New Year's Thoughts Part 3

These thoughts are inspired by a sermon Paul Pamer preached last Sunday morning at my church and they follow my previous thoughts on resolutions. First let me say - don't get me wrong. I don't think that resolutions are a bad thing, only that we tend to look at it all wrong in this day and age. So, as Beth so stated in her last comment, our focus should really be - what does God want out of me this year, what does He want me to accomplish for Him?

Back to the message from Sunday. He spoke from Isaiah 6:1 where Isaiah had some visions. In the first part, he saw the angels circling the throne and worshipping God - He got a view of the holiness of God.

In the second part, he said, "woe is me" because after he had truly seen the holiness of God, he was able to see himself as he really was. When we get in God's presence, we realize that we are nothing without Him.

In the third part, he heard the Lord ask "Who shall I send and who will go?" And Isaiah said "Here I am - send me." When he got into the presence of God and realized that He was nothing and God was everything, how could he help but be consumed with a desire to serve God and His kingdom?

So it should be with us! With me. I want to be more consumed with what God wants me to do than what I want to do! I want to say like Isaiah, here I am, send me. Acts 13:36 says that "David...served God's purpose in his...generation" (and then he died). I want that to be my legacy. That when it is over for me, I truly served God's purpose in my generation. History will one day end, but eternity goes on forever! Only what I do for Jesus will last.

So, whatever this year holds, may we all strive to follow more closely to God and less to the world. William Carey said: "The future is as bright as the promises of God." That sounds pretty good to me! No matter what goes wrong on the path of the year, I always have the promises of God. Here is a good one to hold tight to: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17) That is a promise I want to remember in these turbulant times.