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We spent a good part of December 2020 casting a vision for our faith walk in 2021. We built a CHANGE RAMP to the new year. We took inventory and identified our most important “Learning Takeaway” from 2020. And we committed to make sure our CHANGE RAMP to 2021 is SO BIG that it defies human logic because the ONLY way it can be reached is if it is of God.
With that work done, we started searching for our SPIRITUAL IMPERATIVES for 2021—what MUST be done. Not goals or programs. What we must do no matter what to grow spiritually.
Well…2021 is here and it’s time to launch our January 2021 SPIRITUAL IMPERATIVE–Release Control To God–the first of 12 monthly SPIRITUAL IMPERATIVES for the year (below).
JANUARY: RELEASE CONTROL TO GOD.
Release control of your MIND. Your BODY. Your WILL. Let God take FULL CONTROL of your life.
FEBRUARY: REJECT THE WORLD.
Resist being intoxicated by 21st-Century artificial intelligence, driverless cars, and materialistic mania.
MARCH: RECOGNIZE OUR INADEQUACY.
Embrace your “ordinariness” and know that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
APRIL: BELIEVE WITH A CAPITAL B.
Know that partial belief is no belief. Either we believe God is the author of everything good or we don’t.
MAY: SWITCH FROM DOING TO BEING.
Be authentic in Christ. Authentic in your relationships. And Authentic in pursuing God’s purpose for your life.
JUNE: COMMIT TO LIFE-LONG SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
Spend time in God’s Word; study his truths; pray; and understand the imperative to know the Lord intimately.
JULY: KNOW WHAT GOD PROMISES.
Know what God says and what he promises to help us endure time spent ensconced in the fog of uncertainty.
AUGUST: SEEK SOLITUDE WITH GOD.
Check God’s Word regularly; seek his direction; continually surrender your life to him; and obey what he says.
SEPTEMBER: PRAY AT ALL TIMES.
Commit to the habit of prayer–day-in and day-out no matter the circumstances. Focus on substance, not style.
OCTOBER: LISTEN FOR GOD’S DIRECTION.
Listen carefully for God’s direction and wait for God to speak—both when life is smooth and when it’s rocky.
NOVEMBER: IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE.
Move beyond warm-and-fuzzy love to unconditional AGAPE LOVE–goodwill, benevolence, and delight in Christ.
DECEMBER: GOD’S READINESS.
Have an answer—God’s answer—ready to claim BEFORE the challenges and trials of life knock on your door.
I ask God to help me release control of my life to him—my mind, my body, and my will.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Will you commit this month—JANUARY 2021–to RELEASING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE TO GOD? Releasing control of your MIND? Releasing control of your BODY? Releasing control of your WILL? Releasing control of everything to allow God to take full control of your life?
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36