A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Daily
Encouragement on
Wednesday,
January 2, 2019
"A
Vitally Important Goal"
Message
summary: A goal
we should all have for
the new year is to make
it our goal to please
the Lord!
Listen to our message on your audio player.
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"So we make it our goal to please Him" (2 Corinthians 5:9).
A new year is
a time when many make
goals, AKA resolutions.
A new year signals the
opportunity for a new
start. Perhaps we can
finally overcome that
bad habit, whatever it
may be. Perhaps we can
consistently practice
that good habit that's
been so elusive in our
lives.
There are a
lot of goals we should
make in life. The term
"goal" is used a lot in
sports but we also speak
of financial goals,
career goals,
educational goals and
many others. In a new
year many Christians
make goals regarding
personal spiritual
enrichment such as Bible
reading, prayer, church
attendance and so forth.
Today we want
to consider a vitally
important goal we are to
all have as Christians.
It's not a specific goal
dealing with one area of
life but rather a goal
that is general but very
guiding.Bible teacher and apologist Ravi Zacharias challenges devoted believers to follow the model of many corporations and local churches and develop a personal mission statement. Many years ago I formulated my own. The difficulty for me in this matter is staying succinct. There are so many Scripture verses that I want to incorporate in my mission statement that I tend to lose the brevity and focus that characterizes a mission statement. Here's the one I have used for many years:
"I am
created by God to
bring Him glory.
Through God's Son
Jesus Christ I have
been redeemed and I
make it my life's goal
to please the Lord. My
mission in life is to
honor God through my
faith and obedience
and prepare myself and
all whom I may
influence for
eternity."
The daily verse is a goal that the Apostle Paul had for both himself and his readers, notice the first person plural pronoun "we". As part of the Holy Scriptures this includes us. It is one of the first verses of Scripture I memorized as a young man. "So we make it our goal to please Him." That's a great single phrase mission statement!
The
word translated "goal"
means "to devote one's
self zealously to a
cause". It suggests
eager, continuing
efforts for something
that is good. The
Amplified Bible
expresses this sense
well: "We are
constantly ambitious
and strive earnestly
to be pleasing to
Him."A lifelong pursuit in life for the redeemed is finding out what pleases the Lord. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:10, "find out what pleases the Lord."
By God's grace
it remains a simple
expression of my outlook
on life. The quest to
find out what pleases
the Lord is ongoing.
Although God's written
revelation in the Bible
regarding what pleases
Him is unchangeable, new
challenges in different
contexts are always
being set before us.
Doing the right thing
requires discernment and
building a solid
foundation so that you
know that which He
prohibits, and that
which He finds pleasing.
It is for our own good
and for His glory.
Be encouraged
today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, I make it my
goal to please You in
2019. So many goals I
make only last for a
season, but when I set
goals for righteous
living the rewards
will last not only for
this life, but for all
of eternity. In
setting my goals help
me to be willing to
lay aside that which
hinders and the sin
that so easily
entangles so that I
can reap a future
harvest of
righteousness and
peace. I want my
primary goal to be
that of perseverance
so that no
circumstances in this
life will deter me
from my eternal home.
Amen.Following are a selection of the spiritual resolutions (goals) written by Jonathan Edwards before age 20. Edwards preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut which was the start of the Great Awakening:
- "Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will."
- Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure... To do whatever I think to be my duty... for the good and advantage of mankind in general. "
- Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body less or more, but what tends to the glory of God...’
- Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
- Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
- Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
- Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
- Resolved, never, henceforward, till I die, to act as if I were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God’s.
- Resolved, never to allow the least measure of any fretting or uneasiness at my father or mother.
-
Resolved, (That)
there be something
of benevolence in
all I speak.
(Edwards resolved
to read these
resolutions over
once a week!)
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
We realize there are many fine
ministries and causes requesting support
but if the Lord would lead you we surely need
and appreciate the financial support from our
readers and listeners.Our ministry labor is comprised of approximately half our time to Daily Encouragement and the other half to our chaplaincy ministry to companies for which we receive compensation. Each of these ministries essentially is the same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for each of us. Our goal for many years is that each would provide half of our ministry expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
Please Note:
We also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters, and
for those who may not be concerned regarding
receiving an official tax deductible receipt. Click here
to send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber"Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. We do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2019 Stephen
C. & Brooksyne Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA