Reservations on Resolutions for 2012

I have never been a big resolution person. I like the concept but I have my reserves about not looking back (on the previous year) and reflecting what happened, what God did, and what He blessed you with and through. For me it seems that resolutions are all about looking forward and forgetting the past. With all that in mind, I thought that I would embark on some resolutions for 2012 but not forgetting 2011.

Get Healthier: Physically, Mentally, Financially, & Spiritually – 1^st Resolution

Diet Starts Monday
I know physical health is at top of the leader board with the number of resolutions made but it will be one that I pursue passionately. My goal is 2012, is to lose seventy-two pounds in hopes to become healthier physically for myself, my wife, & my boys.

What About Bob?
The movie staring Bill Murray has warped many minds of men thinking that if we seek counseling or go to a therapist then we are crazy but I started this process several months ago and will continue on this path. We have dealt with issues of control, rape, religion, ministry, and many others and I can’t be more thankful for starting that process.

Slave of Debt
This past year I didn’t realize the amount of biblical truth there is about debt. Currently we are working on our issues through financial coaching as well as moving to get out of debt. I hope to blog more about this journey in the year to come.

Ignoring Religion for the Sake of a Relationship
Above is my new “slogan” for my blog. In my past, I have found myself going through the motions in many cases doing what we are always taught to do for the sake of the religion. I have come to find that just because our grandparents called what they did religion doesn’t mean that it was right. In the past year, I have went deeper in a relationship with Christ and fallen more in love with Him than any point in my life. The example of Grace and Mercy displayed from my family in the past year has presented a new found light on God and my relationship with Christ.

Be Bold & Biblical – 2^nd Resolution

Where, When, Why, What, How
As I have blogged before, I want to switch gears in the direction of my blog. It started out wanting to be transparent about my walk with Christ. From there, I think it slide into just being a soapbox for me to share limited truth, beliefs, and opinions. I hope to be more bold in answering tough questions about my beliefs. So if you have questions, put them on me by commenting here or email me and I’ll try to answer them in a post. Previously, I wanted to just rub really religious people the wrong way and show them that a relationship with Christ could be different but I now know those were the wrong motives. I am sure with this I will still offend some people as I discuss topics like: sex, pornography, homosexuality, adultery, masturbation, addiction, debt, victimization, abortion, etc.

Be Christian About It
This is one phrase that drives me crazy! Being raised in the south, I hear it a lot. It’s the same philosophy that swept the world when the WWJD bracelets became the fad. To often times we think “being Christian about it” means just let the world run over you cause you are suppose to reflect Christ and Christ is love. I just want to direct your attention to the Revelation Jesus in chapter 19, who comes in on a horse with a rob of dripping blood and a tattoo on his thigh that reads “King of Kings and Lord of Lords”. Look it up right here, I have a verse. I guarantee it wasn’t written in Sharpie marker. Although Christ is love and we are suppose to reflect him, that doesn’t mean the world can use Christians as doormats. I hope to increase my boldness in handling situations but doing so in a loving manner.

Penn Jillette (from Penn & Teller), who has multiple videos calling the bible a load of hazardous fecal matter from a bull says this: “How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?” He goes on to say in his YouTube video, “If I believed beyond a shadow of doubt that a truck was coming at you and you didn’t believe it. But that truck was barring down on you, there is a certain point that I tackle you and this is way more important than that.” Penn goes on to in another video to intentionally commit blasphemy by denouncing the Holy Spirit but yet previously makes a phenomenal point. How bad do we have to hate someone not to share the love of Christ if it’s what we truly believe? So if we aren’t sharing Christ with others, I have to question, one, are they true followers of Christ or are people just going to through the motions only to be misrepresenting Christians or, two, do those people truly understand the meaning of a relationship with Christ. James 2:19 says: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” So simply to believe doesn’t change a thing. The devil believes in God but yet wants to be above Him. When we become confident in who we are in God and what He has done for us, we can begin our ministry and sharing how God has worked in our lives.

Go Make Disciples
Matthew 28:19, right after Jesus comes back from the dead. Yeah, pretty powerful stuff, huh? He gives some final orders to his disciples. He says, “So you must go and make disciples of all nations.” If we aren’t producing other disciples that produce other disciples then we are just becoming a bunch of obese Christians that want to show up for church each and every Sunday and Wednesday for the buffet in hopes of “getting fed” more and more. Then when the pastor doesn’t feed us the right amount of sugar coated, sweet prosperity messages, we leave and say “that church isn’t right for me”. Truth is that the pastor is doing what God called him to do and taking his flock to green pastures so that they can grow rather than feeding them sugar cane for the entire lives until they die and go to Hell. I will say this for now, if you like everything your pastor says and you think his “preachin’ was good every Sunday” then you should find a new church cause God didn’t call us to become Christians, get comfortable, and not be challenged to grow any further. But blaming the church is easy, right? I mean that is religion. Religion, defined by Reference.com, is “the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith” and if I am honest, if we aren’t reproducing disciples that reproduce disciples we are merely practicing each and every day of our lives or being ritualistic about our faith which won’t lead to lifechange for anyone around you much less for yourself.

So, although I have never been big on resolutions I have decided to make a few this year. Like I wrote before, in the past year, I have found a deeper understanding of Christ and my relationship with Him. I hope to be bolder in my blogging, stronger in my walk, and healthier in my life so that I can share my experiences with confidence of who I am in Christ and fulfill what he called me to be.