Who do you want to be? It’s a more important question than what do you want to do. What you are determines what you will do.

The challenge for us is the gap between who we want to be and who we are. It does take sanctified willpower but it takes more. Only God can remove our guilt and shame that keeps us down when we are meant to soar! Counselors and psychologists can help you deal with guilt but only Jesus can take our guilt away. Set free from sin we become the people God made us to be.

God’s amazing grace can make you more than you ever dreamed. Then we can make much of our Great God!

God works in us both to give us the desire and the power to live out His will.  “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:12–13, NLT)

Even though we get discouraged, weary and sometimes maybe our faith grows weak. God remains faithful and goes the distance to pull us through those times. Many years ago I became discouraged in ministry and very weary. One morning in my prayers I said to the Lord that I wished that he would sent one of our mentors to encourage us. Guess who drove almost 200 miles to see us that very day! Absolutely. She got out of her sports car and said to me, “I was praying this morning and sensed God saying to come and see Becky and you today.” That day still shines for me as a time of God’s great faithfulness and love.

God goes the distance for you!

A lyric from “Give Me Faith” says “I may be weak but your Spirit is strong in me. My flesh may fail, but my God, You never will.” Thank God we are not limited to our own potential, we can live in the power of God’s Spirit and Soar! “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31, NLT)

Perhaps you made some New Year’s resolutions. How are you doing with them?

Resolutions can serve as an effective way for us to biblically map out the kind of people we want to be. You can accomplish this by thinking through what you want to be, how you will achieve that growth, every week review them and plot your progress, and have a prayer and encouragement partner.

Jonathan Edwards as a young man sat down and begin writing resolutions for the kind of life he wanted to live. There are 70 of them. He knew who he wanted to become. By God’s grace he lived out his resolutions personally, with his family and community.  Here are few of them followed by a link to read all of them from the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University.

RESOLUTIONS

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, for Christ’s sake.

Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.
2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things.
3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.
4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.
5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.
9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death.
10. Resolved, when I feel pain, to think of the pains of martyrdom, and of hell.

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13. Resolved, to be endeavoring to find out fit objects of charity and liberality.
14. Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.
15. Resolved, never to suffer the least motions of anger to irrational beings.
16. Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

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70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.

http://goo.gl/c5As0P

Peace!