2009

As I sit here eating cheese ball spread on Ritz crackers, let me share a few New Year's goals and and a few pictures.

I am part of a ladies bible study called "Downpour" by James MacDonald about personal revival. It's about the holiness and utter separateness of God, recognizing and calling sin for what it is, and moving into repentance. Here's a striking sentence from the first chapter: "Preferring the comfort of (God's) nearness, we have lost the reality of God's transcendent holiness. Our generation struggles and wallows in cheap grace and shallow sanctification because we have departed from the biblical picture of God's holy and exalted nature. God is not the 'Man upstairs' or 'Big Daddy' or some old codger with a long, white beard. God is not whatever my conscience or imagination would like him to be. God is indescribable glory, and He dwells in unapproachable light."

I like this study because though it makes you practically and thoroughly think about God, yourself, and how you relate to Him and others. And Sin. Oh, boy, it really makes you accurately face sin. I like it, though. Some of it has been hard to swallow, and though I differ from this pastor/author's point of view slightly (he's a tad too Calvinistic for my taste), I am glad to be going through it.

All of this is to say,this week's topic fit perfectly with the idea of New Year's "Resolutions". As I was thinking about habits of sin, which the author breaks down into categories of pride, pleasure, and priorities (the good left undone), I realized that as a Christian, any resolution or goal I want to make is really my desire to sin less. And those things which I know are right to do and that I don't do (like prayer), that IS sin. A willful, conscious choice to sin or be obedient. So, maybe I'm a nut, but as I've gone about the last few days, I'm trying to call sin by it's name. SIN. So when I bad mouth someone in the privacy of my home, that's SIN. No pats on the back. Call it what it is.
So, my goals? I have a few, but here's one that I've stuck too these long 3 days of the New Year. My church is reading through a chronological bible. It's excellent. Check it out.

Now that I've waxed theological, here are some Christmas pictures. Got any goals for the year? A new way of thinking? I'd love to hear from you.