Looking Back - Looking Ahead!

One of the common activities at the end of a year is to evaluate the year past and to look forward to the year ahead. I enjoy doing this each December—asking the Lord for ideas to keep my times with Him fresh and spiritually stimulating during the coming year. I find that if I do not have a plan I have a tendency to not approach my devotional times with Jesus with anticipation. Also, I look back in order to make changes in those activities that were not productive in my life over the past year—sort of a ‘spiritual house cleaning and redecorating’ experience—getting ready again to walk in joyful obedience to Jesus this coming year.

Yesterday, I read an article that was so encouraging to me in this evaluation process that I want to share some of it with you:

“There are two things that we must keep in mind when reading the commandments of Jesus. First, He was setting a standard that unregenerate man could never keep. The bar was set so high that no one would be able to reach His level of righteousness. Peter listened every day and knew well the teaching to love an enemy. The end result was cutting off a man’s ear! Often overlooked is one aspect of Christ’s teaching:  it reveals not only what man should do but what man cannot do. Second, Jesus did it all; He did what He taught, and He did it freely, naturally, consistently and without struggle. Therefore, He proved it could be done. Here is the secret to dealing with commands we cannot keep, commands that must be kept, and commands He kept easily. The solution is simple: we admit that we cannot; he moves and keeps them through us. It will be Christ in us living through us as though it is us, but it is not us. We do not aspire to be like Jesus; we gave that up. It is really Jesus living through us. Beautiful.!”(Mike Wells in My Weakness for His Strength)

I think we all have regrets of sinful choices, a lack of love toward someone, forgiveness that should have been extended toward someone who offended us; but the life of Jesus lived through us enables us to live in obedience to Him moment by moment. How encouraging is that! He knew all along that we could never live the Christian life. It is His life, not ours that brings victory and fulfillment. And the beauty of it all is that this is the way God intended it to be and that is why He sent His Son to BE our life—to live it for us—to be what we can never be without Him!

This has been a good reminder for me; and I hope it is for you! Here’s to a year of joy as you experience His Life in you and through you!  Col 1:27, “God’s plan is to make known His secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God.” TEV