New Year: Do What Jesus Did

As the new year begins it is often a time to re-evaluate where we have been and where we are going.  For those of us, followers of Jesus, we may need to renew our vows to Him to give Him our lives. 

We know that God loved us long before we said “Yes” to Jesus as our Lord.

Romans 5:8

 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

But we also know that in following Jesus as Lord He calls us to give our all to Him… Our whole lives, our bodies, our dreams, our families, our identities.

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

In return Jesus promises this,

Matthew 19:29

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

And so we have this question going into the new year.  What does it mean to deny ourselves and follow Him.  The first step is to do what He did.   Jesus, Himself, says that He only does what He sees the Father doing. And so for us we follow Him by doing what He did.

John 5:18-19

For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.

Jesus got away by Himself to pray and be with the Father.

Matthew 14:23

 After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone.

As we begin the new year let us resolve once again to get alone with God, to do what Jesus did.  This is the first and foremost step as we follow Him.  We deny the comforts that may from sleeping longer or catching up on social media or entertainment or checking off items from that never ending to-do list.  Our lives and dreams and families and careers are wrapped up in following Him by committing ourselves to getting alone with God, praying, reading His Word and listening for His voice. 

Renew…resolve…recommit