I have waited until we were at least a month into this New Year before writing these thoughts. The same story is played and replayed every year, from the time we can begin to think about what we want to do or accomplish in the "new year." We make resolutions, and this year we are going to keep them! Those ten, twenty, thirty or more pounds are going to come off this year! We will eat like we should, and exercise, exercise, exercise! That ten year old “Read Through” the Bible chart is going to be completed this year. Every day we will set aside time to read the Word!

Sound familiar? It probably is. Then comes February. And the reality is that we haven't "found the time to exercise." And who really has time to read the Word? Anyway, we hear it read on Sunday. That is enough!

Let me encourage you to begin again. Paul told the Philippians, "This one thing I do, forgetting the past, I press toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus." January has come and gone. But the good news is that today is a new day. Today you can forget the mistakes of yesterday (hopefully you will not forget their lessons), and do something positive to impact you and your world.

How to start? Start with a plan! What a novel idea. Each of us has twenty-four hours every day. The dear brother I knew in South Dakota who read through the Bible seven times every year for only the Lord knows how many years, had no more hours in his day than you. The difference is that he planned his day. He set time aside to read before work in the morning and time to read before going to bed at night. He was a wonderful example to his three children who are all in active ministry today.

Are those extra pounds your struggle in life? Take a few minutes each week and plan (there is that word again) some balanced meals and snacks. You might even plan the times of day that you will enjoy those snacks and meals.

Paul was successful in his ministry, because he planned to serve God every day. While he was traveling, he planned where to go next to preach the gospel. Admittedly, sometimes his plans were overridden by the Holy Spirit, and that is alright. At least he had a plan to begin with. When his circumstances changed drastically, and he was imprisoned, he still planned to follow Christ. He continued to serve by planning. Get the picture? At Philippi, he planned a worship service with Barnabas. God came on the scene, and the jailer and his entire household were saved. During his extended prison stays, he planned how to encourage the churches he had been instrumental in establishing and those he wanted to visit, as well as the young ministers he had been training. We never find Paul complaining about his circumstances. He rejoiced because he could write letters to churches and young ministers. He planned to use his life for the Lord and what a blessing his writings have been to the church throughout the ages. All because at his conversion, he planned to serve Jesus Christ.

I ask you again. Where are you going in 2010? Have your plans gone by the wayside? Did you even have plans? The good news again is, today is not too late to begin. Ask Jesus Christ to be you Savior and Lord, and commit yourself to planning to live for Him every day. Remember that every day is a new day, so plan at the beginning of that day to serve God to the best of your ability. At the end of 2010, you will probably be amazed at how far you have come in accomplishing your plans, because His plans have become your plans.