Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
12 30 2024
Everyone is thinking of the New Year, just a few hours away. What will you plan to do to improve your year by an honest reflection of last year? The alternative is to do nothing. Just start a new year, streaming off the same momentum or lack of it from last year. Taking note of: NO lessons learned from mistakes, sidesteps, hiccups, or victories. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that sounds like God to me.
This is the 2nd installment to help you put your life on a God Ordained track for the New Year.
January 13th, from 7 to 8:30 pm, I will host an online Zoom.
New Year…New You Goalsetting Event
to help you prepare and create a clear and vibrant 2025.
The Bible has more to say about planning, your future, your family, and your career than you think. Don Whitney wrote 10 spiritual questions that we should ask prayerfully of God. Today we are going to get you started thinking of the first five. Please start praying and thinking about them and write them down in preparation for January 13th. Every successful company takes year-end inventory. They decide to write off some things that don’t merit further consideration or cost. They make plans to build a brighter future for their company and the men and women who do the work.
Why wouldn’t that make perfect sense for each of us too?
What parts do we need to cut, and what should we build upon?
Proverbs 16;3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans”.
Let’s cast some big dreams and make sure we put God first!
1. What’s one thing you can do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? Perhaps meditating on short passages in the Bible to help you retain it and hear from God vs reading a chapter and walking away. What ideas do you have?
2. What’s an impossible prayer you can pray? There are more than 48 “But God” statements in Scripture, such as in Rom 5, 8, which reads, “But God, shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Situations that were humanly impossible were transformed by “But God” (Ephesians 2:1–7). What’s a “But God” big prayer you can pray for the coming year?
If it doesn’t require faith… then it’s not big enough.
3. What’s the most important thing you could do to improve your family life?
Family prayer time? Or Worship time together? Something… write it down
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year?
Would it be a personal spiritual discipline (that is, one you practice alone), or an interpersonal spiritual discipline (one you practice with other believers)? There are 10 disciplines;- Reading the Bible, Prayer, Worship, Evangelism, Serving, Stewardship, Fasting, Silence and Solitude, Journaling, and Learning. Once you decide, determine the next step to take and when you will take it. Pick ONE, and let’s make a plan. What’s the difference between a Goal and a dream? Goals have a deadline! If you don’t set one, you can’t make it!
5. What’s the single biggest time-waster in your life, and how can you redeem the time? Uh…Oh,
I have gone to meddling! Social media? TV? Video games? Sports? Hobbies? It’s easy for any of these
(or something else) to take too much of our hearts and time. Is repentance required? Just easing back is probably not enough. How about substituting family and God into some of that scaled-back time? (Start with something small…but write it down, tell your spouse, and be accountable.)
Scripture says in Jer: 29:11 I have plans for you. PLANS? Do you think that God himself has taken the time to plan and bless your life?…Don’t you think you should inquire of Him what plans He put in your spirit?
Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails”.
Is 14 26-27 “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. 27 For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
Come on… Let’s step up our game on listening to God. Start praying… Start writing… Start talking with your family and start walking in the new promises He has for you in this new year. Or you can have not because you ask not. You choose!
Wednesday, Jan 1st, we look at God Questions 6 through 10. Every Monday, Weds and Friday, we will take a deeper look at creating a Vibrant and Creative New Year, walking in God’s will and with God’s blessings, building up to the January 13th 7 pm Zoom call. I will send out that Zoom link on Wednesday, January 1st message. Spend some time each day praying and then answering these questions. Involve your spouse and older children and anyone God puts on your heart.
Jan. 3rd, we will close our 2024 and bring closure to the past, so we don’t carry them into our New Year.
Jan 6th, 8th, and 10th We’ll discuss your final assignments to be ready for our January 13th Zoom Kick-Off at 7pm online.
I would like to know who is interested in coming. I want you to answer the areas above about the relationship with God you are going to grow. Please work on stretching yourself, start with reasonable baby steps forward. I look forward to hearing from you.
If you would like to pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, send them this Signup link: http://eepurl.com/gKlklD This is the link new people you invite need to subscribe to for our Jan 13th Meeting.
My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com
To Dream the Impossible Dream Grace VanderWaal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLdJOT5jbQs
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