Be Blessed
Notes
Transcript
At a party right after New Year’s, Pete turns to his friend Ken and asks for a cigarette.
Ken says, “I thought you made a New Year’s Resolution to quit smoking.”
“I’m in the process of quitting,” Pete responds with a grin. “Right now, I’m in the middle of phase one.”
“Phase one?” Ken asks with inquisitive confusion.
“Yeah,” Pete chuckles, “I’ve quit buying.”
We’ve all heard the common saying, “if you fail to plan then you plan to fail.”
Isn’t that generally the case with New Year’s resolutions? People don’t really think them through or create a plan, they just recognize where they need change in their lives.
No plans, no thinking it through, just a moment of thought and a hasty decision. Maybe that’s why only 31% of Americans said they will make a New Year’s resolution in 2026. And maybe that’s why adults under the age of 45 are twice as likely as those 45 and older to say they will make a New Year’s resolution (43% to 21%).
That’s from a Yougov poll that asked Americans what their New Year’s resolutions were for 2026. I was going to give you the top 5 resolutions, but there’s an equal percentage between two resolutions tied at 4th.
Now I don’t want to cheat you, so I’m going to give you the two tied resolutions and the next lowest percentage resolution on the list. That makes six overall.
Exercising more is the top with 25% (Gyms every year see a short term influx of membership in January every year that lasts 2-3 months.)
Being Happy is second at 23% (You think there might be opportunity to share the good news?)
Eating healthier 22%
Save more money and improving physical health are tied at 21%
And losing weight comes in at 17%
I want you to notice two things in this poll. First, not one of them had anything to do with spiritual improvement.
And second, the number two resolution is being happy!!
God isn’t even in the picture. I wonder how many of the people polled are or claim to be Christians. Because, the triune God should be the highest aspect of everything we do. Yet He’s not even in the picture.
Is it any wonder why being happy has made it’s way to the number 2 position on the list?
Without the good news of great joy for all the people, happiness becomes nothing more than fleeting moments in our lives. There for a moment and gone.
And without intent and planning we won’t achieve or maintain any of the much needed resolutions we might make. In fact it will feel more like beating our head against a brick wall and quite honestly we would be just as well off doing just that.
Warren Wiersbe has a famous Be series of Commentaries. If we want to make a better new year in 2026 we need to follow our own Be Series of planned intent towards our lives with God as the focus.
We need to:
Be Careful
Be Thoughtful
Be Thankful
Fortunately for us Paul has given us a great handbook to accomplish just that in Ephesians 5:15-20.
Paul starts with Be Careful.
Be Careful
Be Careful
We must be intentional and careful about how we live. Look at what Paul says in Eph 5:15-17
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Paul just got done telling the Ephesians, and us today, to make sure no one deceives them, us, and to avoid participating in the “fruitless deeds of darkness.” He says we once were darkness, but are now light in the Lord.
So now, be very careful how you live. Be wise with our time, which is God’s time, and not contribute to the evil. Rather always seek the Lord’s will every day in everything we do.
In 2009 NBC News contributor, Diane Mapes, wrote an article named Walking Disaster? Why some are accident prone. It says,
Steve Roe’s catalogue of self-induced injuries reads like something out of The Spanish Inquisition Handbook: fractured skull, torn rotator cuff, shattered fingers, broken wrists, fractured elbows, torn muscles, sulfuric acid burns, self-stabbings, multiple broken noses and, as of last month, a ruptured tendon in his ankle.
“I didn’t trip or anything,” says the 46-year-old patent attorney from Madison, Wis. “I was just walking down the hall, in a hurry, and I went around the corner and it suddenly felt like somebody hit me in the ankle with a baseball bat.”
Hurry, worry, multitasking, stress — you might call them the four horsemen of the accident prone. Stress is such a huge factor when it comes to accidents, in fact, it was recently linked to an increase in post-9/11 traffic fatalities by researchers at the University of Minnesota.
Accidents happen to all of us and to some more than others. And we all know somebody that is more accident prone than most. Yes, some people are just a little clumsy or have the IQ and common sense of a doorknob.
But as this article points out most of those who appear accident prone have an underlying cause that’s grounded in hurry, worry, multitasking, and stress. With stress being the major factor.
Do you think we might have a little stress in the world today?
Do you think there might be people who are worried?
And with the ever increasing fast pace of society we all hurry and over indulge in multitasking. The worry, hurry and multitasking all add to the abundant amount of stress already prevalent throughout society today.
The same is true in the spiritual realm. Most of the time we are far too worldly or materially focused than we are spiritually focused.
Brutal honesty here, everyone of us are far more worldly-minded than we are spiritually-minded.
We need to listen to Paul in Colossians 3:1-4
1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
How much time do we waste focused on earthly things when we should be focused on spiritual things? We need to be more careful and use our time wisely for Christ.
Someone said: ON MY WAY to deliver a computer to a customer, I saw a handwritten sign at the entrance of an alley. It read: "Blocked! Do not pass! Difficult to turn back." I continued anyway, only to discover that the alley was indeed blocked by a fallen tree. As predicted, it took a while to turn the truck around. When I finally got back to the entrance, I noticed a second sign. It read: "Told you so!"
How many times does God warn us and tell us we’re headed for a dead end and we just don’t listen?
We must be careful in how we live. Use every minute for the Lord and seek Him every day in every way.
That also means we must be thoughtful.
Be Thoughtful
Be Thoughtful
What do you think of when you hear be thoughtful?
Usually the first thing the pops into mind is about others in need, right?
Look at what Paul says in Eph 5:18
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:
Maybe the first thing that should pop in our mind is being thoughtful to the Holy Spirit whom lives in us.
From an unknown source comes an article titled, "How To Be Miserable." It says, "Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Use "I" as often as possible. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others. Listen greedily to what people say about you. Expect to be appreciated. Be suspicious. Be jealous and envious. Be sensitive to slights. Never forgive a criticism. Trust nobody but yourself. Insist on consideration and respect. Demand agreement with your own views on everything. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them. Never forget a service you have rendered. Shirk your duties if you can. Do as little as possible for others."
Maybe not the entire list, but how often are we guilty of at least part of the list at times?
We all tend to get selfish and focus on ourselves more than others. It happens more than we care to admit. What’s worse is we tend to focus on ourselves more than God.
When Roy DeLamotte was chaplain at Paine College in Georgia, he preached the shortest sermon in the college’s history. However, he had a rather long topic: "What does Christ Answer When We Ask, "Lord, What’s in Religion for Me?"
The complete content of his sermon was one word: “Nothing.” " He later explained that the one-word sermon was meant for people brought up on the ’gimme-gimme’ gospel. When asked how long it took him to prepare the message, he said, "Twenty years."
Far too many “Christians” are only interested in what Christ and or the church can do for them. Their rewards, if any, are menial and temporary. The sad thing is that, if they would just be thoughtful of the Holy Spirit instead, they would find eternal rewards far greater than anything they could imagine.
There are several key scriptures that point our thoughtfulness outward instead of inward.
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
13 For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.
9 Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
We hear the law of Christ all the time. How many actually know what the law of Christ is?
We find it in Matt 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
The greatest commandments. Love here means a perfect self-sacrificing love. We aren’t perfect and can’t give that perfect self-sacrificing love. But we can certainly be thoughtful about it and be intentional about putting God and others first.
18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:
Stop being self-centered and be Spirit-centered. Think more of the Spirit than ourselves. Let the Spirit renew our minds instead of the world. And set our minds on Scripture, prayer, praising and serving.
If people would only do that, then being happy wouldn’t be second on the list of resolutions. It wouldn’t even be on the list, because their seeking happiness would be replaced by joy that surpasses all understanding.
We can all have a better year by being careful about how we live and being thoughtful of the Spirit and others. Then we will have a reason to be thankful.
Be Thankful
Be Thankful
Because God sent His Son into this world to die for our sins we have reasons to sing praises and be thankful. Look at Eph 5:19-20
19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
A recent Pew Research poll found that 47% say people are ruder today than before the pandemic. Some blame it on parents for failing to teach their children proper public manners. Some blame it on internet chat room communications causing a breakdown in civil conversation.
What about us?
Are we ever rude? I’m not talking about the hatefulness we are seeing, I’m just talking about simply being rude.
Do you ever forget to say thank you to someone for something they did for you?
Are we rude to God? Would we ever?
When we fail to express proper thanks and gratitude we are being rude. And it’s to God that we owe our deepest and greatest thankfulness, gratitude, and praise.
Look at Ps 103:1-3
1 My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 My soul, bless the Lord, and do not forget all his benefits. 3 He forgives all your iniquity; he heals all your diseases.
Dr. Dale Robbins writes, “I used to think people complained because they had a lot of problems. But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain. Complaining doesn’t change anything or make situations better. It amplifies frustration, spreads discontent and discord, and can invoke an invitation for the devil to cause havoc with our lives.” Complaining makes us miserable.
How many times have we said to each other I’d complain but it wouldn’t do any good. Well the truth is that it’s even worse than that. When we complain it wreaks havoc in our spiritual lives.
3 I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah
When we complain we are being rude to God. Paul tells us in Phil 2:14-15
14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
I chose the NLT version here because I think it really illustrates how we are supposed to live our life in Christ. Being positive and thankful in the difficult times is one of the strongest witnesses we have for Christ.
The light of Christ shines through us when we are grateful and thankful. When our life expresses our faith, gratefulness and thankfulness it backs up our words with deeds and the light of Christ shines bright.
When we are thankful to others and thankful to God even in our toughest times we present God to the world. We shouldn’t do it because we feel obligated, we should do it because we sincerely desire to be grateful and thankful.
Look at 1 Thess 5:18
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I found this illustration somewhere and I think it fits well here.
Someone said: Last year when I called my parents to wish them a happy New Year, my dad answered the phone. "Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?" I asked him.
"To make your mother as happy as I can all year," he answered proudly. Then mom got on, and I said, "What’s your resolution, Mom?" "To see that your dad keeps his resolution.”
If God’s word isn’t enough to convince you that living a life full of thankfulness and gratefulness leads to a happier and better life full of joy, there’s nothing I can say that will make a difference.
Be quick to praise God and thank Him for every little blessing received.
I think God’s resolution for us this year is 1 Thess 5:18
18 give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
God would certainly like us to follow this resolution because He knows that if we remain in His will that we will have blessings, great joy and life abundantly. As we walk into this year may we be careful, be thoughtful, be thankful and be blessed.
