From what I wrote in my journal today about the New Year.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Anonymous quoted by Elizabeth Grace Saunders, The Three Secrets To Effective Time Management, p. 207

I enjoy the first week of the New Year since it is an opportunity to prayerfully review, think and plan for the life I’m called to live.

• Opportunity – life is a gift from God.
• Prayerfully – God encourages us to seek His Kingdom and righteousness. “A chief object of all prayer is to bring us to God…The chief failure of prayer is its cessation.” P. T. Forsyth
• Think – dream and write about God’s call for you and your family.
• Plan – who will you do life with, why are you planning to spend your time like this, what will you spend your time on, where will you spend your time, how will you spend your time? I use Apple Calendar for planning and share my personal and church calendar with my wife, family, and administrative assistant. I use Todoist  for task management.
• Called – The Good News of Jesus Christ calls us to faith, a holy life, in God’s kingdom doing life together by serving others!

“That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

     God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

     So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.

We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:28–39, Message)

I’m thankful that God drew near to us in Christ giving us His Word. I’m absolutely convinced that noting can get between God’s love and us! Happy New Year!

Peace!