Such it is in our daily spiritual lives as well. As a pastor, I make it my life’s work to be encouraging and affirming persons to continuously be in a state of making a fresh start and becoming better stewards of what God has entrusted to us every day. We know that eating healthy, exercising, and living within our means has a measured and positive outcome on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. And so do the things that are pleasing to God such as daily prayer, reading the Scriptures, intentional devotion and study, and abiding in the means of grace. I read a book recently by United Methodist Bishop Rueben Job entitled Three Simples Rules. In this book, we are reminded of the disciplines of a Christian life, or as we United Methodists refer to them, the rules for holy living.
John Wesley, the Church of England reformer and founder of the Methodist movement, insisted that evangelical faith manifests itself in evangelical living. Therefore, he implored all Christian believers to follow three simple rules as a way of daily discipleship. First, we are “to do no harm by avoiding evil of every kind;” secondly, we are “to do good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all…” and, thirdly, we are “to attend upon all the ordinances of God.” In other words, we should live our lives with God at the center of all we do by 1) doing no harm 2) doing good, and 3) staying in love with God.
As our New Year resolutions may be slowing down, I challenge all of us to keep our resolve to follow these three simple rules: Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God. Nothing more. Nothing less. If we will commit to these things that are pleasing to God, I am certain our year and our whole life will be one of blessing and joy and ultimately, these are the resolutions that will see us through; not just to the end of the year, but to the end of our days. May God continue to pour out his richness and blessing to you and yours!
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