After more thought....

After I read an article on Spark People about making New Year's Resolutions and how to make them successful, I have rewritten my Resolves for 2015.  Here they are:

1.  Keep a prayer/Scripture journal.  Keep a list of meaningful quotes and scriptures. Keep records of God’s speaking to me in Listening Prayer. Write responses to them in journal. Read small portions of Scripture and listen for God's voice.

2.   Read at least 30 minutes each day… Tackle the book on Church History or the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology

3.   Memorize Scripture. Use memorization app and memorize one verse a week.

4.   Take care of my body by regular exercise (10 min/day) and eating well (follow ETL program) and getting adequate rest.

You will notice that I eliminated redundancy and in some cases combined two or more goals into one.(see goals #1 and 4)  And I have cut the resolves down to four instead of eight.  This is much more manageable.  I  intend to keep the rhythm of daily Scripture reading and prayer but do not need to restate that as a separate goal.  I kept and met that goal last year....so let''s go onward and see what God will do this year.

Today in my reading I encountered these verses.  They really struck me for this New Year.  Here they are:

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NASB)

¹⁸ “Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
¹⁹ “Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.

I believe that because Scripture doesn't contradict itself and that this is the meaning:  We are ALWAYS to remember God's goodness, his laws and his assistance to us in the past...and his miracles and the gift of a Savior.
Here though in context, God is talking about Israel's past sins and failures which led them to captivity by enemy countries.  God is saying, "Forget all that garbage and step into a new day.  See what I have planned for  you now...it's a whole new thing...Things that were barren and useless will now become verdant and filled with blessing, provision, and nourishment."

I know that is referring to the New Jerusalem....but might it also refer to this coming year? Forget your years of failure, confess lingering sins and receive forgiveness  and freedom from them.  I do not believe that this means you will have a year without hardship or pain.  In this Earth we know we will have tribulation.....But let God use those times to draw you ever closer to himself.  Learn the lessons of suffering and never EVER think that you are alone in those times. Remember God's goodness and how he has helped you in the past. Trust that the new things he has for us this year will be wrapped in packages of his goodness and strength which he willingly uses on our behalf.

Pray over what God wants you to do this year: the decisions you will make and the times he is eagerly anticipating spending with you.  Confess any garbage in your heart that is hanging around from last year.  Come to 2015 with a cleans slate and a hand held closely by your Savior and keep your eyes open for blessings and do  not fail to thank him for each one of them.

May God bless you in the coming year.