Do you make New Year’s resolutions?
I don’t as a rule. I have so often made a resolution and not upheld it, that I prefer not to make the resolution in the first place.
I do keep myself accountable to my Emmaus reunion group and to my husband. If they notice behaviors or attitudes in me they think I need to change, I take their advice to heart and work on the change right then rather than wait until January 1 to do it…whatever “it” is.
The quote below has been attributed to many people, so I am just going to classify it as “Author Unknown.”
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Read it again. Dwell for a moment on each statement. Every day God allows us to live, we have the opportunity to live out that quote.
Do all the good you can.
Ephesians 2:10 states, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do," The verse assures us that God has planned good works for us to do. It is up to us to find them, and get them done.
By all the means you can, in all the ways you can.
When God gives us a mission, He also provides the means to accomplish it. Perhaps you are to donate money to a specific organization, buy a hamburger for a homeless person, or give a smile to a stranger you pass by. The good that God intends you to do could be even closer to home. It could be that your spouse or your child need a word of encouragement from you. Maybe
they
need a hamburger, a smile, or even a hug!
In all the places you can.
Your first place of ministry should be your own home. Anybody can be kind to a stranger. It takes extra effort to be kind at home because home is where we often let our guard down. The worst of ourselves that we don’t allow to be seen in public sometimes rears its ugly head when we are home. In Acts 1:8, Jesus admonishes his followers to preach the Good News “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Let home be your Jerusalem.
At all the times you can.
Really. Always be on the lookout for someone God wants you to serve. This could mean buying someone’s coffee or simply holding a door so the next person can enter unhindered. It could also mean stopping to help someone change a flat tire when you are on your way to an important meeting.
To all the people you can.
The person who just cut you off in traffic? Yes. Them too.
As long as ever you can.
If God has given you another day, use it for His glory.
As we begin a new year together, let us search diligently for the people God would have us minister to. Perhaps you are called on to fix soup for a sick family member. Perhaps you are called on to go on a mission trip to Detroit, Ethiopia, Guatemala, or some other place that is far away. Perhaps you are called on to help a local ministry, either financially or with your time.
Throughout this coming year, keep yourself open to the possibilities God has in store for you.
DeColores!
