Another New Year

I am thankful to God for allowing me to live to see the approaching of another new year. It has not come yet, but standing in God's grace that I will see it.
I stopped making resolutions and goals for some years now as I have found out for myself and from other's testimonies that it mostly doesn't work. So why do it?
Instead, I started to ask God to show me what He has in store for me. This new year, I ask Him to continue to teach me how to live for Him. To continue to mold me to His image. To keep me close to Him. I want to keep following His voice only in everything I do. Yes, I mean everything. This includes how I relate to those around me, and how to spend my time and money, my thoughts and my attitudes, my actions and conclusions. My motives for what I do and think, even if it is good and acceptable in Christianity.
I have been, and am learning to simply be His child and be obedient to Him. I see and experience His kingdom more and more.
The best I can do to make myself better is not acceptable to Him. He must be the One to make me and mold me, so when I boast, I boast about what He has done, and not what I accomplished. He truly gets the glory then.
Will you join me? Or will you just try to make your own self better? If you choose the latter, then you will keep trying for the rest of your life. But, if you allow God to make you and mold you, then you will become what He wants you to be, and an eternally better you.
Rom 10:3- For they are ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God while they try to establish their own, and they have not submitted to God’s means to attain righteousness.

Christmas Celebration

As Christmas time approaches, I have been thinking a lot about why I celebrate Christmas and how I do so, and why other Belizeans do the same. These thoughts enters my head most Christmas season.
This year, I have a little more excitement to create what Christmas celebrating would look like in our home. That excitement left some 10 years ago, and God has been faithful in healing and restoring me and flooding me with His grace to also be there for my family.
Feeling that excitement again feels good and I am encouraged that God's work in me is starting to produce more fruit.
Although surrounded with controversy, Christmas celebration was started to celebrate Christ's birth. I do that and make that my main focus.
As a Belizean,  I want my ham and a good meal for Christmas (I don't like turkey). I also desire to purchase gifts for my family.
Reality does not allow for all that to be realized as I want to.  Over the years I have been scaling back on the pressures I put on myself, and trying to keep up with cultural expectations. The main one being to buy everything new and do the once a year thorough cleaning.
I have figured out that thorough cleaning throughout the year makes it easier come Christmas.
I have also figured out that the brand new $60 curtain can be a clean one from the past, and new maaly and painting can wait and doesn't have to be done at Christmas time.
Only if I need a new stove or sofa set I will buy it.
My relationships became more important than how my house look.
And, I never forget that there are many who have nothing.
As Christmas approaches, let us keep in mind what really matters, not only now, but in eternity. Keep priorities straight. Enjoy God's physical blessings and share with others who lack.
As believers, I think first and foremost we should make sure that each person and family it's not lacking while we enjoy abundance.
Christ came as a baby, but He grew up to become a man. He is presently alive and with His Father in heaven. He is not this sweet baby anymore, He is the risen King of kings, and Lord of lords. As we celebrate His birth and remember all that happened around that time, let us do so with respect to who He is and has always been, and that we take thought to the fact that we must believe in Him to have eternal life.

So what should a person do when they want to give their lives to Christ?
If someone approaches you wanting to do this, in my observance so far of scripture, simply tell them of their need to repent, as John did, and of their need to believe in Christ as the Son of God, sent from heaven to die for our sins, so we can be connected with God again, and their need to confess their sins before Christ.
When viewing the scriptures together, they all point to this.
Putting someone on the spot to give their hearts to God now, with you, and leading them in a repeat after me prayer, and then telling them that because they said that prayer they are now saved and born again, from my observance of scripture, should not be done.
We are not born again because of a special prayer that is repeated. We are born again and enter in to God's kingdom when we repent and confess our sins, and believe in Christ Jesus who gave His life so we can have everlasting life.
Do we believe what Jesus said?
Joh 6:40 "This is the will of my Father who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believes in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
So, how does prayer fit in? Well, any conversation between us and God is prayer. We talk to Him and He talks to us. Prayer is not a one sided communication with God.
This is all I have read being preached: repent, confess, believe in Christ and you will be saved, or have everlasting life.
I think the same applies when sharing the word to a group or crowd, and the Holy Spirit prompts to call those present to repentance, then simply do so as John and Peter did, and share the need to repent, confess their sins, and believe (committing yourself fully) in Christ.
See, we need to trust God that that person was sincere in their repentance, confession, and believing in Christ. We can't see their hearts.
However, the fruit of repentance will be seen immediately if that person truely repented. (Matthew 3:8)
Then, after being born again, that person follows Christ through His word and the Holy Spirit leading. You can't just believe in Christ truely and not follow Him. Because the Apostles believe Christ,  they followed Him. (John 6: 68 & 69)
Another important thing that must follow accepting Christ is discipleship. We must make sure the new believer understand what happened to him/her, and be taught the requirements Christ has to follow Him.
May we walk as Christ teaches us to.