How can we best live out the New Year, 2010?

John Maxwell wrote in his final entry for his book, "The Daily Reader":

I believe that every person leaves some kind of legacy. For some, it's positive. For others it's negative. But here's what I know: we have a choice about what legacy we will leave and we must work and be intentional to leave the legacy we want.

I find this to be a sober reminder of our God given mission on earth. We are to leave a legacy, more importantly we are given a mission from God. We can choose to carry it out or not carry it out and in the end, like it or not, that will be our legacy.

Joshua said to the Israelites in a final speech:

So now: Fear God. Worship him in total commitment. If you decide that it's a bad thing to worship God, then choose a god you'd rather serve — and do it today. As for me and my family, we'll worship God (Joshua 24:14).

Minnie Louis Haskins wrote a poem in 1908 entitled, "The Gate of the New Year"

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
"Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown."
And he replied, "Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"

I find a lot of truth in those four lines of verse. We want that sure light to see our way into the darkness, but instead we are offered the hand of God. This is better than any light and in the end will be safer than going by a known path:

Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!

Psalm 150 talks about trust another way.

Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy house of worship,
praise him under the open skies;Praise him for his acts of power,
praise him for his magnificent greatness;Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
praise by strumming soft strings;Praise him with castanets and dance,
praise him with banjo and flute;

Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
praise him with fiddles and mandolin.Let every living, breathing creature praise God! Hallelujah!

Beyond trust is praise!
Beyond trust is praise! Praise is trust so pure, so intense you are eager to give credit to the source.

So, how can we best live out our New Year, 2010?

  1. Leave a legacy to be proud of.
  2. Put our hand in the hand of God and trust.
  3. Work to move beyond trust to praise.

Hallelujah! Praise God!

My prayer for you is that 2010 is a year where you consciously work to leave a legacy to be proud of; where you put your hand in the hand of God and trust; where you see the results of your trust and have no option but to give joyous praise to the source.

Hallelujah! Praise God!

Have a blessed 2010!