As January gets into its stride, it is perhaps a good time to take stock. Will 2015 be a better year for you than 2014? It is popular and commendable to make New Year resolutions – even if they don’t have a good track record of being kept beyond the end of the first days or weeks of the year. Rather than looking back, a new year is a great time to look forward with a positive outlook on the months ahead:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14 [NIV]
There is a close link between the words “disciple” and “discipline” and they both originate from the latin verb “discere” which means “to learn”. This week, I want to consider some good disciplines which you might consider resolving to follow, learn or create a habit from – in other words “disciplines of discipleship”. It would be great if 2015 could be a year when we draw nearer to Christ’s example of living and further away from the example of the “god of this world” who drives a lot of the impulses and desires of our lives today.
Heavenly Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit this week that we might make a habit of following Jesus in our thoughts, words and actions. Help us to press on towards the goal to win the prize for which you called me, Amen.
Dave MacLellan
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