I’m not much of a New Year’s resolution person but I do thoroughly believe in planning and preparing to live in pursuit of God & Christlikeness, in pursuit of love, faith & joy in a coming year. Our natural default is to sow to the flesh. We won’t sow to the Spirit by accident.

These are perfect days to plan. We have no idea what 2021 holds so 1 recommendation I’d make if this resonates with you is to seek God’s leadership in how he’d have you map out a plan for your spiritual disciplines. He DOES know what 2021 holds for you. Fellow communicators,

we’re not talking here about preparing messages or planning chapters to write. Those things are important but they are separate matters. We’re talking in this thread about continually growing in our relationship with Christ. I don’t know a lot of things but I know this:

There’s no exceptional individual who can somehow manage to maintain life in the Spirit without nourishing the things of the Spirit. Nothing is more ironic than thinking we’re strong enough in our flesh to walk in the Spirit. There have always been and will always be those

in our Christian communities, including & often leaders, who think this kind of thing is corny. And they’re idiots. They (we) can only go so long hiding the fact that they (we) have no real intimacy with Christ. It will show up in duplicity, arrogance, abusiveness, idolatry etc.

Part of what we’ve witnessed in the last 5 years is a Christian culture made up of huge mouths touting big spiritual boasts & hearts the size of thumbnails. We think our works cover whatever we lack in true pursuit of intimacy with Christ but it doesn’t work that way. Anyway,

here’s what this old woman is trying to say who has learned so much the hard way: Jesus saves our lives. Saves our character. Saves our minds. Saves our hearts from poisonous affections. As you look toward 2021, above all else think toward how you plan to live it with Jesus.

If you’re new to this kind of thing, this is what you will inevitably discover: that what you set out to do because you NEEDED to is what you WANT to do more than anything in the world.

Jesus is life.