Tag Archives: New Year’s Resolution

Reaching Up…

Whenever there is a new year that starts it is usually accompanied by a flurry of New Year’s resolutions. They range from goals of health and fitness to goals of spiritual growth. Maybe this year your New Year’s resolution including getting more consistent in your walk with God by praying more. Here are a few simple tips to hopefully move you forward to achieving your goal:

Find a quiet place where you can be alone.
The Bible talks about the importance of being alone with God.  The gospels even tell us that Jesus ‘went off to be alone with the father.’

Keep it brief at first.
Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much. Don’t set a goal of praying an hour a day when you haven’t been praying an hour a month. It will be too much. Start with 10 minutes a day and go from there.

Talk and Don’t talk.
God wants us to talk to Him about everything. There are thing that you feel like you can’t tell anyone. You can tell Him. God is there to listen to you. He is also there to talk to you. So learn the art of NOT talking just as much as you do talk. Take 5 minutes and talk, then 5 minutes to listen…and remember, it will take time and practice.

Be consistent.
We need to make prayer a habit. Make it something that you do each day. Find a time of day and stick to it. You may have to experiment with different times and see what works best with your schedule but there is no right or wrong time to pray!

Prayer is an amazing discipline we can learn that will draw us closer to God. If you fail one day, remember tomorrow is a new day! Tell me about some of the ways that you have found that help you with prayer…


Reaching into 2012…

2012. According to the Mayans this is it, the last hooray! The world will come to its end in just a few short months. If that’s the case I sure do have a lot to get done in coming weeks and months! Hope there is enough time to do it all!

Of course I don’t really believe that to be the case. But the truth is I really don’t know when it will all end, when the world we know will cease to be as it is. If that’s the case then there ought to be a bit more urgency in the way I live my life, lead my family and serve those who need to find Christ! This brings more to life the purpose of our church and our student ministry, and really our lives. To REACH UP, REACH IN and REACH OUT!

Reaching Up means that I must realize the key to all that I am and all I do is to have a vertical relationship with God. Everything about me, how I am as a husband, who I am as a parent and minister, but most importantly, who I am as a follower of Christ are dependent on the priority I place on this relationship.

Reaching In means that I must learn the disciplines of the Christian life. I must realize that learning, growing and discipleship are always to be a part of my life no matter how much I feel I have ‘figured out’. Growing begins when we realize that we don’t know it all!

Reaching Out is simply what my life is for. We are designed to serve. God does not give so that we can have, He gives so that we can give! Serving and loving those who are far from God is possibly the greatest purpose of the church!

This year, 2012, how will your life be lived in light of these 3 keys? That is what we will take a look at over the next couple of weeks! Join us!


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