It’s January, and that means part of my Saturdays are spent in
gymnasiums … one in my church, and another in the public high school
across the street. It’s the start of the Upward Basketball and Cheerleading
season here, in Midland, Texas. Volunteers are helping the program in a
lot of different ways … as coaches, referees, time/scorekeeprs, and
delivering devotionals to the fans during halftime breaks … I’m one of
the volunteers doing the devotionals, and here was my presentation for
today …
Good afternoon, everyone … and happy new year to all of you! Let me
have a show of hands here … how many of you made New Year ‘s Resolutions
for 2015? … okay … now, how many of you are still keeping those
resolutions?
Resolutions — looking at ourselves, looking around us and thinking,
“this could be better … I could do better” — resolutions are a good
thing to have … for ourselves, for our family and for our community. And
while resolutions have become a customary part of celebrating the new
year, they are a good thing any time of the year. On a Thursday
afternoon in November, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln spoke to a crowd
at a cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, honoring the soldiers who were
buried there, saying “we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new
birth of freedom.”
And you know what? God approves of resolutions, too … encouraging us
to put the past behind us, and move toward a better future …
“Don’t remember the prior things; don’t ponder ancient history. Look!
I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m
making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness.” – Isaiah 43:18-19 (CEB)
That kind of resolution could make for a great future … let’s all
resolve, all of us, right here-right now, across this great nation and
around the world, let us to meet that future together.
Thank you, everyone, enjoy the game!
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