On this first Sunday of the new year, please take a moment to consider these four spiritual commitments that will impact your new year. I propose to you that if you make these four commitments, you will be better, and your year will be better. These will strengthen you, provide blessings to you, produce change in you, and will benefit those around you. Who wouldn’t want all of those things?
I realize that we just left the second of the two roughest years in modern history. In the past century, these are the worst as a nation and globally. Yet, as followers of Christ, we know that these times must come. These neither caught God off guard, nor were they outside of His plan in world history. We look forward to the next major step of God’s plan when Jesus comes back. But until then, we need to do our part as we love, live in, live for, and long for Jesus Christ.
Four Spiritual Commitments that Will Impact Your New Year
1. Practice the Spiritual Disciplines
When we say to practice the spiritual disciplines, we refer to daily Bible intake, prayer, meditation, Bible memory, preach the gospel to yourself, and the many other daily disciplines that you keep in order to maintain your spiritual strength. Essentially, these disciplines help you to walk in the Spirit. As you walk in the Spirit, you place yourself in the best position for God to bless you, strengthen you, work through you, and grow in Christlikeness. These means of spiritual growth provide you with everything you need to be diligent for the Lord. In Christ, you have everything you need for life and godliness; in other words, you have the capacity to do everything God desires for you to do daily. These spiritual disciplines build upon that foundation. The move you from a spiritual capacity to spiritual competency and practice.
This, of course, is all for naught unless you are focused on your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The spiritual disciplines exist in order to help facilitate that relationship. Life is about Jesus. We walk with Him, talk to Him, listen to Him through His Word, rest in Him, speak for Him, live for Him, and live with Him. He never leaves us; He is with us always. The spiritual disciplines enables us to better enjoy and benefit practically from His presence with us. We receive His comfort, His love, and become aware of His power in our lives.
2. Make Church a Priority
I’ve heard many people say that they can have Jesus and be just fine without the church. This. is. simply. not. true. When someone says that, that person speaks out of a heart that is struggling. God points us to engage with His family in the body of Christ. If we are not doing that, then we simply are not functioning as God intends for us to function. Therefore, we are not just fine.
Could you say with many that sometimes church structure, other church people, pastors, and other elements of church life can distract you? discourage you? and otherwise provide an opportunity to struggle? Of course you can. This is true of all of us. You are not alone. Your experience of the body of Christ and your local church may have produced greater opportunity for you to miss God’s good plan in the church; however, that does not make God’s plan for you different than anyone else of His children.
The church provides you the place where you get to hear God’s Word taught, you enjoy corporate worship with those you know, you participate in fellowship, you can practice the one-anothers, and you are under the care of a shepherd. All of these things God wants for you. Further, all of these things happen inside the local church. Therefore, make church a priority this year.
Only miss church when it is absolutely necessary – when you are providentially hindered. Outside of that, prioritize your church family, church attendance, service in and through the church, giving, and encouraging others through these things.
3. Prioritize Biblical Fellowship
We grow best with others. Biblical fellowship takes place between two or more followers of Christ where you share what you have most in common together – your experience of God in Christ through the Spirit.
This fellowship helps you as you do live for Jesus. In one sense, you can say that biblical fellowship is the means God uses to enable the one-anothers, strengthen the church, and help you grow into Christ. Your own personal growth, as well as the growth of those around you, depends upon your commitment to biblical fellowship.
Biblical fellowship allows you to speak the truth in love to one another such that you both – and ultimately others around you – grow up into Christ. These conversations help you, are essential to you, and are essential to others. Through biblical fellowship, God’s plan is brought to pass in your life. You bring to bear God’s truth, your experience in Christ, and your wisdom in Christ together with someone else. This truth focused on life-lived together helps each of us.
4. Practice the One-Anothers
When you practice the spiritual disciplines, prioritize the local church, and prioritize biblical fellowship, then you are ready to practice the one-anothers. In the New Testament, there are over 50 times where a Christian is instructed to do something in regard to another or other Christians. For this reason, we call these the one-anothers. Commands such as: care for, speak truthfully to, be kind to, bear with, comfort, love, instruct, welcome, live in harmony with, pray for, stir up, encourage, build up, do not speak against, show honor to, and forgive one another. This is just the beginning of this list.
As you are committed to fulfilling this list of one-anothers in the body of Christ with your local church through fellowship, you will be blessed this year and those around you will be as well. Again, this commitment will make your year better and those around you will be better too. Plus, in the meantime, God is honored, Christ is exalted, and everyone benefits. What more could we ask for?
The Sum Effect
If you practice and prioritize these things, I can promise you that you and your year will be better. People around you will be blessed. God’s church will be strengthened. People will have a higher view of God because you have walked with Jesus Christ. And, if Jesus comes back this year, you will be found faithful when He does.
Image Credit Jess Bailey
KevinCarson.com | Wisdom for Life in Christ Together
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