The New Year is here, how are the resolutions coming? If you are doing great, I am so glad and I want to encourage you to continue your progress. If they aren't going as well, I am hoping that this Bible study will encourage you.

The text I will use is the same one that Grammy used in her message yesterday. No, we did not plan this. In this case the left hand didn't know what the right hand was planning! But, these coincidences happen a lot, so... The text is Phillipians 3:12-14

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

In the first words, the apostle Paul states that he is not perfect yet he continues to work towards his goal: to be more like Jesus. Jesus was perfect. Unfortunately we won't be in this world. But that is no reason to accept our faults and give up. Growth is an ongoing process, physical, emotional and spiritual. Jesus obtained eternal life and salvation for us, and also makes us righteous in the sight of God.

Forgetting what is behind.... That can be taken two ways.First, I want to consider what we need to leave behind. Leave behind the guilt. Paul had a lot of things that he was not proud of. Prior to his conversion, Paul was the major persecutor of Christians in Jerusalem. He caused a lot of harm and was present when Stephen, the first Christian martyr was stoned to death. The Bible says that Paul didn't throw stones, but he made sure that the stone throwers cloaks weren't stolen. He did nothing to stop this. In the beginning of his ministry, Paul wasn't accepted by the Christians. They felt that his conversion was a ploy to get him closer to them so he could report them to the authorities.

The second way that this statement can be interpreted is don't settle for what you have already accomplished. After a rocky start in his ministry, Paul devoted his life to Jesus. He worked continuously, preaching, teaching and establishing new churches. Paul could have easily said, â??I did good, God doesn't expect me to do more, I am only human.â?? Yet he talks of â??straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goalâ??. Your focus is on the goal, not your screw ups or your successes.

A resolution made by a Christian is a decision made for self improvement with God's help. Everything that we do, God does with us. Just because God is helping us, doesn't mean it is easier for us. We are still human with all of the weaknesses that we had. But our successes are not just our own, they also belong to God. People watch Christians, trying to determine if God actually is active in our lives. If we are successful in bettering ourselves, God gets that glory too. It improves our witness to non-believers, possibly planting the seed of faith in them too.

So how do we press on towards our goals. If we were perfect, we wouldn't need to press on, we'd decide what to change and presto/chango it is done. If we were perfect we wouldn't have things that needed changing in the first place but... Keep your focus forward, checking behind just to determine progress. Use that progress to encourage yourself to keep moving forward.

Go slow. Break that resolution down into goals that are measurable and attainable. Instead of saying I am going to lose 50 pounds, decide to eat more healthily and exercise three times weekly. This is a long distance race, not just a quick little sprint so pace yourself.

What happens if you mess up, eat a half gallon of ice cream, whatever. Keep pressing on. Pressing on and striving are not one time efforts. They are a description of somebody who just keeps getting back up and moving forward. Don't give up. When you give up and quit trying, you are truly defeated.

I hope that this helps you and encourages you to keep your resolutions. You know, if you are successful with 2009's resolutions in June, you could always start working on something else. A June 25 resolution may not be traditional, but it has the potential to be wonderful.