The Meaning of Christmas is Christ

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven." Colossians 1:15-20

Today

There are days, there are moments when all sense has been knocked out of me and all degrees of unpleasantness gush out from every pore I have. I jump to conclusions and am too quick to sever long-existed ties and friendships in my thoughts. "He's not worthy to be my friend." "She doesn't really care what I'm going through." And on goes this rambling of relationship-destroying thoughts that ultimately come from an ungracious heart.

These days, these moments, I am simplistic and unforgiving.

Psalms 95-96

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

Sing to the Lord a new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.
Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

I am reminded this morning that the world belongs to the Lord, and judgment is His also. What do I have to fear above the Lord? Failure? Financial ruin? Not reaching my career goals? Death? Have I forgotten that the Lord made the earth and the heavens as well? That splendor and majesty are before Him, that strength and beauty are in His sanctuary?

In the busyness of my schedule, I get lost in the to-do's of the day. But this morning I am reminded that the Lord, who is much greater than my schedule and much greater than my life, is the Lord over this universe. And while petty fears attempt to swallow me whole, God reminds me of who He is and what He's done; He has created the universe and then saved it through His beloved son so that I am no longer ruled by these fears.

Psalm 91:14-16

"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation."

These are God's timeless words. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and cloak us with His salvation and holiness. Thank you Lord that You are faithful to Your promises!

Psalms 27:4

One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.

What a beautiful verse!

Who Do I Serve?

Some days when I've slept too few hours and am void of graciousness in my heart, I look at some of the patients around me at work and become Nancy--a negative, negative Nancy.

Their neediness annoys me. So I do silly things. I ridicule their mistakes. Is she really asking this question again? I make myself to be more important than I really am. Did he just cut me off while I was answering his question? I belittle their pain. Nearly all of our patients have medical issues so why are they acting like they're the only ones that matter? And when my silly little heart becomes numb to their struggles, my annoyance seeps out through the tone I use to answer them. Then it becomes very clear to them and to myself that I just don't care.

It is without effort that I can burrow myself deep into self-interest and throw from my shoulders the heavy weight of someone else's burdens.

But Jesus, when he looked upon the people, sheep without a shepherd, felt compassion for them. When he saw the blind cry out to Him, His heart was for them. He gave them sight, He healed the sick, and He commanded the lame to walk. He quieted the storm for His fearful and faithless disciples. He saved their souls. And in face of his impending crucifixion, He told His disciples to have faith. He told them to have courage. He encouraged them to persevere. It was not a numbness of heart that compelled God to send His Son. It was not with annoyance and frustration that Christ picked up His cross to be crucified. It was not with a spirit of self-importance that Jesus took upon Himself a crown of thorns in place of a crown of glory.

And when I finally take a long clear look at the greatness of God and the humility of Christ my Savior, I am aware of my sinfulness. It becomes clear that in these moments of frustration and annoyance, I do not serve Christ.

"Be careful. There are so many circumstances in life that might account for the people that didn't show up for you. And you are just drawing the wrong conclusion...So don't be simplistic and don't be unforgiving."

- John Piper

A Good Reminder

This is my Father's world
O let me never forget
That though the wrong seems often so strong
God is the ruler yet

This is my Father's world
The battle is not done
Jesus who died will be satisfied
And earth and heaven will be one

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There's a light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

Through death into life everlasting
He passed and we follow Him there
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conquerors we are

His Word shall not fail you He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

Where Do We Belong?

God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord.
2 Corinthians 6:16-17

Lisa Hughes, in God's Priorities for Today's Woman, writes, "God's plan has always been for every one of His children to look like they belong to Him."

When we think about God's desire for us, I think we tend to overcomplicate things. We delve so deeply into "What does God want for me?" that we make every decision an unnecessary internal battle between what God wants and what God doesn't want. And in trying to figure out what career God wants us to pursue and what school to attend, we forget the basic and most important thing. More than anything else, God wants us to desire Him and in doing so to look like we belong to Him. That is what God desires in our lives more than career goals, school choices, etc. And when we shrink God down to only matter in these kinds of life decisions, we undervalue the cross. Jesus did not die just so that He can tell you to pursue a master's degree or travel to New York this summer over San Francisco.

We miss the mark when we forget that as followers of Christ we are to be set apart from this world. And when we fix our eyes on this goal and desire to be what God wants us to be, all these other life decisions become infinitely easier to make.

Wait a Minute. This Isn't My World!

DISAPPOINTED!

When we I put our my hope in things not intended by God, things not eternal and not firm in foundation, we are I am sorely disappointed. And then we I point our my fingers at God and call Him a liar or a deceiver. We I ask Him why He deceived us me into thinking that this world was good, or that our my parents were perfect, or that relationships lasted forever. We I demand to know why He lied to us me when He showed us me glimpses of happiness in young relationships or in family or in a trustworthy friend, before we I realize the hard way that these things do not necessarily last. Relationships grow and die. Families fall apart. Friends leave. And we I sit in the aftermath and feel empty and wonder why.

These are the wounds and scars of my/oursinful humanness.

God never intended for family, friends, life to be enough. He never said to drink from the well of human relationships and be satisfied. Yet here I am we are, always reverting back to the same things because I am a child we are children who too much enjoy making mud pies in the dirt, not knowing what a vacation at a seaside resort looks like. When we put our hope in things not intended by God, we are eventually disappointed, and our disappointment grows into bitterness at a God who never promised that these things would bring us happiness in the first place.

We take an eager bite into the brown, inedible pie, only to spit it immediately out, disappointed. But God is good, and even this will work for the good of those who love Him. With the bitter taste of mud lingering in our mouths, we know, "There has to be more than this." And there is. And at that moment, we start to understand and learn and desire something greater than what we see in front of us.

The Hope of Glory

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

Colossians 1:24-29

With Death Approaching...

"In the midst of a complicated world, approaching a terrifying mission, Jesus looks at his disciples in a volcano of compassion and cares for their hearts. He wants them to have faith. Them to have joy. Them to have peace. Them and us."

A Remedy for Vague Table Prayers

"I find it easy to slip into vague gratefulness, and vague gratefulness is as hollow as a light bulb. Mostly I notice this at the dinner table with my family. The vague verbiage I speak over our food is a reflection of my vague thoughts about God and his provisions spread across the table. (It’s certainly not a reflection of my wife’s cooking!)

If you find this vaguity in your prayers, Douglas Wilson offers us a remedy in his new bookFather Hunger. In a section on vocation, Wilson points us to look deeper into the gracious provisions from God:

We have to understand that all Christians are called, and are called to labor self-consciously and faithfully in their calling, whether it is law, real estate, carpentry, medicine, brick-laying, shop-keeping, writing novels or songs, digging latrines, or planting trees. All of God is in all of it.

We must fix it in our minds that God is in everything, and works through everything. This means that Christ is hidden in the artisan, and Christ is hidden in the customer. Christ is hidden in the one behind the counter, and He is hidden in the one in front of the counter. He is hidden in the dentist, and hidden in the patient in the chair.

God provides for us through means. We benefit from the work of the farmer, the fertilizer salesman, the trucker, the grocery store clerk, and the dairyman; and when we bow our heads to thank God for the breakfast cereal, we are thanking Him for His work in all of these people, whether they know Him or not. We receive from God through the work of others. We acknowledge this when we pray for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). We know that God is working in and through all things (Romans 8:28), and this includes countless daily kindnesses. When we thank the Lord for the cereal, we should know that we are thanking Him for the whole supply chain, and not just for the full bowl in front of us.

Reading that quote changed my next dinner time prayer.

Instead of a vague prayer for the provisions, I gave thanks to the God who channeled his grace to us through a supply line of farmers who awake early in the morning to study the heavens and to crank cold tractor motors, through the factory workers with ID badges who wear gloves and goggles and package food every day, through the unshaven truckers who speed rigs across the country in a race against expiration dates, and through the grocery store stockers who organize and arrange all that food on shelves while most of us are asleep.

God wants you to enjoy breakfast, and he has ordained, called, and equipped certain specific men and women to make sure you do. Similarly, he has ordained and called and equipped us to return the favor to our neighbors. We all play different roles in the world, but we are knit together in God’s network of common grace.

But the point here is that the men and women in this supply line have all been ordained, called, equipped, and preserved by God because God knows your name, he knows your tastes, he loves you, and because he wants you to enjoy a bowl of breakfast cereal in his name."

Tony Reinke, Desiring God

Psalms 8

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Lasting Impreggsions

During dinner today, we had 계란찜, a dish where eggs are beaten, diluted with water, and heated to form a fluffy egg dish. I was mindlessly gulfing down the favorite dish when my mom shared with me a small piece of her childhood, about how eggs meant more than simply eggs when she was a little girl.

"Only the richer families could afford eggs," she had said. "For the rest of us, eggs were too expensive for a child to take as a school lunch."

"There was one day, though, when everyone would bring hard-boiled eggs--field trip days. It was customary to pack boiled eggz and cider for a field trip."

After a long pause, she continued, "Your grandmother never let me go on field trips. She said that the boiled egg and cider were too expensive. I never was allowed to go."

A tinge of sadness betrayed her smile.

"My friend who sat next to me in class always told me I should go. 'Just go on the field trip! I'll share my lunch with you,' she would say. But I never went."

"I wonder what happened to that friend. I wonder what she's doing right now."

Psalms 51

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.

v. 10-13

Something Serious

"If a sheep eats bushes, does it eat flowers, too?"

"A sheep eats whatever it finds."

"Even flowers that have thorns?"

"Yes. Even flowers that have thorns."

"Then what good are thorns?"

I didn't know. At that moment I was very busy trying to unscrew a bolt that was jammed in my engine. I was quite worried, for my plane crash was beginning to seem extremely serious, and the lack of drinking water made me fear the worst.

"What good are thorns?"

The little prince never let go of a question once he had asked it. I was annoyed by my jammed bolt, and I answered without thinking.

"Thorns are no good for anything--they're just the flowers' way of being mean!"

"Oh!" But after a silence, he lashed out at me, with a sort of bitterness. "I don't believe you! Flowers are weak. They're naive. They reassure themselves whatever way they can. They believe their thorns make them frightening..."

I made no answer. At that moment I was thinking, if this bold stays jammed, I'll knock it off with the hammer. Again the little prince disturbed my reflections.

"Then you think flowers..."

"No, not at all. I don't think anything! I just said whatever came into my head. I'm busy here with something serious!"

He stared at me, astounded.

"'Something serious'!"

He saw me holding my hammer, my fingers black with grease, bending over an object he regarded as very ugly.

"You talk like the grown-ups!."

That made me a little ashamed. But he added, mercilessly:

"You confuse everything...You've got it all mixed up!" He was really very annoyed. He tossed his golden curls in the wind. "I know a planet inhabited by a red-faced gentleman. He's never smelled a flower. He's never looked at a star. He's never loved anyone. He's never done anything except add up numbers. And all day long he says over and over, just like you, 'I'm a serious man! I'm a serious man!' And that puffs him up with pride. But he's not a man at all--he's a mushroom!"

"He's a what?"

"A mushroom!" The little prince was now quite pale with rage. "For millions of years flowers have been producing thorns. For millions of years sheep have been eating them all the same. And it's not serious, trying to understand why flowers go to such trouble to produce thorns that are good for nothing? It's not important, the war between the sheep and the flowers? It's no more serious and more important than the numbers that fat red gentleman is adding up? Supposed I happen to know a unique flower, one that exists nowhere in the world except on my planet, one that a little sheep can wipe out in a single bite one morning, just like that, without even realizing what he's doing--that isn't important?" His face turned red now, and he went on. "If someone loves a flower of which just one example exists among all the millions and millions of stars, that's enough to make him happy when he looks at the stars. He tells himself, 'My flower's up there somewhere...' But if the sheep eats the flower, then for him it's as if, suddenly, all the starts went out. And that isn't important?"

The God-Breathed Word

"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."

Philippians 3 ESV

A daily encouragement <3
Thank you Jesus that we have victory in Your resurrection and encouragement through Your Word.

Steadfastness

"We praise ourselves for our mobility, meaning that we can move, without noticing that without any sense of ultimate meaning, without any Person to whom we grant ultimate allegiance even in the smallest acts of our everyday lives, we must move. We are under compulsion of perpetual mobility precisely because, without God, to settle means to acknowledge defeat, and to rest means to die within." (27)

- Anthony Esolen

"The verdict is settled on this one: looking towards our future home affects how we live now. It exudes a staying power. Knowing that we have a better possession and an abiding one launches us into radical ministry here. The incomparable glory that is to come gives us perseverance in our sufferings here. And this is what boggles the world's mind. You want to take my property? Fine. You want to take my life? Death is gain. The blaze of this steadfastness is fueled by the air of a better country, that is, a heavenly one.

So "be steadfast, immovable," Paul tells us. Stick to it. Abound in your work. Gaze upon what is to come, and hold fast today.

But don't do it as an attempt to recover a slipping virtue. There's a better motive: namely, God."

- Jonathan Parnell

On Your Mark

Sometimes I just feel like running. Not to a particular place or direction but just running somewhere I would run and run as fast as I can without thinking about anything other than running no thoughts about where I'm heading how fast I'm going no thoughts about the leaving part all focused on the going just knowing that when the blurriness of the transitioning scenery fades and I take a good look around all I see is strange and comforting unfamiliarity to indulge in solitude and disconnection until my thoughts of what I left behind can catch up to me out of shape and out of breath and terrified of the unfamiliar landscape

Ready,

Get set,

Obedience to the Heavenly Vision

"So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death. So, having obtained from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles."

While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad." But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth. For the king knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do." Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian." And Paul said, "I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains."

Acts 26:19-29

Apostle Paul, a man with a heavenly vision.

Embryology

The remarkable detail involved in the formation and development of the human embryo must attest to some greater power beyond what we can imagine. How can we argue otherwise? God's fingerprints are everywhere in the conception and formation of a human being. To believe otherwise would be the greater challenge.

If I could somehow muster up the faith to believe that this entire process of prenatal development had come to fruition on its own accord (post-conception), along with the rest of the universe, then this life I live would be nothing but a sad and meaningless existence. It would be a life where meaning itself would have no meaning, where meaning would be nothing more than a figment of imagination. Meaning would live only momentarily, only to die at whim.

And life would be lived at the whim of a universe that purposelessly creates and mercilessly destroys.

Reason Is Not Reason Enough

And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:22-24)

"Our ordinary and reasonable service to God may actually compete against our total surrender to Him. Our reasonable work is based on the following argument which we say to ourselves, 'Remember how useful you are here, and think how much value you would be in that particular type of work.' That attitude chooses our own judgment, instead of Jesus Christ, to be our guide as to where we should go and where we could be used the most. Never consider whether or not you are of use--but always consider that 'you are not your own'. You are His."

Oswald Chambers

The Destitution of Service

"The real test of a saint is not one's willingness to preach the gospel, but one's willingness to do something like washing the disciples' feet--that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God. It was Paul's delight to spend his life for God's interest in other people, and he did not care what it cost. But before we will serve, we stop to ponder our personal and financial concerns--"What if God wants me to go over there? And what about my salary? What is the climate like there? Who will take care of me? A person must consider all these things." All that is an indication that we have reservations about serving God. But the apostle Paul had no conditions or reservations. Paul focused his life on Jesus Christ's idea of a New Testament saint; that is, not one who merely proclaims the gospel, but one who becomes broken bread and poured-out wine in the hands of Jesus Christ for the sake of others."

Oswald Chambers

The Weight of Glory 2

"But I thought I could detect a moment--a very, very short moment--before this happened, during which the satisfaction of having pleased those whom I rightly loved and rightly feared was pure. And that is enough to raise our thoughts to what may happen when the redeemed soul, beyond all hope and nearly beyond belief, learns at last that she has pleased Him who she was created to please. There will be no room for vanity then. She will be free from the miserable illusion that it is her doing. With no taint of what we should now call self-approval she will most innocently rejoice in the thing that God has made her to be, and the moment which heals her old inferiority complex for ever will also drown her pride deeper than Prospero's book. Perfect humility dispenses with modesty. If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself; 'it is not for her to bandy compliments with her Sovereign.' I can imagine someone saying that he dislikes my idea of heaven as a place where we are patted on the back. But proud misunderstanding is behind that dislike. In the end that Face which is the delight or the terror of the universe must be turned upon each of us either with one expression or with the other, either conferring glory inexpressible or inflicting shame that can never be cured or disguised."

- C.S. Lewis

The Weight of Glory 1

"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

If a transtemporal, transfinite good is our real destiny, then any other good on which our desire fixes must be in some degree fallacious, must bear at best only a symbolical relation to what will truly satisfy."

- C.S. Lewis

New Year Commitments

For the longest time I had absolutely refused to make new years resolutions. I was never good at keeping them, mostly because my resolutions were always trivial in nature. They were always about the same things--committing to go to the gym a certain number of times or sleeping at a moderate hour. Thus, there always lacked a sense of conviction for any of them. And without conviction, there can never be deep change or lasting progress.

This year, I didn't give in to making the same resolutions in the same pattern. Rather, I've adopted a different strategy, though I wouldn't necessarily say this method is strategic.

Instead of making silly resolutions bound to fail, I've decided to make short-term commitments whose purpose is to strengthen my greatest conviction of following Christ as if His words "I am the truth, the life, and the way" were literally engraved in my heart. I want to submit to His Lordship in quiet humility, bold proclamation, and trustful living. And I believe these short-term (one-year) commitments will help in some way.

Before I begin listing them, I hope that you will not run away from here with the wrong idea. I am not publicizing these things to be pharisaic. I do not write this in hopes to project a (falsely) righteous image of myself without any true intention of keeping these commitments. May God my Judge hold me to these words when I approach His throne. The purpose behind this blog post is for accountability. As I have an ugly history of quietly sweeping new years resolutions under the table, I want to pronounce these commitments as a means of keeping them, or at least as a means of not forgetting them. I want to create a pool of witnesses so that these words will not simply be forgotten. If you are reading this now, you are one of my witnesses. Whenever you see me or talk to me, remind me of these things. Ask me how I have been keeping up with my commitments. Examine if I am bearing fruit in my life. Keep me accountable to the words that I utter.

These commitments I pulled from a book I just finished called Radical. I don't want to explain in further  detail (because I want to encourage everyone to read the book) so read it. :)

1. Read the entire Bible

2. Pray for the entire world

3. Sacrifice financially for a specific cause

4. Serve in another context

5. Commit to a multiplying church (commit as in "to further the multiplication process by discipleship and evangelism")

Though I do have specific subgoals for each of these, I won't disclose them here, my reason being that I don't want to. :) If you see me around, feel free to ask how I am doing in any of these categories.

Happy 2012!