One piece of advice I heard over the last month was to give up making New Year’s Resolutions. This person suggested that you start making New Month’s Resolutions.

His logic ran along two lines. First, at the beginning of the year, we might make a list of five or six things we would like to change that year. Most often, we end up focusing our attention on one or two of those. Over the year, as we move further away from our initial decision, resolve fails. Even the most committed of people are only able to complete minimal change in twelve months.

Second, if we make one new resolution each month, then we will focus our energy on a single change for roughly 30 days. Since it takes only 28 days to create a new habit, this will give us enough time to make our one new decision become a reality. If you were able to do that for ten or eleven months a year, subtracting time for holidays and vacations, you would have made more significant changes by focusing on a month at a time rather than by the year.

Tomorrow starts a new month. What one thing could you do this month that would help you grow spiritually and become the person that God desires in your life? Fundamental transformation may only be a month away.

My eyes continue to deteriorate with every passing year. Recently, I had an eye exam and bought a new set of glasses to match my updated prescription. Things are clear again, but in the upcoming years, I will do this ad nauseam.

As my eyesight gets worse, I have also noticed that the print in my leather-bound Bible gets smaller. That is not an exaggeration. To include more notes while making printed Bibles easier to carry, they are making the print smaller and the pages thinner.

Then I discovered large print and even giant print Bibles. I was hesitant at first because I knew people would make fun of my age and failing capacities, but I finally bought one. It was a game-changer for me. I still love to hold a print Bible in my hand to read, and having one with a larger font size makes this possible. I now have four Bibles on my shelf in the largest print I could find. I only read two of them personally, but I keep extras on hand whenever I hear others complain about the same issue. Also, at the Church I lead, we have started purchasing only large print Bibles to give away to those who don’t have one.

Getting older comes with its share of issues, but that does not mean you have to give up reading the scriptures. I encourage everyone to swallow their pride, get a Bible with a larger print than they think they need, and start using it. Eyesight and age are no longer reasons to keep anyone from reading the word of God.

Today is day 19,181 of my life. Most of the sand in my hourglass has fallen to the bottom, and I have no idea how many more grains remain on top. I am hopeful for several because I love my family, but I am also praying for only a few left as I desperately want to see Jesus.

I approach each day with a desire to learn, grow, and do things as a follower of Jesus. Here are a few things I have learned in the past year.

-Happiness is a choice. Each day, I have to tell myself over and over to be happy for all the ways God has blessed my life. Happiness is found in gratitude.

-If you find a great deal on a clearance item, buy at least two. Keep one for yourself and give the rest to people you care about.

-Don’t hold onto objects because they have sentimental value alone. Find value in people and experiences, and let go of all the junk you are hoarding.

-Real, deep, meaningful friendships are of greater value than gold. If you have one, treat that person as your most prized possession.

-God is working; even in the details, there is absolutely no reason to worry.

-Be the person to others that you want them to be to you. No one may reciprocate, but God sees and knows what you are doing.

-Do something every day that you enjoy – simply because you enjoy it.

-It is hard to be positive as an overthinker because so many things can go wrong, but make an effort to be positive anyway.

Some people like to talk about their problems rather than work on them. It gives them a reason to be the topic of conversation and makes them feel connected.

-What you genuinely believe is seen in where you spend your time and money. It has very little to do with what you say.

-The forgiveness of God is the greatest asset to any life. I am thankful for it every day.

The phrase means to want something so passionately that you are willing to suffer to achieve your goals. It may mean that you literally bleed because of your effort, but it can also be used metaphorically to emphasize your commitment to making your dreams come true.

My question is, “What are you willing to bleed for?”

What do you want to see so badly in your life that you are willing to push yourself through discomfort to the point of pain to make it happen?

In the book of Hebrews, the writer says, “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:4 – NIV 2011) His point of comparison is Jesus on the cross. For the joy set before Jesus, he endured the cross (literally shedding his blood) to finish the work God set before him. We are to consider his commitment and imitate it in our lives. He then draws this idea in conclusion, “If you want to achieve all that God wants in your life, it will require you to bleed for it.” Then, “In your struggle as a Christian, you have not gone that far yet.”

The writer encourages his readers to want to become like Jesus so much that they are willing to bleed for it. That means we will endure hardships, opposition, and pain to become all that God desires for us.

As a follower of Jesus, we seldom have easy choices and a painless journey. Jesus’ example is that to complete God’s work in our lives, we have to be willing to bleed for it.

I maintain several journals in both paper and digital form. One is labeled “Blog Ideas,” and another is labeled “Sermon Series Ideas.” I also have a file called “Sermon Illustrations” and one named “Random Ideas.” I have a “Church Projects” notebook and a “Personal Projects” notebook.

Quite often, I will sit down and reread these journals and slowly process what I have written. In time, well more than half will be destroyed. Another quarter of the material will get rewritten to add new ideas and provide clarity. Less than twenty-five percent will be used each year in one way or another.

I go through this process because I have learned that very few of my ideas are fruitful without time to think about them. My initial thoughts are often profoundly flawed, and I know that acting quickly is usually a recipe for disaster. This is true for my personal life, marriage, and career.

Just because you have an idea does not mean you should act on it. Taking time to pray, asking wise people about it, getting some emotional separation, and thinking through all the options are vital to making good decisions.

I am not saying everything I do is a great choice, but I can say that I rarely run into the future without taking the time to process my ideas. I firmly believe that God can work in your life effectively with an instantaneous decision. But most often, his leading comes with taking the time to think things through.

We are on the verge of having our annual “Membership Meeting” at the Church I lead. I am going over the numbers I am going to share, and there are so many positive things to highlight. Attendance is up at youth group, VBS, and Sunday morning. Our giving is up, and we have been able to make improvements and hire staff. We have numerous people leading small groups and far more connecting in them. There were also 25 baptisms last year, which is a new record in my time as pastor here.

While I am excited about all the growth in every way, I know that I play only a tiny part in it. In reality, everyone made this happen. Everyone who serves. Everyone who gives their money. Everyone who brings a friend or family member. Everyone who leads. Everyone who shares a meal, teaches a child, mows the grass, counts the money, fixes the parking lot, works on the building, or does one of the hundred small things to bless this community of believers.

God has called us together as a group of Christians here in my town, and he is working in people’s lives. But I am so thankful for all the people who act as Jesus’ hands and feet. Everyone together made this happen for the greater glory of God.

They said to me, “I would like to start a ministry at our Church that would …”

This person wanted to organize a group of people with a similar mindset to join them in serving the Lord together.

My response was to ask if they had ever done this type of project on their own. They seem perplexed by the question.

Often, the best type of ministry is when Christians simply see a need and then fill that need. No one needs the Church’s consent or blessing to be the light of Jesus in the world. There are an unknown number of ways to serve others without being “organized.”

Anyone who wants to serve the Lord can do it today. Right now. All you have to do is look around and see something that needs to be done and then do it.

I am a big advocate of both organized and unorganized religion.

Last night at 9:25, a train rolled through our town and past my house. It is the first time I have heard it in years, which is remarkable, considering it happens every single night. Having lived in the same house for 10 years, I have become deaf to the familiar sounds around me.

This selective deafness mirrors a common spiritual challenge for the people who follow Jesus. We can read our Bibles, talk to other Christians, listen regularly to the preaching of God’s word, and slowly stop listening. The sounds become familiar, the words no longer touch us, and the message is lost in the background noise of our lives.

Perhaps the solution isn’t to seek more knowledge or spiritual content but rather to create space for deep listening. By quieting our minds and turning our full attention to the wisdom already present, we might rediscover truths that we have not genuinely heard in years.

I have never been a pastor who enjoyed leading funerals. I love officiating weddings, but I have found funerals to be a challenge. Lately, I have realized one reason this is true.

As a pastor, I was hired from outside of the community and brought in to preach and lead. Take me, for example; I have been in my current location for about ten and a half years. While that might seem like a long time, it is not the same as many people in my congregations. Some of them have 50-plus years in this community.

The result is that my knowledge of this person only comes from the final few years of their life. Often, my perspective is quite different than that of those who have known the deceased for a lifetime.

I can think of numerous examples of people telling me that their family member was an active Christian, serving selflessly in the name of Jesus in the local Church and community. Meanwhile, for various reasons, in my 10 years of knowing them, I have experienced them doing very little for the Lord.

The family will seem very confused when I ask them to share stories of this person’s service that I could include in my funeral message. They usually have a frustrated reaction to my questions and say something like, “Just share a story about some time you served with them.” I have to be honest and say, “I really don’t have any stories, ” which usually makes them upset and disappointed with me.

So, let me end this with two applicable thoughts. When you are planning a funeral, try to find someone to do the eulogy who has known that person for a lifetime. Ask someone with a lifelong connection to share their thoughts about this one who passed. 

My second thought is more Biblical. I encourage you to finish your journey of faith strong. The Apostle Paul tells the elders from the Church at Ephesus that his only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus gave him (Acts 20:24). Paul was trying to actively serve Jesus to the very end, and we should do the same.

Believe me, as a pastor, it is easy to do a funeral for someone who served Jesus till their final breath and did not give up a few years short of the finish line. But most people do not live like that, and that is what makes preaching funerals so complicated.

I am asking my staff and leadership to come up with two names of people or families they are trying to connect with this year. I want them to pray for these people daily and spend the entire year trying to help them.

One is the name of a person or family they are trying to reach for Jesus. I want each one of them to identify a person in their life who does not have a saving relationship with Jesus and then spend the year reaching out to them. They will not only pray for them but also invite them for meals, coffee, or times of connection. Each leader will intentionally try to share their faith this year.

The other name is of one person or couple they are trying to disciple. I want them each to “adopt” someone who is already a Christian and help them strategically grow in their faith. This will include praying for them, spending time with them, and most likely doing a study with them. Each leader should be helping someone else become more like Jesus this year.

I would love to extend my challenge to every person in the Church I lead and every Christian in my life. This year, would you be willing to come up with two names and spend the next 12 months pouring your life into those people?

Lasting change for the kingdom of God will only happen when the people of God take intentional steps to reach out to those around them, one or two at a time.