One Word Resolution Part 2

One Word Resolution Part 2

Romans 10:10 Complete Jewish Bible

For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance.

  I’m not a big fan of resolutions and I never was.  I tend to set high goals and then fail miserably sticking to them.  Last year, I chose to use only one word for my New Year’s resolution: the word TRUST.  I wanted to learn to trust God more and entertain my doubts less.  Well, my resolution was put to the test during the year; my wife’s surgery and long recovery topping the list.  There were many other trials also, and I found myself being pushed to the limit a few times.  But I really did work at trusting God in everything and was blessed by the grace I received Him and the love and support from others around me.  Your prayers and loving words really helped me more than I can say.

   So I am making another one-word resolution this year: Embrace.  Last year was a year learning to trust God more, this year I want to embrace my faith in Him more.  As I have written before, I am a spiritual adulterer.  I am not always faithful to my Lord and have done and said things that I know He did not approve of.  I need to embrace my faith more and become a more faithful Christian.  So my resolution is a little more detailed than last year’s was.  I need to embrace the Word more and learn more about Christ and learn about my salvation more.  I want to know Christ and know Him as much as I can.  I pray the Holy Spirit will lead me to learn what I need to learn and show me what I need to see and listen to what I need to hear. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!

   I know this but need to let this become part of my being.  I know this verse intellectually, but need to know it intimately. 

   The Holy Spirit has been gracious with me allowing me to learn many truths from the Bible and I have been privileged to be able to teach these to many people.  But I still have a lot to learn and a lot of what I have already learned I need to embrace.  Knowledge that just rattles around inside your head but never reaches your heart is a waste.

   There is so much written in the Bible that I truly believe no one can ever learn it all.  But I have always thought that there is no harm in trying!  Paul wrote to Timothy to study to show yourself approved to God.  I feel that one of the greatest failings of the church in America is the lack of Bible teaching and the lack of desire to learn.  We live amidst a cornucopia of Bibles and Bible aids and many lack even the basic knowledge of God and His Word.  You need to ask yourself:  are you Christian attending church or a club member in good standing?  If there is no solid Bible teaching where you are attending then you are in a club not a church.

  So this year I challenge you to adopt a word and pray for guidance and strength to grow in Christ.  I pray you choose to become what God wants you to become, not what you want to become.  Don’t be satisfied with just “tweaking” your life and becoming just a “slightly improved” Christian this year, jump in off the deep end and let Christ guide you.      

   If you email me your word, I’ll promise to pray for you every week that God will give you grace to grow in Him this year.

Stephen Cram                            January 6, 2013                      Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8