#115 Renewed for a New Year (08/02/04)

Message by Dr. Robert A. Schuller

This past week I was reading my daily email, which come from our ministries web site at www.hourofpower.org, and I ran across an acrostic that my father wrote a few years ago called T-R-Y. The T-R-Y in this case stood for -

So as we start this New Year, I'm beginning a short two part series today and next week on setting and achieving your goals in the New Year.

The New Year is the best time to set new goals ... and goals are much better than resolutions. Resolutions for some reason seem to be here today and gone tomorrow. They're like the wind, they just blow in and they blow out, but a goal seems to be something much more tangible. We can wrap our arms around a goal, then move forward in trying to achieve it. It may take a little effort, it may take a little time, but eventually, every goal is achievable.

Over the Christmas holiday I spent some time going through my desk drawer looking at the goals I've written down from years past. Specifically I came across the year 1999. In looking at some of those goals I realized that a few of them I thought were simply impossible, were actually accomplished this year - 2003! I didn't succeed in 1999, or 2000, or 2001 - it took four long years for some of my goals to be attained. When we TRY to reach our goals, we have to trust in God and believe in His timing. Believe that the dreams that He gives us are the positive steps He wants us to take in our lives.

Today is a day where I'm going to give you lots of homework, ladies and gentlemen. Your task today is to take out a piece of paper and write down your goals for 2004. As you do, realize that not all of your goals will be accomplished in 2004, fulfilling your goals in 12 months is not the idea of this exercise. All I'm asking you to do is to make your goals real by writing them down. Some of your goals may be fulfilled in 2004, others may take until the year 2005. Still others may take until 2006. The timing isn't important. Attaining your goal is.
As you begin this process of writing down your goals for the New Year, you'll need to start by

dividing them into several categories. Begin by writing down your spiritual goals. What are you going to do spiritually to become the person God wants you to be this coming year? If you're going to be successful in life, you need to start with a solid spiritual foundation. Your spiritual goals should include such things as reading the Bible for at least fifteen minutes a day. If you spend just fifteen minutes a day reading the bible, you'll actually read through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation in one year. What an incredible way to spend just a few minutes each day in 2004. Strengthen your faith by reading the Bible. Next, make one of your goals to spend more time in prayer. When we pray, we are spiritually talking with God, seeking His guidance and His will for our lives. Ask Him to bless you in this New Year with the strength and commitment you'll need to achieve all of your goals. Next make a commitment to attend church every week. You need the spiritual nourishment that a weekly fellowship of believers can give to you.

Take the time to number, one by one, the spiritual goals that you would like to achieve in this New Year. Once you have done that, move on to your mental goals. How would you like to expand your mind in the coming year? What goals have you put aside that you would like to revisit? It's amazing how we can easily put aside the goals of past years.

An eighty-seven year old woman in the process of attending college had this to say:

Challenge yourself mentally in the coming year. Set the goal to expand your mind. Choose toread books and periodicals that are healthy and productive. Attend seminars that will expand your thinking. We have a seminar here called the Institute for Successful Church Leadership and everyone is invited to come and participate during this incredible week of learning. It's a week long with some of the most dynamic speakers in the world such as Bill Hybels of the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, and Paul Crouch of TBN, and Walt Kallestad of the Church of Joy in Glendale, Arizona, and literally dozens of others. Call or write to us and get involved.

Expand your mind and set new, perhaps previously thought impossible, goals for yourself. If younever received your college degree, set a goal to get a college degree. If you never finished high school, go back and get your high school diploma. If God's given you the desire to become a doctor or Ph.D. - Just Do It. There's nothing stopping you from achieving your dreams - but a little time ... a few books to read ... a couple courses to take ... and the desire to make it happen. You can go anywhere from nowhere and scale the heights of any mountain if only you will set your goal to achieve the impossible.

Set your goals for 2004 - spiritually, mentally, and next physically.

I think the number one New Year's resolution is to lose a few pounds. Since I see more than a few hands going up in the audience right now, it looks like I'm right. Even if you're not a candidate for weight loss, we could all use a little exercise in our lives. Take some time each day for a morning or evening walk - perhaps with a loved one or friend and use that time to not only refresh your body, but revitalize that kinship as well. Find the time to exercise, then make one of your goals to eat right in the new year - and I'm quite sure in this day and age that you won't have to look very far to figure out what "eating healthy" means. What is important is that you make a few physical goals for yourself. What you'll find interesting is that as you make physical changes in your life, those changes will have a direct impact on you both mental and spiritually. Re-arranging the three also holds true. Spiritual changes will impact you physically and mentally, and mental changes will impact your physical and spiritual being. God has designed the human being as one great symbiotic unit, each part impacting the other.

As you set your goals for 2004, begin spiritually, mentally, and physically ... then expand your goals to the people around you as you begin to focus on your family. Make one of your goals to spend more quality time with your family. If you never have dinner as a family, make one of your goals to have a family dinner once a week, and plan the night - put it on the calendar. If dinner is impossible, make it breakfast. If that doesn't work, make plans to pick your kids up from school once a week to have lunch together. Take the time to be involved in the life of your family. Next, set a date once a week with your wife or husband. Pick her up at work and take her out to lunch, or plan a date night. It doesn't matter much where you go, or how much you spend, it's all about quality time together.

Now we have our list of spiritual goals, our mental goals, our physical goals, our family goals, and the time has come to create our financial goals.

It's not uncommon for me from time to time to talk with children about money. The first thing I do is to pull out a dollar bill and ask the question, "Who can tell me how to spend a dollar? What are you going to buy?"

Believe me, the ideas come fast a furious when that question is raised. When they settle down, I begin to give them the same advice that I was raised with. I begin by telling them that the first ten cents of that dollar goes to God. The Bible tells us to:

A tithe in this scripture passage is equal to ten percent. So in my example to the kids, the first dime of our dollar is God's.

The second dime, I tell them, goes into the bank. It's invested. It's saved for a future day and a future need. That leaves 80% left over for me to be able to spend any way I want. That's the way you spend a dollar.

Make your financial goals for the New Year. Decide how you are going to spend your dollars. Perhaps you need to save more, or work your way out of debt so that you can save a little more. Make a goal to buy that first condo or house, or finally begin that retirement plan you've been putting off for so long. Decide what financial goals you would like to accomplish in 2004 and write them down. Did you notice that the first step in reaching your financial goal was a spiritual one? God wants to bless you in your financial life if you will only have enough faith in Him to take Him at His word. So as you plan your financial goals, begin with tithing.

This is a good lesson to remember in all areas of our life, isn't it? If our goals are not focused on the spiritual, we will not succeed. If they are focused on the spiritual, we will not fail.

You have homework today. Set your goals this week, and next week we will take the steps to help you fulfill the goal you want to accomplish.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are here ... that You are real ... that You are our God ... that You're in the process of moving, shaping and directing ... that you're a God who will continue to help us succeed. And so we thank You, Lord, for everything You're doing in our lives, today, tomorrow, and always. Amen.