Do You Really Believe?

 

 

 

The New Year is the ideal time to set goals and re-commit to those we set last year.  In 2016, we are going to finally lose weight, get out of debt, go back to school, etc.

Getting closer to God, going to church every Sunday, having a quiet time every day, writing every day and publishing a blog post once a week are always on my list but I fall short every time. I have yet to begin the Daniel Fast my church participates in every January (I’m going to the grocery store to buy the necessary food right after I publish this post, I promise).

Our spiritual leaders task us with witnessing, bringing others to Christ and inviting new people to our church but we don’t quite know how to go about it. We don’t want to offend anyone or come off as judgmental but we don’t want to water down the Gospel either or lie about our own situations to present ourselves as having it all together. 

Transparency is the best witnessing tool in my book. Having a relationship with God is not a list of do’s and don’ts or showering down fire and brimstone.  We end up putting too much pressure on ourselves and pushing people away from God. When trials come, we come up with a plan to get out of it and expect God to see it through whether it was His will or not. Then we panic when our plan doesn’t come out the way... well, we planned.

 

That is why it’s important to stop and ask: Do you believe God is who He says He is and do you believe He can do what He says He can do? Do you?

It’s not my responsibility or yours to:

-save anyone

 -get anyone to let go of sin

-change a anyone's thought process

-restore someone’s marriage

-or parent someone’s child

Especially if that person is diligently and sincerely seeking God for themselves. God can and will work out that situation in that person’s life. All we must do is follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and love on them. We can’t impose our will onto others especially when our will is not God’s will.

This year as you make your New Year’s resolutions, whether you are a Christian or not, remember the only person you can control is you. I have.