{"id":44,"date":"2011-01-09T19:05:00","date_gmt":"2011-01-09T18:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=44"},"modified":"2011-01-09T19:05:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-09T18:05:00","slug":"day-by-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/blog\/?p=44","title":{"rendered":"Day by Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

What New Year\u2019s resolutions have you made this year? Do you remember what your resolutions were for 2010? What happened to them? What difference did they make to your life? If they are to be successful, any resolutions need to be so worthwhile and so important that you actually stuck to them.
\nThis morning I am going to suggest 10 possible New Year\u2019s resolutions for 2011 we could all adopt. I wouldn\u2019t expect anybody to choose all 10! But you may like to choose two or three of the things I am going to suggest this morning. Even any one of them could really change your life!
\nBut in case you are worried that this is about to be a 10 point sermon, all 10 ideas are wrapped up in one short prayer: a prayer you may well be familiar with, and a prayer which you may like to make your own and use as your prayer for every day of 2011. It\u2019s a prayer attributed to Richard of Chichester in the 12th Century,
\nThanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
\nfor all the benefits thou hast given me,
\nfor all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
\nO most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
\nmay I know thee more clearly,
\nlove thee more dearly,
\nand follow thee more nearly, day by day.
\nAmen.
\nYou probably know the prayer in the more familiar form made popular in 1970s in the musical Godspell.
\nDay by day, dear Lord I pray:
\nTo see you more clearly;
\nLove you more dearly;
\nFollow you more nearly
\nDay by Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

TO SEE YOU MORE CLEARLY<\/p>\n

Peter ends his second letter like this.
\n2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen!
\nHebrews 5:12-6:2 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God\u2019s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. <\/p>\n

6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.<\/p>\n

There is so much to find out about God we only know the tiniest fraction and understand even less. Somebody once said, \u201cIf God is real and Christians are really God\u2019s children, what are you doing with your Bible shut?\u201d<\/p>\n

1.\tGive more attention to Bible Reading every day.<\/strong>Many Christians spend more time reading their newspapers than reading their Bibles. Most spend more time watching television than reading their Bibles. Many younger Christians spend more time on Facebook or surfing the internet than reading their Bibles.<\/p>\n

2.\tRead at least one Christian book a month.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Books that help us understand the Bible, or understand the world around, or share our faith. Biographies that inspire us and help us to serve God and each other. Christian stories like the works of CS Lewis which are so much more wholesome than most non-Christian fiction.<\/p>\n

3.\tLook for an extra way of learning which is new to you.<\/p>\n

If you only come to our morning services, try our evening services. If you don\u2019t already belong to a Home Group, join one of our Home Groups. Consider going to Spring Harvest, or one of the different Baptist Training Days. If you want some more ideas of what might be just right for you, come and have a chat.
\nAll these are ways of seeing God more clearly. It was Thomas Aquinas who said, \u201cto love God is much greater than to know Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

LOVE YOU MORE DEARLY<\/p>\n

Matthew 22:36 \u201cTeacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?\u201d 37 Jesus replied: \u201c \u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u2019 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. <\/p>\n

Eph 3 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge\u2014that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.<\/p>\n

If we measure how much we love somebody by how much we enjoy being in their presence, or how much time we spend with them, or how much we want to talk to them, it would appear that many Christians do not love God very much.
\nSometimes we forget just how much God loves us! When we realise just how much God loves us, we will want to know Him better and to love Him more.
\nThe key to loving God more and to deepening our relationship with God is of course PRAYER. Our sermon series over the next six weeks will focus on learning to pray and our Homegroups will explore prayer in more depth. But knowing about prayer is really less important than actually praying. So how about these New Year Resolutions for loving God more dearly.<\/p>\n

4.\tGive more time to prayer each day.<\/p>\n

There is something wrong when Christians spend more time talking to strangers on their mobiles or on Facebook than they do talking to God in prayer. It was that great evangelist Alan Redpath who talked about Blanket Victory in our Christian lives \u2013 the victory we need over the blankets in the morning or last thing at night when we end up sleeping instead of praying.<\/p>\n

5.\tMake more opportunities to pray with other Christians <\/p>\n

We have our church prayer meetings. I will talk another time about the great value of praying in 2s and 3s with other Christians, prayer partnerships and prayer triplets. Find a friend you would be happy praying with, suggest a time, and start praying!
\nIn your praying either by yourself or with others, make sure that your prayers are not just a shopping list. Make sure to spend time in worship and praise and thanksgiving and adoration too.
\nPsalm 37:3\tTrust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
\n4\tDelight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. <\/p>\n

We need to learn what it means to delight ourselves in the Lord! And that takes time in prayer!<\/p>\n

6.\tSet aside a long time for prayer retreats or quiet days<\/p>\n

Not just an hour but a whole morning, or a whole day for silence and solitude, prayer and reflection and meditation. Getting to know somebody else and building a relationship takes time \u2013 so give it time! Tell an engaged couple that they can spend a whole day together and they will be delighted! Why are so many Christians scared of spending a whole day just with God?
\nThe Christian mystic St John of the Cross said, \u201cSeek in reading and you will find in meditation. Knock in prayer and it shall be opened to you in contemplation.\u201d
\nIt\u2019s a new year! We all have new diaries with lots of empty pages. Take the opportunity to block in some days to spend with God NOW \u2013 before other less important things crowd God out!
\nHere are some valuable steps to loving God more dearly. But then<\/p>\n

TO FOLLOW YOU MORE NEARLY<\/p>\n

To become more like Christ. In what ways would you like to grow to be more like Jesus in 2011?
\nEphesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
\nWe need to discover in our everyday experience more of what it means to \u201cgrow up into Christ\u201d<\/p>\n

7.\tRely on God more in battles against temptation \u2013 don\u2019t give in without a fight!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 10:12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don\u2019t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. <\/p>\n

8.\tSeek to discover and develop your spiritual gifts in serving Christ in the church and in the world<\/p>\n

Eph 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God\u2019s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. <\/p>\n

We all have gifts \u2013 we all have a part to play<\/p>\n

16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.<\/p>\n

As Baptists we believe in the priesthood of ALL believers \u2013 all of us share in the work of ministry. All of us have our part to play. And we need each and every part to do its work! By the way, for some folk this would be a good time to think about being baptised as a believer \u2013 for others, to think about becoming a member of North Springfield Baptist Church.<\/p>\n

9.\tWork hard at bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Son of Man came to seek and save the lost\u201d! I will be suggesting ways we can do this in weeks to come.
\nSo here are 10 New Year\u2019s Resolutions which could change our lives and change our church. Which will you choose to make for 2011, starting today?
\nSEE YOU MORE CLEARLY
\n1.\tGive more attention to Bible Reading every day
\n2.\tRead at least one Christian book a month.
\n3.\tLook for an extra way of learning which is new to you.
\nLOVE YOU MORE DEARLY
\n4.\tGive more time to prayer each day.
\n5.\tMake more opportunities to pray with other Christians
\n6.\tSet aside a long time for prayer retreats or quiet days
\nTO FOLLOW YOU MORE NEARLY
\n7.\tRely on God more in battles against temptation \u2013 don\u2019t give in without a fight!
\n8.\tSeek to discover and develop your gift in serving Christ in the church and in the world
\n9.\tWork hard at bringing others to faith in Jesus Christ
\nBut now for the 10th resolution which underlies all the others.<\/p>\n

10.\tPress on to discover more of the love and the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.<\/p>\n

Following Jesus is not about turning over a new leaf but about living a new life, not in our own strength but by God\u2019s grace with God\u2019s power.
\nDay by day, dear Lord I pray:
\nTo see you more clearly;
\nLove you more dearly;
\nFollow you more nearly
\nDay by Day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What New Year\u2019s resolutions have you made this year? Do you remember what your resolutions were for 2010? What happened to them? What difference…<\/span><\/p>\n

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