A New Year's Goal 

I am not really a fan of making New Year's resolutions.  It seems that most people don't really take them seriously.  Anymore most people consider them made to be broken.  However, now

that the new year is approaching I would like to suggest a New Year's Goal.

I really can't remember how many years ago it was, maybe 25 or so.  I decided to start reading through the Bible in a year.  I began with the "Narrated Bible" which was later published under the title "The Daily Bible."  This Bible was put in as close to chronological order as the editor could make it and then divided up into daily readings.  I really enjoyed that and used that method for a few years.

After some time I began to long for more time in the New Testament.  I had been spending the majority of the year in the Old Testament and was ready for a change.  At that time I was still homeschooling several of my children and I received a planner which included a Bible reading plan that would get through the entire Bible in one year.  This plan included four readings a day.  There were historical, poetic, and two different New Testament readings.  I loved this plan and used it for years.   I tore those pages out of my planner and kept them in my Bible case.  I still have those pages and they are pretty worn.  

A few years ago some Bible publishers came out with Bibles that were printed without chapter and verse markings.  The idea was to be able to just read without the distractions of those markings, footnotes and etc.  We purchased a copy of the English Standard Version in this edition.  That became my new Bible reading plan.  I really enjoyed that method.  Over the years we have purchased this edition in several versions.  We bought a multi-volume ESV, a multi-volume ASV and the Holman Christian Standard.  I highly recommend these editions.

I have enjoyed continuing to use various versions through the years.  Not all versions are available in these editions but I believe more are being published.  This past year I decided to read the New American Standard from the copy we purchased when we were in college even before we were married.  It, of course, has the chapter and verse markings.  After having read the Bible without such markings I find it easier to ignore them, at least to an extent.  

All this to get back around to saying that now is a great time to set a goal of reading through the Bible in 2023.  I guarantee it will be a blessing to you.  I cannot tell you what a great blessing it has been to me to develop this practice.  

With the world all around us telling us all kinds of things and distracting us from listening to God's voice, it is vital that we spend time reading and meditating on God's word.  The lies of Satan can sound pretty convincing and if we are not listening to the right voice we will be led astray.  

Let's welcome the new year with a new goal.  Choose a method.  You can use one of my

methods or look online and find a method that suits you.  I recently discovered YouVersion and hope to make use of it in the new year.  I think they have Bible reading plans.  Whatever method you choose, be sure to stick with it and you will find yourself reaping the benefits.

Do you have a favorite Bible reading plan?  If so, please share it in the comments.  We would all like to hear about it.

 I Want to Be Like My Dad

We have all heard it.  Most children go through a time when they think their Dad is the greatest.  He can do no wrong.  We all enjoy watching cute little children imitating their dad's mannerisms and even saying they want to grow up to be just like their dad.  

As Christians we are called to be just like our Father!  Some time ago one of my Bible memory passages was Ephesians 5:1-2. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (ESV) 

I have thought of it often.  We are called to be like children who are loved by their dad and who want to imitate him.  Wow!  How can I possibly imitate God?  My husband and I were talking about this just the other day and I said something like this to him.  He responded with some thoughts sparked by something one of his professors used to say.

 “People complain that ‘be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect’ is an unreachable, unreasonable goal. Well, what does one expect? A religion that has goals that are all reachable would be a human religion. The whole idea of Christianity is that we cannot measure up to God’s standards, that we must have help – his grace and mercy to reach his standards.

“A god that can be fully grasped by the human mind is a god not worth having. A god whose standards are reachable by unaided and sinful humans is not much of a god. Of course, the God of the Bible is beyond our understanding and beyond our unaided imitation. It is the very essence of God to be well beyond what we humans can reach.”

Becoming like God is a theme in the New Testament.  In Matthew 5:48.  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (ESV) Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with these words.  He has just finished giving his disciples instructions for how they are to live and this is how he sums it up.

Consider 1 Peter 1:15-16 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (ESV)  This passage quotes from the Old Testament (Lev. 11:44).  The idea of imitating and striving to become like God is not exclusive to the New Testament.

Notice 1 John 3:1-3 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.  The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (ESV)  We are God's children and some day will truly be like Him.  This hope motivates us to imitate Him.

This striving to be like Him will never be completely fulfilled during this earthly life.  It is a continuing task.  It is a daily attempt. We must keep this goal before our minds.  We cannot do it alone.  It is God Himself who will help us.

What can we do?  We must get to know God if we want to imitate Him.  Read His book daily.  Meditate on the words you read.  Learn about God's actions toward humanity.  Read about the incarnate God, Jesus Christ.

Some years ago it became popular to ask, "What Would Jesus Do?"  Many people took to wearing bracelets with that question printed on them to remind themselves to ask when they faced a decision or a difficult situation.  The question is a good one and can be helpful, but only if we know what Jesus did.  How can we expect to know how Jesus would respond in a given situation if we have never learned or studied how He did respond to the situations he faced on this earth?  Read the word, study the word, join others in studying the word, read books by those who have studied the word.  Get to know God.  Then begin the lifelong task of imitating Him.

 Perspective

For the most part, Americans are well-insulated from what is happening in the rest of the world.  Unless we make a deliberate effort we just focus on our own lives and how things are going in our corner of the world.

Yesterday we had an experience that has become unusual in this Southern African country.  Our power was off for hours.  We do occasionally have an outage when there is a severe storm but usually they do not last long.  This one lasted about six hours, although it did come on briefly (and I do mean briefly!) a few times before it finally stayed on. That was a bit difficult.  Since it went off in the afternoon it was not too difficult until it came time to fix supper and then as it got dark.  We have some special blessings.  A small generator was donated to us for the use of the church at Timbutini.  Most of the time during the week it stays with us.  We were able to keep our refrigerator cold and then as it got dark even have one light and charge the phone.  I did have to make some adjustments to what we were going to have for supper but that was not a hardship.  

Contrast that with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.  The attackers have deliberately damaged or destroyed their infrastructure so that they have very little access to electricity.  Whereas it is summer and warm weather here in the southern hemisphere, it is bitter cold winter in Ukraine.  People are struggling just to keep warm.  They have no idea when the attacks will stop and when they will have reliable utilities again.  For us the outage was an inconvenience.  For them it is life threatening.  A REAL problem.

Consider the people of Somalia.  Did you know that they are in the midst of a famine?  It is unlikely that it made the news in North America.  I had to adjust my meal plans due to the power outage but I had something to prepare.  The people of Somalia are watching their children suffer and die because they have nothing to feed them.  They have a REAL problem.

I know that things are getting more difficult in North America as inflation is high and prices are rising.  Many people are having to adjust their travel plans or eliminate some of the spending they usually do at Christmas time.  How many of your neighbors are living in cold, dark homes?  How many are sitting in the subways while missiles fly overhead?  How many people do you know who are malnourished and watching their children suffer and die?  

Consider your blessings.  Put things in perspective.  Pray for those who are suffering.  Share your blessings with the poor and needy (there are a lot of them all over the world).  Praise God that he gave you enough and to spare and use it for His glory.