We are one month into 2020! Can you believe it? Studies say that by this time, most of our New Year’s goals have gone by the wayside, but we’ll be paying for that gym membership for the rest of the year! Have you set some goals for the year? How are they going?
I have set a goal to eat better and work out at the gym 5 times a week – I’m not doing too well at that right now. I have set a goal to read 50 books this year and that one is still on track – 5 weeks in, 5 books read. I have set a goal to be a better listener; some days I do well and some days I forget that goal completely. As I consider the goals I’ve set and the plans I’ve made, I’m a bit disappointed that I’ve fallen off track with some of my plans. Maybe you can relate?
We set goals like these, not to make ourselves feel bad, but because we want to change something about ourselves or we want to accomplish something different this year. We want to be different on December 31, 2020.
We are quite good at setting goals and making plans for work, home, learning and even vacation, but have you ever set a goal or created a plan to grow in your intimacy with God? What if you planned to grow your relationship with God so that it would be markedly different a year from now?
A mentor of mine once taught me that what we plan, we do. If you don’t have a plan to grow in your relationship with God, then you won’t. The relationships you have with the people around you and the relationship you have with God take intentional efforts over time to grow. What are you doing to intentionally grow in intimacy with God?
For many years, I wasn’t intentional with God. I would have a goal to grow in relationship with him, but I wouldn’t create a plan. I would just hope that it would happen. What we plan, we do. Because I didn’t plan, I didn’t do or grow. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever had a desire or a goal to grow in your relationship with Jesus, but it just never seemed to happen? Maybe it is because you didn’t plan, and as a result you didn’t do what you needed to do to see that desire fulfilled.
I want to encourage you to make a plan for 2020. Choose some things you are going to do this year to grow in your relationship with God. Then do it, mark it on your calendar, set the time aside, commit.
Let me share with you something that has been helpful to me; it has become part of my rhythm over the last 5 years. Each year, on the first Saturday in February, I take part in Living Hope’s Holy Spirit Encounter weekend. This is a weekend when we bring in gifted speakers to teach us about experiencing more of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life, and then are given time to practice what we have learned. Past speakers have taught us how to hear God’s voice, how to remove barriers to intimacy, how to connect with God based on your personality, and why we need to live Spirit empowered lives. Each year I have grown in my understanding of God. I have been challenged to do things differently to grow in relationship with God, and I’ve experienced a deeper sense of peace and presence of God in my life.
This year, at Living Hope’s Holy Spirit Encounter, Dr. Ron Walborn from Alliance Theological Seminary will be speaking and helping us to discover the unique gifts, ministry and purpose the Spirit wants to lead you into. The video below will introduce you to Ron as he shares a bit of his story of discovering the Spirit empowered life.
https://www.cmalliance.org/video/watch/26462/
I hope you’ll join us this Saturday for the Holy Spirit Encounter and then come back on Sunday as Ron speaks about God’s desire for you to experience healing. You can register for the Holy Spirit Encounter at the link below. It starts at 9 am and costs $20 (which covers your lunch and coffee breaks).
https://livinghope.ccbchurch.com/goto/forms/74/responses/new
I hope to see you this weekend!
Pastor Kirk
