New You in the New Year

A New Year offers new opportunities. Advertisers for exercise equipment and diet plans talk about a "new you" in the New Year.
As believers, we know that the "new you" comes about by being born again (John 3:3) through faith in Jesus Christ. Scripture says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17, HCSB)
Physical exercise is good, but spiritual exercise is the best way to get a "new you" in the New Year (see 1 Timothy 4:8). Some key spiritual exercises include: developing a daily Bible reading habit, daily prayer time, consistent stewardship of your treasure, time and talents, finding a way to serve others in Jesus' name, and sharing your faith with others.
This year, I am challenging our entire congregation to memorize 12 Foundational Truths. These are 12 scripture passages that teach essential truths of our faith; one for each month. Throughout the month, we will repeat that passage in every worship service. In January, the foundational truth is that God is Creator: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
Copies of the 12 Foundational Truths are available at First Baptist Church of Rincon, and on our website by clicking on the Earth logo at the bottom of the page at www.fbcrincon.com.
The Bible says, "Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15, HCSB). My prayer is that by the end of 2011, everybody in our church will be able to give the reason for these 12 truths by quoting the scriptures we have memorized.
Will you join me in this spiritual exercise this year?

Living the Lord's Prayer

I just finished reading "Living the Lord's Prayer" by Albert Haase (InterVarsity Press). I've been reading it off and on, slowly for devotion, since November. It's easy to read, I just wanted to breathe it all in. A former Roman Catholic missionary to China, he writes with a rich usage of scripture, church history, personal illustrations and insights, and memorable turns of phrase. The man really knows how to use alliteration!
This book is so full of great quotations.
Haase loves to speak of the ego as "easing God out." Some other good quotes:
"Remember your suffering. It need not be in vain. It can become the womb of compassion." (p. 44)
"Many descendants of Adam and Eve to this day do not see a tree until they have need of paper." (p. 49)
"Ministry is about people-- not paper, processes or procedures." (p. 69)
Speaking of anxious living: "With antacids in their pockets and ulcers in their stomachs, they race toward tomorrow." (p. 69-70)
"Always putting ourselves down is just as wrong and just as sinful as always raising ourselves up." (p. 80)
"Trust your gut-- but use your head." (p. 127)
"Constantly reminding us of our sin, the ego then condemns us to forced labor in a cemetery where we are repeatedly exhuming skeletons, only to bury them and exhume them again." (p. 156)
"There is never reason to despair or doubt the forgiveness of God, no matter how hideous, heinous or hateful the sin may be." (p. 161)
"God loves us not because we are good but because God is good." (p. 161)
"Emotional wounds are like physical wounds: They do not heal if they are neglected; they only become infected." (p. 187)
"There is no 'spiritual microwave oven' that guarantees instant holiness; holiness occurs in the slow cooker of daily fidelity." (p. 204)
"When we mistakenly allow feelings to become the barometer of our souls, we risk the possibility of our spiritual life devolving into a self-centered narcissism focused on 'me' and not on 'Thee.'" (p. 218)
"Trust in God's power and grace can never be overdone, since no situation is too complex, too complicated or too convoluted for God." (p. 234)