On the last Sunday of 2024 I preached a message which I titled, “Do You Need A Course Correction?” Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths”. As we head out on old or new paths the Lord takes us on in 2025, will we stay on the path of righteousness (a godly path)? Are you on that path right now? Do you need a course correction because you are deviating from the godly path? A slight deviation from the path can lead one astray and have serious negative consequences. How many hikers in the wilderness made fatal mistakes by heading down the wrong path? Proverbs 14:12 sates, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” The course or destination that God expects every believer to be heading toward is Christlikeness. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). While the Lord is at work in every Christian’s life, the Christian must not become complacent or apathetic. Paul reminded the young man Timothy to, “ .... refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness” (1 Timothy 4:17). May people will make a New Years’s resolution to go to a gym and start and exercise program which takes discipline. That is what Paul was telling Timothy, “discipline yourself to godliness.” Paul lived what he preached. His foremost desire was to please Jesus who gave His life for him. 2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted (well pleasing) of him. Oswald Chambers wrote, "This requires a conscious decision and effort to keep our primary goal constantly in front of us. It means holding ourselves to the highest priority year in and year out.” If you do this, you will live in a way that is pleasing to God. In Colossians 3:10 this is described as “walking worthy of the Lord.” Are you willing to make a deliberate and consistent effort to do what it takes to stay on a godly path in 2025, and walk worthy of the Lord? If you do, you can be assured that God will bless you, and will never forsake you. In your pursuit of godliness you can expect obstacles. You can expect some falls and some bruises, but God will uphold you. Keep your eyes on the goal ahead and stay focused on the Word of God. Keep His Word in your heart and maintain fellowship with other Christians who are pursuing the same goal.
Keep pressing on,
Pastor Tom
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