The New Year provides us a perfect opportunity to evaluate the last twelve months of our lives and to plan the next twelve. It is also a chance for us to obey the Lord’s command and “judge ourselves.”
In order to properly evaluate ourselves, we must make sure we are looking through the proper lenses for considering the past year and projecting toward the next. Right goals will always have a final end in mind: each goal we set is a part of the big WHY — why we do the things we do.
Goal – “The end or final purpose; the end to which a design tends, or which a person aims to reach or accomplish.” (Webster, Noah)
Many “successful people” have climbed a ladder of success all the way to the top only to find out, in life or in eternity, that they were on the wrong ladder.
Scripture plainly teaches the big end or final purpose is The Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider the Apostle Paul’s life’s purpose:
Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
The Hebrews 11 saints accomplished great exploits for the Lord, and they did it simply “by faith.” Hebrews 12 further explains their faith by saying that they were “looking unto Jesus…”
Hebrews 12:1-2a, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…”
Three Areas of My Life I Can Evaluate and Reorganize in the Coming Year:
- Christ in My Devotional Life: I should take a look at my “prayer closet” (Matt. 6:6). What is my Bible reading going to look like in the coming year? What will I use for a Bible reading schedule? What will be my set time for Bible reading? Will I use a daily devotional? How can I make my prayer list more effective? (Remember no time spent alone with God is wasted time!).
- Christ in My Home: I should evaluate the Christ-centeredness of my home. How can I make family devotions better? When is the best time to pray with my spouse? What is an area in which my family and I can together serve the Lord?
- Christ in My Friendships: Christian fellowship is not brethren going to the ball game or talking about politics together; Christian fellowship happens when Christians talk about and serve Christ together. The Holy Spirit knits believers’ hearts together as they serve in church services, prayer meetings, nursing homes, jails, and door-to-door visitation. In what new area can I serve? How can I make my current ministry more about Christ? What new Christians can I encourage in their walk with the Lord? Who can I help mentor?