A new year is often a time for fresh starts. It\u2019s a good time to reflect on the past year and think about\u00a0aspects of our lives that need changed. Perhaps your resolution is to eat less and exercise more. Maybe\u00a0it\u2019s to spend less time on your phone and more time with your family. It is also a good time to examine\u00a0your spiritual life. As we start 2019, can I encourage us all to meditate on Philippians 3:8: \u2018I count\u00a0everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.\u2019<\/p>\n
The most important thing for Paul was knowing Christ. This is much more than just head knowledge.\u00a0It refers to a deep, meaningful, intimate relationship with his Saviour. I wonder if this is our spiritual\u00a0desire at the start of 2019? Will we count everything else in our lives as loss in comparison to knowing\u00a0Christ in a deeper way?<\/p>\n
How will we come to know Christ in a greater way? By making him our priority. By spending regular time\u00a0with Him. By devoting time to reading Scripture and prayer. By making church a priority and by viewing\u00a0it as a God given means of helping us grow in our knowledge of Christ.<\/p>\n
At the end of 2019, it won\u2019t really matter how much weight you lost or how fit you became. What will\u00a0really matter is whether we have grown in our love and knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. This year,\u00a0may we count everything else as loss compared to knowing Christ.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new year is often a time for fresh starts. It\u2019s a good time to reflect on the past year and think about\u00a0aspects of our lives that need changed. Perhaps your resolution is to eat less and exercise more. Maybe\u00a0it\u2019s to spend less time on your phone and more time with your family. It is also a good time to examine\u00a0your spiritual life. As we start 2019, can I encourage us all to meditate on Philippians 3:8: \u2018I count\u00a0everything as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8838,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[708],"tags":[836],"class_list":["post-8832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elders-thoughts","tag-spiritual-life","ctfw-has-image"],"yoast_head":"\n