaps catch a few minutes sleep, then I would be refreshed and able to go on.” And so he closed his eyelids and soon slept the sleep of death.

So Satan would have us to be comfortable in our apostasy. The one thing he doesn’t want us to do is come back to God and rejoice in His presence and His love. Sometimes we need to be startled awake and realize that we have slidden back. We need to realize we are far from that comfortable relationship of joy and intimacy that once we knew—that comfort that only Christ can give—and be drawn back to Him.

Question to ponder:
How can you watch your walk so that you draw closer to the Lord and not away from Him?

Let the peace of God, to which also you are called in one body, rule in your hearts. And be thankful.

— Colossians 3:15

A young lady told me that all her life at Christmas time she always felt very sad, because no matter whether she was in the church or out, she always felt she was standing outside the candy store looking through the window. Now that she knows Christ, however, she said, she is on the inside, and her heart is filled with joy.

Joy is to be shared, and we need to keep busy helping others, praying for others, witnessing to others, and sharing our joy. Joy is increased by sharing. The more we give to other people as we encourage and uplift them, the more our joy is increased. The result: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will protect your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). It is true joy which leads to peace, and the two are closely linked to each other.

The term used here for “protect” is an interesting one. It is a military term. Paul brings the idea of peacefulness, serenity, into close accompaniment to a military term. The word means “to garrison, to set up as a fortress, to guard with armed soldiers.” The peace of God will “garrison” our hearts from all of the buffetings of this life, if we will do these things.

Question to ponder:
How does the peace of God rule in the human heart?

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. He endured by looking to Him who is invisible.

— Hebrews 11:27

The Bible gives us examples of both shortsightedness and farsighted vision. Certainly it was shortsighted for Eve and Adam to contemplate only the immediate delight and satisfaction that would come from eating the forbidden fruit. They didn’t take the long look at the consequences that would come.

Abraham, on the other hand, was a man of great vision. We are told that he sought a city whose builder and maker was God, though he passed through many of the cities of this world. He was looking for something that had foundations, something permanent, something that would last—a city whose builder and maker was God.

Moses is a prime example of a man with farsighted vision. We are told that he endured, seeing Him who is invisible. That is what we are called upon to do. We are not to look merely upon the things that are seen, things that are temporal, but upon the things that are unseen and eternal.

Yet most people spend more time planning for a two-week vacation than for where they are going to spend eternity. How many people have told me that they are ready to die, because they have made out their will and they have bought a burial plot. That is not adequate preparation. Let us look beyond this world and see things from an eternal perspective.

Question to ponder:
How is your present affected by the eternal?