It so appears that we have just started a New Year and we face the fact that we have come to the end of the first month. 44,640 precious minutes of this year is just passing by and we are left with 11 multiples of such minutes.
At this juncture I think about the resolutions that I made on the New Year day –
- To write and post a devotional blog “everyday”
- To cook along with my wife “everyday”
- To not bring the laptop home in the evenings after work
- To sleep early “every night”
- To read and meditate the Bible at nights too
- To call and speak to some old friends
- To read a chapter/portion of a book, not just occasionally but “everyday”
And as I look at these resolutions of mine, I know that I could not successfully, regularly keep them. Even after continuously reminding myself of the resolutions that I made I could not succeed in fulfilling them.
What shall I do? Resign to the reality that it is not possible to keep resolutions? Restrain myself from thinking further about the resolutions that I made? And if I look at the resolutions that I made down the years many unfulfilled resolutions will pile up before me. But I am not going to give up and so are you!
Let’s give a fresh start tomorrow. Let us resolve to retry to keep our resolutions from tomorrow onward. In the Scripture portion that I meditated this morning Jesus says,
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23 NKJV)
Tonight before hitting the bed this is what I am going to pray, “Lord, I know that I have not been successful in keeping so many resolutions. I do not have the strength and the resolve to keep my resolutions. Give me Your grace so that I may become resolute.”
Will you join with me in praying in this manner and to retry to keep resolutions? A fresh day, a new month and 11 whole months is before us!
“And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.” (Philippians 1:6 AMP)
I applied the shaving cream on my face and took the new brush to lather the cream. Just with the few strokes the cream lathered and kept foaming and only then I realized that I had applied more cream. But I realized that the amount of cream was the same that I used everyday. Then why there was so much of foam? It struck me! Neither did the new brush require more cream nor much effort. Because it was new, less cream and less effort was sufficient. I also realized that the brush was very smooth and that it did not hurt my skin too.
When I lose the newness in me there is a chance that I need lot of effort and energy to do a work. And because I am old and worn out, I can also hurt myself and others through my words and actions. I started to introspect. So for us to lose the newness, newness has to be there in the first place! When we were born we were new born babies. And even as we grow older slowly oldness creeps into our life. 
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While we live in a world full of crimes committed against women, we see Jesus as One whose life and behaviour with women need to be emulated by all men.
This woman had “faith” in Jesus that He can heal her. Likewise every girl and woman has “faith” in us men and boys, that we will respect them, help them, will see them as equals, treat them as God’s children and behave with them as sisters, mothers & daughters. Let us live up to that faith a female puts on us. Let us emulate JESUS!