Starting the Year with the Lord
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
Psalms 37:5 (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn your back on evil.
Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces.
Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.
Proverbs 3:5-10 (NLT)
Whether we are conscious of it or not, one whole week is gone in this brand new 2009. What have you been able to do within this 168 hours? Are you still basking in the euphoria of the celebration of this year that is so pregnant with possibilities that will only bring forth to those who are really ready for it?
I believe strongly that among other things needed to get things right this year is to Start the Year with the Lord. Yes, I know you prayed to usher-in this New Year and you probably join several millions all over the world who go to church for the Crossover Service but prayer is just one of the several things to do. The 1st scriptural verse above admonishes us not to assume that God already knows our ways but that we should commit our ways to the Lord.
I have a few thoughts here on how you can actually Start on a clean slate with the Lord in this new year.
Have a set goal
What are your goals for the New Year? What are the ways you intend to take? What are the plans you have set for yourself? We have quoted several times the saying that “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”. Not just having it in mind but to have it document on paper. The scriptures says write the vision down, make it plain. Habakkuk 2:2. What is that professional designation you want as a prefix or suffix after your name by the end of 2009? Is it ACA, MBBS, ACCA, CCNA, CISA, Dr, PhD, B. Sc, MCSE…? The list is endless, however, all these can only come by knowing what you really want from the early hours of the year that we are in.
Are there terrible habits you displayed last year, set goals on dropping them this year? The need for us not just to have set goals but have them clearly documented for continuous review cannot be overemphasized.
Forget the Past
Imagine a driver driving at top speed and then looking back. Such a driver will be heading for a crash. For you to move forward in the New Year, you will have to forget the past. I am not just referring to the negative things that happened last year but also the positive successes and breakthroughs as both the positives and the negatives have the potentials of limiting our level of attainment in the New Year. Apostle Paul, one of the most accomplished Apostles says in spite of all his achievements that one thing that makes him to keep moving on is to forget the past and reach forward to things that are ahead. If you don’t forget the past, God forbid that you pass with it. Yes, you had plans last year too that did not materialize, you lost so much in form of shares and investments, you were highly celebrated and attained heights that is rarely attained by anyone. Many others did too, but to move forward in this year forget all of it but endeavour to learn from it whether good or bad.
Disregard Distractions
No doubt, anytime a goal is set there will be competing forces primarily aimed at making you not to achieve the goals you have set. They do not come with bold plaques bearing DISTRACTIONS on them, in other words they usually come unnoticed and unannounced. Which ever way they come, what to do with them is simple, Disregard them. If Ruth had regarded the pressure from her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t have become Jesus’ great grand-mother, if Noah had listened to the people, he would have perished with them when the flood came. Peter regarded the wind and he began to sink. Sin (disobedience to God) is the greatest distraction from attaining your goals
Kingdom Investments
Although you may not believe in this but there is a place for kingdom investments. What do I mean? The bible says we should lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven. By this, it implies that we need to give the course of God’s kingdom- those things that makes God’s kingdom to flourish. Tithing (which is, giving one-tenth of your income to God), giving of alms to the needy and giving to every other thing that betters humanity. It says in the second passage above that we should honour God with our substance (that is everything you’ve got) acknowledging that it came from God in the first instance. It helps to preserve the remaining and remove the devourers.
Be wise
Wisdom is said to be the principal thing. It is wisdom to know what to do and to do it. To know the right way to go is Knowledge but actually going there is Wisdom. By being wise I mean, always remember to give the glory back to the Doer. Someone has said, God has no problem blessing us if there’s no one stealing His glory. As the increases begin to come in in the year 2009, always remember to give the glory to God.
I know you’ll be a thousand times better than where you are now by year end.
Trust him, and he will help you.
Psalms 37:5 (NLT)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn your back on evil.
Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces.
Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.
Proverbs 3:5-10 (NLT)
Whether we are conscious of it or not, one whole week is gone in this brand new 2009. What have you been able to do within this 168 hours? Are you still basking in the euphoria of the celebration of this year that is so pregnant with possibilities that will only bring forth to those who are really ready for it?
I believe strongly that among other things needed to get things right this year is to Start the Year with the Lord. Yes, I know you prayed to usher-in this New Year and you probably join several millions all over the world who go to church for the Crossover Service but prayer is just one of the several things to do. The 1st scriptural verse above admonishes us not to assume that God already knows our ways but that we should commit our ways to the Lord.
I have a few thoughts here on how you can actually Start on a clean slate with the Lord in this new year.
Have a set goal
What are your goals for the New Year? What are the ways you intend to take? What are the plans you have set for yourself? We have quoted several times the saying that “Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail”. Not just having it in mind but to have it document on paper. The scriptures says write the vision down, make it plain. Habakkuk 2:2. What is that professional designation you want as a prefix or suffix after your name by the end of 2009? Is it ACA, MBBS, ACCA, CCNA, CISA, Dr, PhD, B. Sc, MCSE…? The list is endless, however, all these can only come by knowing what you really want from the early hours of the year that we are in.
Are there terrible habits you displayed last year, set goals on dropping them this year? The need for us not just to have set goals but have them clearly documented for continuous review cannot be overemphasized.
Forget the Past
Imagine a driver driving at top speed and then looking back. Such a driver will be heading for a crash. For you to move forward in the New Year, you will have to forget the past. I am not just referring to the negative things that happened last year but also the positive successes and breakthroughs as both the positives and the negatives have the potentials of limiting our level of attainment in the New Year. Apostle Paul, one of the most accomplished Apostles says in spite of all his achievements that one thing that makes him to keep moving on is to forget the past and reach forward to things that are ahead. If you don’t forget the past, God forbid that you pass with it. Yes, you had plans last year too that did not materialize, you lost so much in form of shares and investments, you were highly celebrated and attained heights that is rarely attained by anyone. Many others did too, but to move forward in this year forget all of it but endeavour to learn from it whether good or bad.
Disregard Distractions
No doubt, anytime a goal is set there will be competing forces primarily aimed at making you not to achieve the goals you have set. They do not come with bold plaques bearing DISTRACTIONS on them, in other words they usually come unnoticed and unannounced. Which ever way they come, what to do with them is simple, Disregard them. If Ruth had regarded the pressure from her mother-in-law, she wouldn’t have become Jesus’ great grand-mother, if Noah had listened to the people, he would have perished with them when the flood came. Peter regarded the wind and he began to sink. Sin (disobedience to God) is the greatest distraction from attaining your goals
Kingdom Investments
Although you may not believe in this but there is a place for kingdom investments. What do I mean? The bible says we should lay up treasures for ourselves in heaven. By this, it implies that we need to give the course of God’s kingdom- those things that makes God’s kingdom to flourish. Tithing (which is, giving one-tenth of your income to God), giving of alms to the needy and giving to every other thing that betters humanity. It says in the second passage above that we should honour God with our substance (that is everything you’ve got) acknowledging that it came from God in the first instance. It helps to preserve the remaining and remove the devourers.
Be wise
Wisdom is said to be the principal thing. It is wisdom to know what to do and to do it. To know the right way to go is Knowledge but actually going there is Wisdom. By being wise I mean, always remember to give the glory back to the Doer. Someone has said, God has no problem blessing us if there’s no one stealing His glory. As the increases begin to come in in the year 2009, always remember to give the glory to God.
I know you’ll be a thousand times better than where you are now by year end.
The journey may seem long and bleak, but as you trust in Him, God we'll see you through.
Shalom!
1 comments:
Unknown
said...
January 13, 2009 at 3:44 PM
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Great Atolase, great.