Should a Christian Make New Year Resolutions?

I'm a planner. For as far back as I remember, I have enjoyed making lists, checking them twice and then ticking things off. In the advent period, we so busily try to ensure we have everything prepared. We ready our tree, we decorate our home, we wrap our presents. But then it is over for another year.

Soon after the Christmas celebrations have finished, I begin thinking about the New Year and what my new resolutions or goals will be. Advertisements call to me- Do I want to shed a few extra kilos? Do I want to have a savings goal? Do I want to travel somewhere exotic?

Yet as I've put my daughter to bed over the past few nights, she has whispered in my ear- "Mummy, do you think we will see Jesus tomorrow? He had his birthday and maybe we will see him." Through this little 3 year old, I have been challenged in the depths of my heart- is 2015 a year that Jesus will return? Do I want Him to? Am I ready? His return will not just be another Christmas that comes and goes. It will be a forever. Our lists will end. Those extra few kilos won't matter. Whether I've gone on an African safari lately or trekked Machu Picchu will all be pointless unless they aided me in my pursuit of God.


In 1 Corinthians 15 we read,

"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:“Death is swallowed up in victory.”55“O death, where is your victory?O death, where is your sting?”56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Here, Paul reminds us firstly that we can be sure one day Jesus will return. We will also all be changed. In a twinkling of an eye, when the trumpet sounds (v. 51) we will have new bodies. Why? Because our mortal bodies must be replaced with bodies that fit us for eternity (v. 53). In this moment, Paul echoes the words of Hosea (Hosea 13:14), "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?".

As an aside, Paul makes time to point out the sting of death isn't our pain associated with death, rather it is the sting of sin. As Verbrugge in Longman III and Garland exposits, "Paul digresses before he writes his grand conclusion. He wants to identify more closely what the "sting" is that will be conquered through the resurrection. That sting is "sin". ... But when Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for sin on the cross, died, and then rose again as the first fruits (1 Cor 15:20-23), the power of that sting was gone. Death remains an enemy... but only temporarily." (2008, pp.404-405). Paul also shows that our knowledge of sin comes through the law, which we have been freed from at Calvary (Gal 3:13). Hallelujah- what a saviour!

So as we look to the year ahead? We should look to the reality that one of these years Jesus' will return. We should heed Paul's grand conclusion- "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58). We are working together for the Lord, labouring (sometimes with pain) as the trials of life come our way, but with HOPE and ASSURANCE. As we write our 'lists' for this year ahead, with the Spirit at work in us (Philippians 2:12-16), may readying ourselves for the coming of the Lord be of first priority.

As I look back on 2014, I can see God's faithfulness, patiently working in me, conforming me little by little to the image of His Son. As I look forward I can trust in God's Sovereignty and firm promise that one day He will return: it is a reality. Let us prioritise spiritual growth over that of holidays and weight-loss this coming year, encouraging each other all the more as we see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:25).

References:
Verbrugge, V.D. (2008) 1 Corinthians. In T. Longman III & D.E. Garland (Edts. ) "The Expositor's Bible Commentary Revised Edition 11: Romands - Galatians" Grand Rapids: Zondervan


photo credit: hugovk via photopin cc

Death at Christmas

The last week or so has seen tragedy come to our beautiful Australian shores- we've turned on the news and seen the Lindt cafe siege, where two were killed, 8 children murdered in sunny Cairns and then on a global scale, we've seen 132 children in Pakistan slaughtered. It causes us to hug our babies tighter and question- how could these things happen, particularly at this time of year?

Often when we look at beautiful Christmas cards and nativity scenes, we think Christmas is meant to be peaceful- after all isn't it about Peace, Love, Hope and all things good? We forget. Jesus came with pain and heartache and turbulence filled the Jewish world sometime during the first 2 years of Jesus' life. Over 2000 years ago, a similar slaughter of innocent children took place. Herod, in his fear for loss of power, commanded the annihilation of thousands of Hebrew baby boys. Fear and wailing would have resounded across the land. 

Yet I find comfort. As I read John 1:1-5, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." What a beautiful hope! Despite death and turmoil crowding onto the pages of history surrounding that first Christmas, we see that in Jesus was LIFE and it is this LIFE that is our LIGHT. We see in Jesus a light that cannot be quenched- the dark things of this world can not overcome it.

As our world sometimes seems to be a very dark place, we can stand firm and find strength and comfort in Jesus: the Light he is and the Life he brings. 

Let me leave you with the beautiful words penned by Martin Luther's, "A Mighty Fortress is our God"

1	A mighty Fortress is our God, A Bulwark never failing;  (Bulwark- defensive wall) Our Helper He amid the flood Of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, And, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.
2	Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth His Name,  (Sabaoth- Lord of Heaven and Hosts) From age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
3	And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us: The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, For lo! his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.
4	That word above all earthly powers, No thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours Through Him who with us sideth: Let goods and kindred go, This mortal life also; The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever.

photo credit: rachelandrew via photopin cc

What Christmas Means to Me

Our family love music. It has been a bit of a heritage really- growing up my family and that of my wider family- my cousins, aunties and uncles could often be found around my grandmother's piano and my uncles' guitars singing. When I became part of Dave's family, I quickly realised music was a big part of their life too. Dave's dad quickly educated me on music such as Ray Charles and now with my mothering meaning I am a little removed from current music charts, a visit to Dave's dad will often rectify this as he shares the music he is currently listening to.  

We have continued to enjoy music in our little family. Before bed our children are often found crowded on Dave's lap, listening and watching music clips on YouTube. This tradition makes our Miss 3 want to eat her whole dinner (most of the time) as she wants to watch YouTube with Daddy and our little man (10 months today) has also just started bopping along and clapping to the music. 

One of our latest favourites is the acapella group Pentatonix. Here is "What Christmas Means to Me," a song we have enjoyed watching that helps us get excited about Christmas. 

One evening, as we were listening along, I started to think though- at our heart what does Christmas really mean to us? Here, the song and group reinforce the message that Christmas is about enjoying family and presents. We too perpetuate this message- we shop for pressies, we learn new recipes for our family to enjoy eating, we decorate the house to help us get excited and make things look festive and pretty. Like any girl, I love pretty and glittering things. But is there anything wrong with this? I think celebrating family and enjoying giving is a great thing to do: I love it! But if our celebration of Christmas becomes more about celebrating family and gifts, haven't we missed the point?

Why Do We Give?

In the article, "Christmas Spending is a Test of Your Treasure" by David Mathis on DesiringGod, Mathis prompts us to look at our heart motives as we spend money this Christmas. Mathis reminds us that just as our Heavenly Father is generous in giving us the gift of his Son, it is important that we too are generous. At the core of Mathis' article is a reminder to question our hearts when we give- are we giving sacrificially? Are we giving to bless others? Are we giving because we know it is expected? Are we giving to show others how clever we are at finding the right gift, or to show our financial status? Are we giving because we are trying to fill a void in our lives? or are we giving to glorify God and celebrate his blessings firstly in his Son and then in the provisions he showers upon us? As Mathis says: 

"God made us for rhythms and cadences, for feasting and fasting, for noise and crowds and silence and solitude. There is some help, even if minimal, in identifying and naming the extremes of sustained opulence and austerity. We need a place for both financial feasting and fasting. We should abhor the prosperity gospel, and not be snookered by stinginess masquerading as Christian stewardship, and beware that running up large credit-card debt is likely giving beyond our means."

As we shop this year, gathering our gifts from near and far, as Mathis suggests, I will take a moment to ask "What desire am I trying to fulfill? Is this for private comfort, or gospel advance, or expressing love to a friend or family member?" (Mathis)

Treasuring God in Our Traditions

Noel Piper, the wife of John Piper, has written a book that is available for free download here, titled "Treasuring God in Our Traditions" (2003, Crossway). In this book, Noel Piper shares the importance of creating traditions that honour and glorify God. She writes how important it is for us to plan our "celebrations of a world-shaking event like God being born a baby so that we can be reborn as his children." (2003, p.76).  This year, with our Miss 3 able to understand more of what is going on, I really want to be intentional about honouring God and his gift of Jesus. Noel Piper encourages us to recognise the importance of this gift, "We are a people of promise. For centuries God prepared people for the coming of his Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfilment of the promises God made—that he would make a way to draw near to him." (2003, p.76).  As we have tried to be intentional in this nativity period, we have been reading the Nativity Story from a children's Bible each evening and opening an advent calendar square (with accompanying chocolate). Noel Piper also suggests traditions could include advent candles, an advent calendar that tells the Nativity story and nativity crèches that children can play with and that can decorate the home. Picture books focused on Jesus' birth could also be a good addition to family traditions. I'd be interested to hear how you celebrate Jesus in your home! As we get closer to Christmas, may we take the time to look at what Christmas really means to us and make a conscious effort to focus on Jesus. 

 

 

photo credit: bott.richard via photopin cc

Nothing in My Hand I Bring

Today my day has been spent in the throws of motherhood. It has been one of those days that leaves you bone-weary from mothering two littlies- ever have those? Yet now, as I take a moment to think back over the day, I see the little snippets as well that pointed me to God and showed me his grace is sufficient for the day. My heart too is full as I am reminded of his amazing grace that sees me and loves me when I am reading the Bible before bed with my kiddies or when I am changing a nappy. It has been one of those unglamorous days really when I am so thankful that as the hymn says, 'nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling' (Toplady, 1776, "Rock of Ages") because frankly, I don't feel like I have much to bring to his feet tonight. But isn't this exactly what the Christian life is about? Recognising it is his grace that washes our feet and as Peter would have it (John 13:6-9), our whole bodies: we are clean, fresh, new and nothing of it is to do with who we are or what we have done.

I often think about those two sisters who pursued God: Mary and Martha. In these two faithful women, Jesus showed his love and grace. I always have identified more with Martha, partly because listening is something I have to work at and also because I am a list-girl. I love fluttering about behind the scenes doing. Yet tonight, when I listen again to Jesus' words that Mary has chosen the better part (Luke 10:42), I am reminded that sitting at his feet is exactly where we should start and finish our day. In Jesus' admonition of Martha's bitterness and frustration at her sister Mary, he tenderly reminds her that his kingdom is about relationship. 

In their recent book, "The Measure of Success", Carolyn McCulley and Nora Shank (2014, B & H Publishing Group) tell us that in this story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42), we are reminded that our identity should not be in the jobs we have or the lists we tick off, our identity needs to be found at the feet of Jesus and IN Jesus. 

"Unlike most rabbis of His time, Jesus not only allowed a woman to learn the Scriptures, He also told everyone present that this was the wisest thing Mary could do... No husbands were mentioned for either of these women. No children were mentioned, either. Perhaps they had them once. Perhaps they would have them in the future. No mention was made of their social status, either by wealth or social connections or job skills. But their one identity that was most important was the one that would exist forever: a follower of Christ. This is the identity we need to affirm among ourselves..."(McCulley and Shank, 2014, p.80-81).

At the end of a long day, my identity in Christ is who I am. It is who I should be first and foremost to my family and in my circles of influence. It is where I should place my identity. It is a humble recognition that my life is about Christ and glorifying him. May we remember, as we go about ticking off our lists tomorrow, that we need to be sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to him through his Word and allowing his amazing grace to infiltrate every aspect of our lives.

photo credit: Fabio Trifoni via photopin cc

The Fullness of Time

As I sit here tonight, looking at the twinkling lights on our Christmas tree, I think of the wonder and fascination of all things Christmas that I had growing up, and let's be honest, still have today. For the first time I shared the excitement of decorating our tree with my 3 year old, as she is now old enough to help and to know that putting the decorations on the tree means Christmas is coming. But as I truly reflect on what Christmas means, and that first Christmas over 2000 years ago, I imagine what it would have been like to peep through the stable cladding. In my mind, I see a young teenager cradling a fresh baby in her arms, a new husband by her side. As she breathes in deeply, relief fills her that labour is finished with and the scent of animals greet her. As she looks at the precious bundle, I am sure in her heart she would be marvelling at the wonder of God who gave his Son as a precious gift to the world. 

In Galatians 4:4-7, we are told: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."

Since the beginning of time, God had planned for His Son to come forth from this teenage mother and then for centuries had been waiting for the "fullness of time" to arrive. As Justo L. Gonzalez says, "The early Christians did not believe that the time and place of the birth of Jesus has been left to chance.  On the contrary, they saw the hand of God preparing the advent of Jesus in all events prior to the birth, and in all the historical circumstances around it." (The Story of Christianity Vol. 1, 2010, p. 13).

Gonzalez (2010) then goes on to point out that this 'fullness of time' also applied to the spread of Jesus' message- the Gospel. The birth of Jesus would eventually lead to the birth of the Church, and so the conditions needed to be just right for Jesus' message of Salvation to spread and flourish. As we look at history, even just a brief glance, we can see God's clever design in orchestrating all events surrounding the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the birth and growth of his church.

Below, I will summarise a few of the points of history that Gonzalez (2010) writes about, that can add to our wonder of just what this 'fullness of time' meant to Christianity. Hold on to your hats as we take a quick whirlwind tour of some of history....

• Alexander the Great (4th Century BCE) brought unity to the Eastern Mediterranean basin that allowed for Greek culture or Hellenism to spread. From this point, there was a tension between the polytheism (worship of many gods) of the Greeks and Jewish monotheism (worship of one God). 
• When the Romans conquered this area, they saw the struggle of religion between the Jews and Greeks and after protests and uprisings, Rome intervened and gave the descendants of the Maccabees family (Jewish family who led the rebellions) some authority, setting them up as governors with titles, one of which was 'high priest' (Herod had some family ties with the Maccabees family). 
• The governing Jews, in order to honour the particular Roman emperor of the day, went about trying to encourage the Jews to immigrate with the Gentiles. As the Jews suffered under often harsh measures to encourage assimilation, the group of Pharisees emerged. The Pharisees emphasised a faithfulness to Jewish Law, studying it, debating it and applying it to Jewish everyday life. The Pharisees were 'of the people' and developed the synagogue where Jewish tradition and Law could be studied outside of the Temple in Jerusalem. The Sadducees (another group we read about in the Bible) were mostly Jewish aristocracy who were focused on the Temple and had more conservative religious and political leanings.
• By the birth of Jesus, there were Jews living throughout the Roman Empire. This meant that most Jews spoke Greek, the common language of people in the Mediterranean at this time. These Jews living outside of Jerusalem, translated the Scriptures into Greek and so it was accessible and ready to be used by the early Christians as they spread the Gospel and spoke of how Jesus was the Messiah of the Old Testament they had been waiting for. 
• The Roman Empire had also brought about a relative measure of political unity, and so travel was fairly safe. In the early church, the New Testament points to the major threat for missionaries, such as Paul, being bad weather. If Jesus had come a couple of decades earlier, pirates would have been a severe threat to travel. Due to ease of travel, trade was also flourishing, meaning much of the Gospel was spread by traders and slaves moving throughout the Empire. 

As we see, God in his Sovereignty, allowed the Apostles and early Christians to travel with relative ease, visit Jews already living and planted in almost every major city of the time, meet at synagogues that had been set up around the Empire, communicate with anyone in a common language and discuss and debate Greek translations of the Old Testament. A case of good luck? More like Divine Planning! 

When looking at our respective Christmas trees this year, let us go further than imagining the beautiful baby Jesus in his mama's arms. Let us wonder at his message and the Salvation he brings. Let us also delight in the careful orchestration of events that under God's sovereign planning, allowed the Gospel message of Salvation to spread throughout the world and end up taking root in our hearts and minds. 

photo credit: bitzcelt via photopin cc

Wisdom- when to talk, when not to.

Over the past few years, I have often been faced with the decision of when to speak and when not to. Prior to mothering, I worked in a Christian School, where teachers gathered each morning, shared a devotion and prayed together. It was a thing of beauty. But it was also a time where doctrinal differences often surfaced. For the sake of love and unity, we tried not to major on the minors, and instead focused on Jesus and our ministry of training children to love and serve Jesus. Recently though, listening to "Word-Based Ministry" by Nancy Guthrie, I was challenged that sometimes true love is talking to a friend or questioning their interpretation of the Bible. After all, we are called to encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13) and have the Word of God dwelling in us to encourage, teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16).

This morning, in James, I read "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom" (James 3:13). So what is wisdom? How is a person wise? The Bible tells us that wisdom is firstly fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10) and then it is knowing and doing God's Word (Deuteronomy 4:5-6). We are told that a wise man builds his house on the Word of the Lord (Matthew 7:24). We are also told that God's Word makes wise the simple (Psalm 19:7). So if we are to be wise, we fear the Lord and we read, hear and do His Word. 

Proverbs 3:13-24 (beautiful and well worth the read!) tells us wisdom and understanding are beautiful things we are to pursue. It is more precious that rubies and brings peace, blessing, safety and security. When we are reading, meditating, trusting in God and His Word, we are secure in our knowledge and understanding of Him and have a firm foundation for our lives. 

So then, in James 3:13, how do we show meekness? Often I hear this word and in the English dictionary it refers to humility but there is also a sense of weakness about it. In the Bible, according to the Strongs Concordance, it says "Biblical meekness is not weakness but rather refers to exercising God's strength under His control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness." In James 3:13, the Greek word used for 'meekness' is a derivative of this original form. It also means a a gentle strength brought about by reliance on God's Word and direction:  "For the believer, meekness (4240 /praýtēs, "gentle-force") begins with the Lord's inspiration and finishes by His direction and empowerment. It is a divinely-balanced virtue that can only operate through faith (cf. 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22-25) (Strongs Concordance). 

If we are to show true wisdom and understanding, we are to walk day-by-day with a gentle strength brought about by fearing God and loving and knowing His Word. As we rely on the Holy Spirit within us, our actions will then involve living out God's Word. Sometimes this will mean gently and loving correcting a brother or sister, recognising that we are growing together in the love and knowledge of our Saviour Jesus. For knowledge, understanding and love of God and His Word is TRUE WISDOM. 

photo credit: Carlos Porto via photopin cc

James: Slave of Jesus, Brother of Jesus

Our little man has just started commando crawling which has led to lots of excitement by our family over the last few days. With it however, has also come sibling tension. With his new-found movement, our little guy can find his big sister any time he wants to and 'disrupt' her games as he tries to participate. Sometimes this interaction is encouraged by his older sister, but often it is unwelcome, causing frustration for both of them. Seeing this sibling rivalry and interaction has caused me to pray that they would come to love each other and love spending time with each other.

It makes one think- what would Jesus have been like as an older brother? James, the author of the book of James in the Bible, was the brother of Jesus and would have known first hand what this would have been like. Matthew 13:55 shows us that James was the first brother of Jesus listed, probably indicating as Jesus' half-brother, he was the first son of Mary and Joseph. While James, along with the rest of his family, didn't always recognise Jesus for who he was (Mark 3:21, 31-35; John 7:2-5), after the resurrection they came to recognise Jesus as their Lord and Saviour (Acts 1:14). James then went on to became a leader in the church of Jerusalem (Acts 15) and as Josephus accounts, James was martyred by stoning.  

In the greeting of the book of James, James writes, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ..." (James 1:1a). Jen Wilkin, in her Bible Study series on James , points out that this shows incredible humility. Surely, of all Jesus' followers, it would have been easy for James to want to point out that he was Jesus' brother. Exhalting himself as a little higher than the other disciples. Or even mentioning that he was a leader in the Jerusalem church. But he doesn't. James calls himself a 'servant' (Greek: doulos) otherwise translated slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

John MacArthur says:

When the apostles used slave imagery, both in their preaching and in writing the New Testament, they were fully aware of what it meant in terms of both Jewish history and Roman culture. From the standpoint of Israel's history, to be a slave of God was to identify oneself with those who stood at Mount Sinai...Moreover, it was to be aligned with notable men of faith, such as Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets- spiritual leaders who exemplified wholehearted submission to the will and word of God. From the standpoint of first-century culture, slavery served as an apt picture of the believer's relationship to Christ- one of complete submission and subjugation to the master. In both cases, to be a slave was to be under the complete authority of someone else. It meant rejecting personal autonomy and embracing the will of another. The concept required no great explanation because slavery was commonplace and had been for many centuries.

(Slave, 2010, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, p.35)

James, when calling himself a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, would have known this history and understood that he was declaring that he was completely at the mercy of his master Jesus. There was nothing James was bringing of himself- he wasn't trying for notoriety, he was simply saying that all people needed to know of him was that he was a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We can celebrate in this for we share a master with James, we too have a gracious and loving Master. It is through slavery to Jesus that we are adopted into his family (Romans 8:16-17). As we grow in our understanding that pursuing God means surrendering more of our life to him, may we also recognise the freedom and beauty that this slavery means. Because we have been bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), we can fully trust the love and security our Master provides. Like James, we do not need to fight for fame by listing our credentials, but we can stand as a slave to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, loved, accepted, forgiven and free. 

photo credit: pixelfahrenheit20 via photopin cc

Jesus Christ: The One Person We Should Be Pursuing

When we look at people who have pursued a real, living, vibrant relationship with God, it is important that we be inspired by them but not idolise them. I think it is easy to look at other Christians around us and wish we were more like them- wish we prayed the way they did, wish we could read the Bible in church like they did, wish we had Bible knowledge like they do, wish we were a godly wife/husband/mother/daughter-in-law like they were.... the list goes on. Now I could tell you that their life has its own struggles and they probably aren't as godly 100% of the time but I'll call a spade a spade: it is sin. Instead of idolising our Pastor, Bible Study Leader, Friend, we need to be following and conforming to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). Thankfully, this is 100% the Holy Spirit's job (Philippians 1:6). However, we are responsible for choices we make that allow us to pursue God and we do that through pursuing His Son: Jesus Christ. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, we read the account of Jesus' life as penned by the Apostle Matthew. Matthew's gospel is written primarily for a Jewish audience and aims to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah whom the Jews had been longing for. Throughout the book of Matthew, he shows again and again how Jesus fulfils any prophecy (or foretelling) of this Messiah throughout the Old Testament.

Matthew shows us there are a number of things Jesus Christ did that we can make a concerted effort to emulate. 

• Jesus Prayed Regularly to the Father and asked that the Father's Will be done -Matthew 14:23 tells us that Jesus withdrew to pray. Prayer is not something that comes extremely easily to me. As I love to write, I was encouraged to keep a prayer journal and this often helps me keep focused. I've heard of some people who have prayer 'prompts' such as traffic lights on the way to work, or a particular street, or whenever they see an ambulance pass they are prompted to pray. How do you foster prayer in your life? 
• Jesus had a sound knowledge of the Scriptures and frequently used them- Throughout the Gospels, we frequently find Jesus referring to the Old Testament passages of Scripture to show how he fulfils them. Vaughan Roberts in his easy to read book God's Big Picture, says, "I mentioned the prodigal son to an Oxford student recently. He looked blankly at me. The average non-Christian is almost completely ignorant of the contents of the Bible. It remains the world's best-selling book; one and a quarter million copies are sold in the UK alone every year. But although many have a copy on their shelves, very few read it. The knowledge of Christians is often not much better. We all have our favourite passages, but much of Scripture remains uncharted territory, especially the Old Testament." (2002, IVP, p.14). A great place to find sermons and other resources to support your study of the Bible is The Gospel Coalition. What are the areas of the Bible that remain uncharted for you? 
• Jesus Withstood Temptation to Sin (Matthew 4:1-11). When Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, He repeatedly quoted verses from the Bible to counteract the attempts of Satan.  I was once told that the Bible verses we have memorised is similar to filling up a library with books for the Holy Spirit to bring to our mind. In order for our 'libraries' to be filling up, we need to be making memorisation of Bible verses a key aspect of our lives. I have started doing Bible memorisation with my daughter and realise so often we think it is something we do with children, yet I have found it is just as important for me too! For a good place to start, look at this Desiring God blog post. 
• Jesus knew His Mission and Purpose. In Matthew 4:17, we read "From that time Jesus began to preach saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The phrase "From that time..." shows a clear change in the narrative of Matthew. It is a significant moment that signals Jesus' ministry has started. Jesus spent the next 3 years proclaiming that He was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for. He taught that repentance and faith in Him is the ONLY solution to man's sin problem and broken relationship with God (Romans 3:23). I think we often fill our lives and minds up with so many different things and pride ourselves on being busy. What if we spent time culling things that may not in themselves be sinful, but that stop us going about the Mission we are called to? That of following Christ in proclaiming the Gospel. Being a Mum of little children, I realise at the moment I am to first proclaim and teach the Gospel to them and then to my community and then to the ends of the earth. My children should not get the last of my attention, rather they are my mission field. 
• Jesus met and taught in the Synagogues. (Matthew 4:23). Jesus regularly met and proclaimed the Gospel in the synagogues. When He was 12, Jesus went missing for 3 days and His parents found Him sitting among the teachers in the synagogue actively learning (Luke 2:41-52). We too should regularly meet and encourage one another all the more as the Day of the Lord draws closer (Hebrews 10:24-25). We should be excited about gathering with God's people and actively learning from others, asking questions and listening as Jesus models. 

This journey of Pursuing God is simply that- a journey. In order to grow in love, depth and knowledge of my God, I first must stop looking to the person running this race beside me and instead have my eyes fixed on the Author and Perfecter of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) and aim to model my life on Him.

photo credit: mathieujarryphoto via photopin cc