TRAJECTORY QUESTIONS

Scripture encourages us to examine our lives regularly to make sure we are tracking in the right direction.  Often questions can be used to help evaluate our current status.  Here are some questions to consider...

Kevin DeYoung offers these:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2010/01/01/10-questions-for-2010/


Don Whitney offers these:

http://biblicalspirituality.org/newyear.html

And here are mine inspired by both DeYoung and Whitney.

TRAJECTORY QUESTIONS

·      Spiritual:

1.    Have I surrendered my day to the Lord or am I trying to control everything?

2.    Am I spending time slowly reading God’s word and memorizing Scripture?

3.    Am I having consistent, focused, extended times of prayer, including interceding for others?

·      Physical and Mental:

4.    Am I using my time wisely or am I piddling it away?

5.    Am I going to bed on time?

6.    Am I eating too much?

7.    Have I exercised properly this week?

8.    Am I thinking on Godly things?

9.    Am I using my words with wisdom realizing that they have the power of life and death?

10. Am I taking a Sabbath—having an end of day, week, month, and year?

·      Family:

11. Am I investing in the lives of my wife and kids by modeling what matters?

12. When at home, am I “fully present” for my wife and family or are my mind and energy elsewhere?

13. Have I done anything out of the ordinary to cherish and help my wife?

·      Work:

14. Am I leading Explore Church relentlessly by example, from Scripture, and with faith?

15. Am I making sermon preparation a priority in my week or am I doing other less important things first?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope you all have a happy and productive New Year.  May you grow exponentially toward Christlikeness.

See you next year!

RESOLUTION #21

I RESOLVE to rest so that I can do and be my best.  I will take a Sabbath rest each week to rest, reflect, and recover from the grind of life and ministry.

The body and mind need breaks.  Long runs with no breaks will result in long unplanned breaks--the body will shut down.  Rest is necessary and must be planned.  Only you are responsible for replenishing yourself.  How will you build times of recovery into your schedule in 2010?

Louie Giglio says:  "Sabbath is not so much about a day off as it is a 'day up'--a day to remember that He is God and we are not.  Without Sabbath, we forget who we are and lose sight of who He is, leaving us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.  When there is no Sabbath in our lives we become intoxicated by the lie that the sum of our lives depends on our effort alone."


REST MUST BE ROOTED IN FAITH AND ULTIMATE REST IS FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST!

RESOLUTION #20

I RESOLVE to stay close to God and clean before God.

You never drift toward Christlikeness or Godliness.  It takes intentional, vigilant effort.  Without the help of God even that is impossible.  Better said then, I desire (again--praying that God would give me right desires and affections) to be close to God that I would know Him and thus know His will.  Know Him that I would be able to serve and please Him.  Being clean is the prerequisite for closeness.  His expectation is that we be "holy" and "perfect" as He is "holy" and "perfect."  Our sin, which separates us from God, must be dealt with...once and for all on the cross by Christ and then regularly by us through repentance.

John Owen wrote:  "...always be killing sin or it will be killing you."  Regarding our effort toward sin he points out:  "It must be our constant daily duty to mortify it."  Owen advises:  "Do not let your heart be happy with your present condition, even for a moment."  He presses:  "As long as your conscience is able to justify your failure, your soul will never vigorously attempt the mortification of sin."

Tough words...challenging words, but not impossible as the result of the reconciling blood of Christ.

Remember, again in the words of Owen, as you look ahead to 2010:  "Spiritual negligence itself is really a choice."  So how will you press toward being "holy" in 2010?  How will you press toward being "perfect" in 2010?  Determine the course of your trajectory today!

RESOLUTION #19

I RESOLVE to examine myself continually to ensure that I am keeping the above resolutions and thus growing toward God and not drifting away.  I resolve to never assume that I am in any part my own, but God's, bought at great price.

The life that is moving toward its potential -- Christlikeness -- is a life that is regularly examined -- measured for movement (directional trackage).  Which way are you growing?  The unexamined life has no idea.  As we have been bought at a great price -- we must be good managers with the life that we have been given.

How will you manage your life, your time, in 2010?  Will you be a good steward?

The clock ticks...time moves on.  Don't waste your life.

Favorite Biography of 2009

My favorite biography of 2009 was Calvin by Bruce Gordon.

I highly recommend reading biographies of the spiritual giants of the faith.

Holiday Traditions (part 2)

Another Christmas tradition for our family is our annual Christmas Tree Cake Decorating Contest.  Steph's Mom hosts and organizes the event.  Often a theme is set for the decorating process.  One year, for example, it was based on favorite Christmas carols.  This year--it was freestyle.

The individual cakes are baked...they must cool...be selected...and then decorated.  After all have been decorated then they are judged and prizes awarded.

Here are a few pictures of the event.

Hot out of the oven!

Materials to decorate with...

My finished entry.

The judging process.  We cast votes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places.

The prizes!  I won a Starbucks gift card this year.

Finally--we eat the cakes!!!

What holiday traditions does your family have?