MOVING AHEAD
by Ed Rowell
Moving Ahead
Ed Rowell
There's something about a new year that makes many of us want to initiate some changes in our lives. For many, that means adding some new things to our "to do" list. If it's our weight we're worried about, we might begin working out every day, change the way we cook, or keeping a food diary.
Better grades. Making more time for the people you love. Getting ready to graduate and find that perfect job. Maybe it's your spiritual life that you'd like to change. You want to start each day with a quiet time alone with God. Read the Bible through next year. Volunteer for that ministry you love.
Now, each of these are worthwhile additions, and while our intentions are good, they often fail to become permanent additions to our lives. The reasons for that are probably many, but for me at least, these additions are hard to make because I don't plan to make any corresponding subtractions in my life.
My family and I have moved frequently. One thing we've discovered in our journeys is that there's nothing like a good garage sale and a couple of trips to the Goodwill drop-off to prepare you for a move.
As you prepare to move ahead, before you add some more things to your life, I'd like to suggest three things you might get rid of to lighten your load. For each one, we'll hear some words of Jesus from the gospels, and try to offer some practical steps toward letting go of these things. The result will be the capacity to draw nearer to God in the coming year, perhaps nearer than you ever imagined possible.
And whatever new attitudes or actions you choose to add to your life in any area, you'll have a far greater chance of making permanent change if you'll cut loose from these unhealthy needs. Because it's easier to move ahead when you leave some things behind.
The Need to Be Perpetually Busy
While you are finding our first text, Mark 6:30-31, right off the bat let me confess that this sermon has suddenly become autobiographical. I ...
Ed Rowell
There's something about a new year that makes many of us want to initiate some changes in our lives. For many, that means adding some new things to our "to do" list. If it's our weight we're worried about, we might begin working out every day, change the way we cook, or keeping a food diary.
Better grades. Making more time for the people you love. Getting ready to graduate and find that perfect job. Maybe it's your spiritual life that you'd like to change. You want to start each day with a quiet time alone with God. Read the Bible through next year. Volunteer for that ministry you love.
Now, each of these are worthwhile additions, and while our intentions are good, they often fail to become permanent additions to our lives. The reasons for that are probably many, but for me at least, these additions are hard to make because I don't plan to make any corresponding subtractions in my life.
My family and I have moved frequently. One thing we've discovered in our journeys is that there's nothing like a good garage sale and a couple of trips to the Goodwill drop-off to prepare you for a move.
As you prepare to move ahead, before you add some more things to your life, I'd like to suggest three things you might get rid of to lighten your load. For each one, we'll hear some words of Jesus from the gospels, and try to offer some practical steps toward letting go of these things. The result will be the capacity to draw nearer to God in the coming year, perhaps nearer than you ever imagined possible.
And whatever new attitudes or actions you choose to add to your life in any area, you'll have a far greater chance of making permanent change if you'll cut loose from these unhealthy needs. Because it's easier to move ahead when you leave some things behind.
The Need to Be Perpetually Busy
While you are finding our first text, Mark 6:30-31, right off the bat let me confess that this sermon has suddenly become autobiographical. I ...
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