Treasure

Happy New Year! It's hard to believe it's 2011...it feels like just last week it was 2010. [insert pity laugh here]

So. Typically, along with a new year comes resolutions. Grand ideas and goals to strive after in the year looming ahead. I'll be honest - when I've made New Year's resolutions in the past, they don't last for long. Usually they involve goals related to physical health. And usually, they're out the window in a matter of weeks.

This year, Cousin Becca and I decided to take a different approach. After reading a book called "Shopping for Time" by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters (who are writers for a blog I LOVE), we decided to pray and think through some more specific, attainable, meaningful goals for the year to come. Mahaney suggests making a list of biblical priorities first, and then listing more specific ways we'd like to see growth in those areas. Knowing that it's by the grace of God alone we can accomplish these things (and understanding that if we fail in an area, God doesn't love us any less - if we succeed, it doesn't make Him love us more), we - in typical Cunningham fashion - began making a list. It is not yet color-coded, so don't make fun. :)

Here are a few desires/priorities I listed for myself:

*PRAY - this is a recurring theme throughout my list for 2011.

*humility/confession - I'm asking the Lord to work on my pride this year, knowing that in sharing struggles and confessing sin, I'm pointing others to and reminding myself of my need for a Savior.

*walk at least once a week (don't laugh - it's more than I currently do!)

*evaluate my commitments and see what I need to drop/change

*go to bed at a reasonable hour

There are many more, but I won't bore you with the details. Moving on...

This morning, my pastor gave a timely message about resolutions and goals. This is really what I wanted to share, because it perfectly complimented what Becca and I had done the night before. Here's the gist of what he said:

Goals are not a bad thing, but CHECK YOUR HEART. This is an important reminder that I too often forget. Jesus is after our hearts, not our behavior, and if we're making goals for the sake of proving our righteousness, we need to rethink what we're doing. All is rubbish compared to knowing Christ, and I need to remember that He is my treasure. I don't DO these things to gain favor in the Lord's sight. That's the whole point of the gospel. All our deeds - no matter how "righteous" they may seem - are as filthy rags to the Lord. That's why we need Jesus! Only His perfect life and sacrifice on the cross make us righteous in His sight. When our faith is in Him, He becomes our righteousness. We don't obey to find favor, we obey because we've been accepted by a holy God - not by any merit of our own, but because of Christ alone.

As believers, every act of obedience is out of the overflow of our hearts and because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The goals I set shouldn't be the point - Christ should be the point. He is my ultimate treasure.

Pray for me, friends.