Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
New year, new you
As we begin a New Year, my mind almost always goes to Philippians 3:1-14. In this passage, Paul is reminding the church in Philippi about the dangers of putting confidence in our “flesh,” or our own self-efforts apart from dependence on the Lord. He’s also reflecting on his own journey of faith and honestly admits he falls short at times of the ideals of following the Lord.
So what does Paul say we should do and what does that have to do with a new calendar year? Let me suggest several things:
Be honest with where you are in your life and your relationship with the Lord. Self-deception is essentially lying to yourself and all the consequences that go with it. Not a good approach to life.
Don’t let past mistakes or struggles keep you from moving forward in your life or rest in your past accomplishments to the point of unhealthy pride. Learn from the past, but continue to live forward.
Keep your goals high of growing in your relationship with the Lord and live with prayerful anticipation of what He wants to do in and through your life in the coming year!
A new year naturally brings a sense of freshness, but after a couple of weeks it begins to wear off. Let’s glance back and be thankful, but let’s also gaze forward toward the Lord in 2019!
Pat Coyle is senior pastor of the Mennonite Brethren Church, 400 Kern St. in Shafter.
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