How many of us make New Year’s resolutions? How many of us make resolutions all year long?
“Okay, Monday I’m going to start eating better. Or, tomorrow I’m going to get up early and exercise.”
We all tend to set goals, whether they be big or small, that often don’t make it past a few days and then we end up starting all over again.
“I mean it this time! It’ll be different now, I swear!”
I do this a lot and not just with diet and exercise. I do it with relationships, devotional time, educational goals and career objectives.
So why don’t my goals “stick?” Why am I not transformed from old to new??
In all the times I’ve attempted to better myself or try something new, I’ve never really acknowledged the message of reconciliation. I’ve beaten myself up. I’ve tried on my own and hindered my progress.
Maybe it wasn’t that I failed to reach my goals, but I missed the mark in recognizing God’s necessary contributions to my success.
It comes down to reconciliation. “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (v.19). He gave the world a new start through forgiveness.
I normally don’t turn to Wikipedia in my devotions, but when I searched reconciliation, this is what I found… Reconciliation is the end of the estrangement, caused by original sin, between God and humanity. Evangelical theologian Philip Ryken describes reconciliation in this way; "It is part of the message of Salvation that brings us back together with God... God is the author, Christ is the agent and we are the ambassadors of reconciliation.
Reconciliation is key. It’s where we get the strength, the determination, the drive to acknowledge and carry out His plans for us. It is through reconciliation that we are transformed and brought back into relationship with God. We are human and will continue to sin, but we worship a God who loves us and wants to make us new each day and will continue to transform us, as long as we let Him.
Father, I need you. I don’t want to be estranged from you because it’s through our relationship that I’m able to accomplish what you have planned. Save me from myself and make me new each day. Amen
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