Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/922838
BSHDFC E-Mag January 2018 | Page 9 I've said it before, I'll say it again: New Year's resolu ons don't work! Or, if you like, "More of the same changes nothing." Even simpler, what I recently saw on a car bumper: "If nothing changes, then nothing changes." Resolu ons, declara ons, empha c outbursts of passionate, hear elt determina on do nothing but frustrate, disappoint and push us even deeper into our inability to change…and that's why they call Him, "Savior." Many will promise to… • Exercise more • Eat less • Stop cussing • Be more posi ve • Read their Bible daily • Pray harder • Be a be er spouse • Be a be er parent… …but nothing will come of it except frustra on and a renewed sense of personal failure. It's an annual cycle. Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not encouraging us to "give up" …but to "give in." Do I have to draw you a picture? No, I don't, because Jesus already did. He said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." One of the popular paraphrases says it this way: "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me." (The Message) In our annual effort to "do be er" and "try harder" we only prove Jesus right and exacerbate the problem. It seems like the harder we try the worse we get. Either that or we become be er in one area (say, ea ng less) but worse in another (becoming grouchy and moody.) It's like trying to float in the swimming pool. The harder you try the more likely you are to sink. What we are told to do is "…relax…and trust." my new year's resolution by Marty Edwards Let's start with this: "God will never love me any more or any less than He does right now, even with me being the way I am." Allow me to quickly add, "While God loves me the way I am, He loves me too much to leave me this way." All of that means, God loves me as I am but would like to do a new and even more maturing (cleansing, disciplining, encouraging) work in me – but the key is to relax and float and focus on Jesus. He is the Vine (the source of strength and change). He wants to do all of the heavy li ing. Instead of making resolu ons, we need to ask… • "God, give me a desire to exercise." • "God give me a hunger for Your Word." • "God, cleanse my heart and my mouth." • "God, help me to focus more on you." • "God, give me your heart." • "God, call me to prayer." God created me and God will change me as I con nue to surrender to Him on a daily basis. The key word here is surrender. It is a consistent process of Him speaking to our hearts and our hearts saying, "Yes Lord…Ok Lord." Change may come slowly but change will come. "I am not where I want to be, but I am much further than I used to be." HAPPY NeW YeAR!