Five Steps to Success in 2021

Given January 1, 2011

I found this post that I wrote ten years ago and thought it would be appropriate to re-post for this year. Take heed as we enter into 2021.

Now that we are in the second week of 2011, many of us have had a chance to forget our New Year’s resolutions or are not doing very well with them.  May I suggest some things that just came to me one morning as I was in my devotional time.  There are many more things that can contribute to our success in the coming year but these five are the first that came to me.

1.  Prioritize the things in your life.  Most of us have way too many “things” in our lives that demand our time and energy and many of them are a waste.  Seriously look at these “things” and prayerfully place them in order of their eternal importance. You might list them on paper.
2.  Ask God to heal you of your “I problem”.  Many of us think too highly of ourselves and much of our conversations and prayers include the word “I”.  “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3).  It’s not about us but about God.
3.  Get out of debt!  We can’t be of much use to the Kingdom of God if we are  obligated to the world’s financial system.  The Bible says, “Owe no man anything but to love one another.” (Romans 13:8).  Especially in these economic hard times, if we are indebted to the system, we are controlled by it.  You might not be able to be debt free in a year but you can begin and you will see that when God sees your faithful intentions, He will help you.
4.  Read your Bible, learn what it says, and do it.  All the answers to life are contained in God’s Word.  We have to read and study it with prayer and the revelation of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot be successful without it.
5.  “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).  This says it all.  If we seek God and His holiness, putting all other things in a lower priority, He will be pleased and actually give us all those other things we need.  We will also find out that needs and wants are different and should be prioritized accordingly.  However, if God is first, He will give us many things to enjoy as well, (1 Timothy 6:17).
* And, I will add one more. Pay attention to your health. God has a plan for each of us based on the giftings He’s given us but we will be limited in what we can do if we’re in poor health. It’s hard but, as with anything God assigns us to do, He will help us. Get in shape and be strong!

As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous other things that will help us be successful in the year 2021.  I’d like to hear from you readers; what things do you think we can do as Christians to insure success this year?

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