New chapters are always exciting. I can’t count the number of nights I’ve stayed up too late because I couldn’t wait to see what the next chapter would bring in the book I was reading. There is an excitement in wondering where the story will lead next. What unexpected twists might we encounter when we turn the page? Our life is an ever unfolding story, and just like a great book, new chapters present exciting opportunities if we only dare to turn the page. New chapters are like new beginnings. We have put the previous ones behind us and there’s no going back. We must move forward to discover how things will play out.
service
A Kingdom Victory
Keith Green once said that, “This generation of believers is responsible for this generation of souls.” I would also argue that this generation of believers is responsible for modeling how to live for Jesus to the generation that is following us. I saw this displayed beautifully today. A single mother of five children had her tire blow out on a busy freeway. Because her spare tire was flat, she ended up walking miles (literally) to get to a phone, where she reached out to a pastor and his wife with whom she was acquainted. She needed help, and she needed a friend.
Serving Others
What are your plans for the weekend? How about the next vacation, have you started thinking about where you’d like to go and what you’d like to do? How about the work that needs to be done around your house, are you planning what you need to buy at the home center? So much of our lives are spent thinking about the things we need and would like to do. We put great thought and effort into mapping out the ideal vacation or the perfect landscaping project. Did you ever pause to consider how much time we spend designing our lives compared to how little we think about sharing the gospel of Jesus with our friends and neighbors?
Serving Better
How could you better serve Christ in the coming year? In what ways could you intentionally change your life that would allow you to walk more closely with Him? It should be our goal to always be striving to look more like Jesus, to walk more closely in His footsteps. This won’t just happen, we must purposefully decide to seek Him more fully and make a plan for how to do that. If we want our relationship with Christ to grow more in the next year, if we want to live our lives fully devoted to Him, it must begin with a conscious decision and disciplined follow-through. I’ve got three ideas to help you in this endeavor.
Submission, Surrender and Sacrifice
Becoming a disciple of Christ requires we get comfortable with some uncomfortable words. Submission. Surrender. Sacrifice. These are not concepts that most of us gravitate towards easily. When we do inch our way closer to abiding by these principles, what is harder still is to give ourselves completely to them. We submit certain areas of our lives to God but keep others to manage ourselves. Surrender in measure is acceptable, but not in full. Sacrifice is easy as long as our limits are not pushed too far. Following Jesus is not about what we can keep or what we will gain; it’s about losing everything for the sake of His mission and His Kingdom.