What's YOUR word for the year?

 “Don't gobblefunk around with words.”  Roald Dahl

 

Do you like words? Do you enjoy playing with words? I do. One of my favorite podcasts is Presbyterian pastor, George Grant’s Word Play. 

 If you Google it, you’ll find that as many famous people took their last breath, they had one last word. For example, as he lay dying, Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, uttered his final word, “miserable.” It’s not a surprise that Romantic poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s last word was “beautiful.” Civil War General and later president, Ulysses S. Grant, whispered “water” as he died. On his deathbed, Martin Luther was asked if he continued to stand by his doctrine that helped launch the Reformation, to which Luther gave an emphatic reply, “Yes!”

  It’s amazing how often we describe something with one word. Any restaurant would love to be described as “fantastic,” but “mediocre” isn’t going to encourage customers. We often describe people with a singular word. “Cool” is cool. Yet, most wouldn’t find “cold” a compliment.

  Listen to friends talk and you’ll find that they often have one word that they consistently use (hopefully it’s not an obscenity.) Some people’s lives could be described with one word. A neighbor that’s thoughtful might be described as “kind, whereas a cruel boss is a “jerk.”

  At the beginning of the new year, most of us come up with resolutions. But 9 out of 10 people will fail with their resolutions. 50% of those resolution makers will fail by the end of January.

  Three friends grew weary of making and failing at their resolutions (Jon Gordon, Dan Britton and Jimmy Page) and determined to focus on one word each year. Ultimately, they wrote a book, One Word That Will Change Your Life. No resolutions, no goals…just one word that gives meaning, mission, passion, and purpose. One word to help them be their best for the coming year.  

  Every New Year’s Eve they gathered with their children and each came up with a word. Then they made paintings of their words that hung in their houses to remind them to focus and live out their word for the year.

  Do I believe that “one word” is the secret to having a fulfilled and meaningful life? Not necessarily. I do know that the great Greek philosopher, Socrates, was on to something when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Too many of us drift through life void of a sense of  purpose or meaning. Read the obituaries and you’ll see how trivial too many lives are. God wants us to live with meaning and purpose.

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. illustrates this. On August 23^rd, 1963 a quarter of a million people came to Washington DC to hear Dr. King speak at the Lincoln Memorial. That’s astounding, particularly for that day. Think about it. How did he get so many people to come? He didn’t have a newsletter or a Twitter account. He wasn’t making YouTube videos or using Google ads. He didn’t have a website, Instagram or Facebook.

  Dr. King didn’t have any of the tools that make it so easy today for us to reach people and start movements and yet 250,000 people still came. Why? Because he stood for something important. The cause he believed in moved hearts and led them to action. It was so important that people willingly spread the word and promoted his cause because it was their cause too. If you were going to sum up Dr. King’s life in one word – it would be cause. He lived and tragically died for a cause.

  God is not in the mass production business. He has a special purpose for your life and my life. The Bible is very clear as to what our purpose in life should be. We are to bring glory to our Creator. It is only as we live for Him that our lives have meaning, after all, He designed and created us.

  A life without the right purpose is a miserable one. Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, discovered the futility of a life that’s lived only for passing pleasure and this temporal world. Ecclesiastes is a summary of his attempt to find meaning elsewhere. He summarizes his failure at the end: “Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Ultimately, he realizes that life is all about honoring God with our thoughts and lives and obeying His commandments.

  One day we will each stand before God in judgment. Part of our purpose in life is to fear and obey Him. And God generously rewards those who surrender their lives to Him and live for Him. What a wonderful blessing if each of us would hear Jesus say to us as we stand before His throne: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).

  Maybe you’re wondering what’s my one word? To be honest, I’ve never done this before. Yet if I were going to sum up my goal for 2023 into one word it would be “closer.” At the end of this year, I want to be closer to Jesus than I am now. I don’t want to have to tell anyone that I’m a Christian. I want it be so obvious that they can nearly smell the aroma of the Savior on me.

  One of my favorite accounts from the Gospels is in John 12. A group came looking for the Lord Jesus and they said to one of His disciples, “Sir, we would see Jesus.” As I begin my day I pray that I’ll grow more Christlike. I want to be closer to Jesus and I want others to see Him in me.

  And then I want to be closer to my wife and family. Jane and I are celebrating 40 years this coming July 2^nd. I am so much more in love with her than I was when I said, “I do.”

  I’m also praying that our church family will be closer to the Lord and to each other. It’s only as we’re passionate about the Lord and love each other that we can truly offer hope to a hurting world.

  Do you have one word? If it will help you move closer to Jesus. Maybe it’s time to paint out your word?  

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Some Righteous Resolutions

“Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” Carl Bard

  Every year, around 45% of Americans seize upon the desire for a fresh start at New Year’s and make one or more resolutions. We determine to lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking, or get out of debt. We feel determined. We join a fitness center or a 12-step program. We create a plan for change. Yet every year, 97% of us fail. Early efforts prove to be a flash in the pan. In the end, we forget and quit. It’s over and nothing changes.

  Please do make some of those needed changes and stick with them. Yet, let me add to that – consider what really counts, the eternal and spiritual. If you get out of debt, lose weight or stop smoking – it only counts for this short life. Changes though in our spiritual life make a difference in eternity. It’s the difference between buying a gift for someone at the Dollar Store or at Neiman Marcus. Which would you rather have? So let me share some suggestions on eternal changes to consider.

  Reading your Bible daily. This is one of the most important commitments a Christian can make. Each day we must make decisions and want to accomplish something. If you begin your day with the Bible, you’ve already accomplished one of the most important things you’ll do that day. You’ve spent time with your Heavenly Father who loves you and knows exactly what you’re going to face that day. It’s best to start small and be systematic. If you’ve never done this before, begin with one of the Gospels. Read a chapter or least half a chapter a day. I’d consider adding a chapter from Proverbs. The book of Proverbs has 31 chapters and you can easily read the chapter that coincides with the day. Perhaps you’ve never read the Bible through. There are several Bible reading plans available. We have one on the back table available and a link at the bottom of this week’s Sword Challenge that will direct you to four different options.   

  Committed prayer time. Reading our Bible is allowing our Father to speak to us through His love letter. Prayer is our conversing back with Him. Too often our prayer life is little more than a grocery list. How would we feel if the only time that we heard from a friend was when they needed something? God wants us to talk to Him. But it’s normal to struggle with what to pray about. I love this simple approach called A.C.T.S. Adoration: Give God praise and honor for who He is as Lord over all. Confession: Honestly deal with sin in your life. Thanksgiving: Verbalize what you're grateful for. Supplication: Pray for the needs of others and yourself.

  Commit to worship and community. God designed us for worship and community. Our struggle is that there are so many options and we seemingly have so many things to do. It’s easy to deceive ourselves in to thinking that we’re faithful in worship if we attend once or twice a month. Let me encourage you to commit to attending every Sunday unless you’re providentially hindered. And determine to make some type of Grace Group part of your life, whether it’s one that meets on Sundays or one that meets every other week on a weeknight. Since sin entered the world, we’re resistant to community. We like to keep others, even brothers and sisters in Christ, at a safe distance and not let them glimpse into our souls. Community is essential to our spiritual health and growth. You will never grow spiritually and have all that God has for you ALONE. 

  Grow past that sinful habit that keeps throwing you spiritually. For some it may be something overt like substance abuse, porn addiction, anger or materialism. For most of us though, it’s an attitude which pops up as a sinful behavior. First, remember that it’s already paid for and conquered at the Cross, and your Heavenly Father already knows about it. But you can never just stop something. Scripture teaches the principle of godly replacement. Check out Ephesians 4 for a wonderful model of leaving something and replacing it with something godly, eternal and better. This might be one where you ask a mature Christian friend to help and share with you where he/she thinks that you most need to grow. Most of us are blind to our own spiritual weak spots. Our attitudes are usually the biggest barriers to a vibrant relationship with the Lord and with others. Some of the more common sinful attitudes are arrogance, a critical or negative spirit, a selfish one, or even a fearful or doubting spirit.  

  Grow in generosity. If you focus on the other four, the Spirit will make this one nearly happen spontaneously. First, praise God each day for His countless blessings. Then, most of us need to grow and learn to be lavish in our praise toward those closest to us. Praise and affirm the ones that God has brought directly into your life – your spouse and children. For many of us, one encouraging word a day would be a huge step forward. How sad that we often are kinder and more gracious with a clerk in a store.

  Then, be generous in sharing your faith. Everyone that you meet will spend eternity somewhere. Ask the Lord for daily opportunities to share the gospel and seek to build gospel bridges. Finally, be generous with your time and money. Ours is a narcissistic world, but we are not of this world. Those who are spiritually mature and love the Lord are always generous. You can’t be close to a generous God without becoming generous as He is. 

  Finally, write it down and date it. Writing it down helps keep us accountable. You might ask a godly friend to be your accountability partner. As you look back at it at the end of 2018, it will encourage you. You probably won’t get as far as you desire, yet you’re headed in the right direction! And God is more interested in our direction than in our distance. 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.