Time is Flying

Can you believe 2009 is almost over? Is it me or are our calendars speeding up? The Bible says life is “like a vapor… a blink,” and with the days flying by, I can see the truth in this passage.

The point is, whatever we are going to do with our lives, we’d better get on it because time is running out. The other point is, if we are not doing something with our lives, it really doesn’t matter how many days we’ve got left anyway.

So how can we finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010? How can the year ahead be different than the year we are leaving? How many of us find ourselves saying, “I would like 2010 to be better than 2009? Last year was a year of challenges, a year of choices, a year of changes, a year of some crises. The fact is ’09 has been a year of disappointments or underachieved expectations. It’s been a year of loss -- maybe it was the loss of a loved one. And maybe for some, it was a year of failure.

The good news… You CAN finish 2009 well and be ready for 2010! How can 2010 be better? Take the rest of 2009 and ask yourself some questions and have a plan of action ready for 2010.

Here are the questions to ask yourself in 2009 to help you establish a personal development plan:

1. What do I want to learn in 2010? (Intellectual Goal) Proverbs 19:8
2. What will improve my health? (Physical Goal) Proverbs 17:22
3. What will deepen my relationship with God? (Spiritual Goal) 2 Peter 3:18
4. What will be my ministry to others? (Social Goal) 1 Peter 4:10

Take these few days remaining in 2009 and answer those questions. I have included Bible passages that communicate the importance of each of those questions to the full development of our life.

Now, as we enter 2010, IF it is going to be different:

1. I need to assume responsibility for my life. [Galatians 6:5]
2. I need to believe I can change. [Philippians 4:13]
3. I need to clarify what is important. [1 Corinthians 10:23]
4. I need to begin immediately. [Ecclesiastes 11:4]

We’ve just got to have a plan if it is going to be better.