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It’s a new year. Resolutions are made. Goals set. Words discovered. All are good and noble acts but will we succeed at these or will they fall by the wayside as the days and months pass?

“Study the Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” (Joshua 1:8, NLT)

Here I see set out for me, three steps to succeed at this new year …

  1. Study. As defined by dictionary.com, it means “to apply oneself to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or practice; to think deeply, reflect, or consider”. To study God’s Word so that we know intellectually what is written.
  2. Meditate. This means to reflect deeply, to contemplate. It means to know with our minds but also to think deeply on it so that it penetrates our hearts.
  3. Obey. Change should occur in our lives. Notice in the definition it says “to practice”. We are to live out what we study so that it is reflected in our daily lives. To obey means to comply or reflect in our actions that which we know to do. It means to carry out or behave according to what we know to be right and just.

These three actions … Study – Meditate – Obey … are very closely intermingled; one leading into the other. They need to mix in our lives so that the blending comes easily, with no separation, almost that the three become one action continually flowing in our lives.

This passage was read yesterday in church …

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35, NLT)

Interesting to think of losing, or giving up, in order to gain. Not the usual way of thinking and yet, Jesus tells us this is what me must do in order to truly live with purpose.

The start of a new year is like a clean slate. The “do-over” we long for by the end of the old year, if you would. And yet, there may be areas we certainly do not want to do over.

At the start of this new year, may we reflect on this past year and ask ourselves – Where did we drop the ball? What do we need to give up to effectively change our lives?

“More powerful than the wish to succeed …. is the courage to begin.” (Anonymous)

Let’s have the courage to begin. May we commit to study, meditate and obey His Word which we read and hear in the coming months.

For “only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

 

Today I am joining … Inspire Me Mondays and Playdates with God and Making Your Home Sing and Create With Joy and Sharing His Beauty and Unforced Rhythms .