Five things you can do to help make 2020 your best year ever …
Yesterday I had the chance to meet the new District Manager overseeing the local Starbucks where I do a lot of work from.
Actually, you couldn’t miss her vivacious — and downright loud! — personality!
She had dropped by to spearhead a “pop up party” where the local store was offering free tall-size drinks to the public from 1 -2 p.m.
The District Manager was talking with everyone who came in, and, as one person was saying goodbye to her, she challenged the person: “Now you go make this New Year your best year ever!”
That’s quite a challenge!
What would it take if a person wanted to purposely, consciously attempt to make the coming New Year their best year yet? I know the answer to that will depend on how different people would measure a good year, but let me suggest five things that might help you make 2020 your best year ever:
1. Literally making God your purpose for living. We talk about making Jesus “central” in our lives, but that actually doesn’t go far enough. Jesus doesn’t want to be a part of your life, He wants to BE your life! When Christ sincerely becomes your “all in all,” then you can begin to experience the fullness of life God has planned for you, but not before!
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him,” Colossians 1:15-16.
“‘Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?’ Jesus replied, ‘”You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment,'” Matthew 22:36-38.
“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him,” Philippians 2:13.
2. Learn to really love others like Jesus loves. Many of us would never say it, but we think that sincere, unconditional, sacrificial, and costly love belongs only to those we’re closest to — biological family, our spouse, and children — perhaps a few very close friends. But Jesus taught us that kind of love is supposed to be the foundational component to every relationship in life, right down to how we treat our enemies. When we learn to love others like Jesus did, we’re no longer plagued with attitudes of the flesh that routinely impair our relationships with others.
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other,” John 13:34.
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect,” Matthew 5:43-48.
3. Pour out your life in service to God and others, just as Jesus did. Truth be told, we want to make our lives all about ourselves and what pleases us, what comforts us, what benefits us. But to live as a disciple of Jesus is to live very differently than that. The Apostle Peter wrote, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps,” 1 Peter 2:21. The child of God doesn’t find satisfaction or fulfillment in selfish living, but in following in the footsteps of his Master.
4. Finding and fulfilling your place in the church. When you were born again, you were born into God’s family, which is commonly known as the church. God’s design is for us to be fully engaged in, and enjoy the fellowship of, the church.
“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other,” Romans 12:3-5.
“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit,” Ephesians 2:19-22.
“He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love,” Ephesians 4:16.
5. Really learn to be content in Christ. There’s a lot of false teachings about seeking out your destiny. But the truth is, when you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you fulfilled your destiny! Since you were created specifically to worship, glorify, and enjoy God, you will never achieve, discover, or accomplish anything greater than coming into a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ! And so, a godly life walking with your Savior and Lord can bring true contentment.
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows,” 1 Timothy 6:6-10.
“Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you,'” Hebrews 13:5.
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need,” Matthew 6:31-33.
Think about it:
You will never have your best year ever if God isn’t your purpose for living.
You will never have your best year ever if love isn’t foundational to all of your relationships.
You will never have your best year ever seeking only to satisfy yourself.
You will never have your best year ever if you’re cut off from the body of Christ.
And you’ll never have your best year ever if you don’t learn the contentment that comes from living a truly godly life.
So what are you going to do to make 2020 your best year yet?
Scotty
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