01/03/2026
This is the New Year's Eve devo I did for 2026 at our CR New Year's Eve Gathering...
"The ETERNAL Significance of PRESENT FAITHFULNESS"
(Credit for this Title to Jim Denison. The rest is mine.)
First Verse: "Your Kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH as it is in Heaven." Mt. 6:10. It's great we get to go to Heaven when we die, but Jesus taught us to pray for Heaven to come to Earth! And in fact, we will make a difference for ETERNITY if we stay FAITHFUL in the PRESENT!
FAITHFULNESS is a fruit of the Spirit, listed in Gal. 5:22. So we must lean on GOD'S SPIRIT living IN us to help us be FAITHFUL!
So here's PRACTICALLY how God helps us be faithful...
1. DEFEAT DENIAL
This is the first lesson in CR which was taught 2 days after I did this devo by Dan Byerly at our regular CR Meeting. The fact is, if we live in denial, we will make NO progress at all in faithfulness, or accomplishing God's will for our life. That's because we are denying what God is wanting to teach us and we are living in our own reality. The answer to this is two "S" words...
SALVATION - If you haven't, receive Christ as your Savior in 2026!
SURRENDER - to God's plans and truth so you can experience HIS great plans for you.
2. DEEPEN YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
We do this in 5 ways...
WORD. If you haven't read the Bible all the way through (only 6% of Christians have) do it in 2026!
PRAYER. Seek God with all your heart. Our upcoming January Seek Week is a good place to start! Every night!
WORSHIP. Spend time worshipping God. Church is a good place to start. Every week.
FELLOWSHIP. Church, CR, Life Groups, do a Step Study. Make some good connections. Develop Christian friends. Be open to hearing God through them!
SERVE. If you love God, serve Him. He's worthy. You'll never be fulfilled if you are not part of serving in God's Kingdom. Start with a church serve team.
3. DEVELOP CHARACTER
This is the fruit of the Spirit in Gal. 5:22-24. Faithfulness is only one of the 9! The more you are formed into the character of Christ, the more peace, rest and happiness you will have! Less stress. Less anxiety. Take my wealth, you've not taken much. Take my health, you've taken a bit more. Take my character, you've taken everything.
4. DETERMINE THIS YEAR'S GOD PLANS
You must be led of the Spirit to do this. Gal. 5:25. You can't do everything, but you can do what God has called you to! "He that aims at nothing will surely hit it!" Seek God and trust Him to guide you to list 3-5 key goals for you for 2026. Kingdom goals for you in various areas. Personal, family, ministry, career, etc. Not your own ideas. But what God is saying. Don't compare yourself to others. Hear from God! The go for it!
AMEN!
