[music] Welcome to Moments in Truth, I'm your host, G.T. Stikes. The purpose of Moments in Truth is to give you a few minutes of encouragement by providing simple truths from God's word identified and explained from a biblical worldview. Well, welcome back to another Moments in Truth, and today is January 1st, 2025, and today feels like a fresh start to a new year. Commonly, it is on the 1st of January, or right before, that we start making plans for something called New Year's resolutions. Now, a resolution is a firm and determined decision to either do something good, like start a new good habit, or not do something at all, like giving up that bad habit. The key word here is determined, and the problem is that most New Year's resolutions have dropped the determination part, and just become a one month or less block of time where we make a half-hearted effort to do something good. I want to help you accomplish something better than a one month effort. I would love for you to get to the end of the year and be able to look back and see all that you were able to overcome and accomplish. Now, don't think I'm going to give you a few self-help tips, and it's all magically going to come together. I will, however, be giving you about 12 different disciplines that have the possibility of making a positive impact in your spiritual, mental, and physical life. But I will tell you from experience that although these will make your goal reaching easier, they will still take work, because everything takes work. But let me encourage you, reaching a goal that takes work is very rewarding. You always learn new things on the way, and it's the journey on the path to reaching the goal that sincerely builds the most character in our lives. Now, I can tell you also from experience that if you want it easy, it's really not going to happen. It just won't. Now, before you switch to another podcast looking for the easy way, I would strongly encourage you not to give up and push forward instead, because change can happen. It is possible, but you have to be determined to make the change. Now, for years, I wanted to change in my own life. I was waiting for it to happen on its own, or for someone to do it for me. But you know what? It never did, and no one ever did it for me. Now, there were those who pointed the way to change, giving me solid advice. But at the time, I was waiting for that light to kind of come down from heaven, and God just touching me, and making me whole like Jesus did in many of His healing miracles in the gospel books. Everything would be taken care of, the angels could sing, that would be great, and then boom, everything would be done, and I wouldn't even have to put the work into it. Now, the reality is that change is real, and it is within your reach, but you have to go about it the right way. You have to prepare to achieve your goal. It's not just going to manifest itself right in front of you. Complete. Now, every story has a beginning, and this is where we start to accomplish our goals for 2025. Are you ready? Now, before we get started, you should have a goal, something that you want to change about yourself or your life in some way. Take some time to think about this. Don't just randomly choose something. It needs to be important to you. It has to be important enough that you're going to make the effort to change, but it also needs to be practical, and it needs to be achievable. For instance, at this moment, I can play the piano a very little bit. I mean chopsticks and some short tunes from a beginner's book. It's not a practical and achievable goal for me to be a concert pianist by the end of this year. However, it is practical and achievable that I may learn how to read music better, that I may learn how to play some hymns from the church hymn book and even have a better grounding in my music understanding by the end of the year. Now, there may be some things in your goal planning that you should just take off the table from the start, like being a millionaire or finding the perfect mate or that dream job that just drops in your lap or even getting that sports car or awesome truck you've always wanted. Not that these things can't happen, but God tends to teach us more about contentment in life. And if we need these things, he will provide them in his own timing. Now, if you have not yet set a goal, take some time to think about it and especially pray about it. Ask God to direct you to what the most important changes that you need to make in your life. And when we ask God for direction, he shows us what we need most. All right, so once you have your goal, start here with number one. Now, we cannot achieve our goals without first having the right foundation. And the right foundation is a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not talking about your fire insurance, or you're get out of hell free card. I'm talking about a real relationship with Christ in a way that you can call him friend and brother. Now, it doesn't matter what religion you are or what denomination you are affiliated with. If you want to really achieve something big in your life, something that will last, it has to go through God. And the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. You may have heard of John chapter 14 and verse six before, Jesus is speaking and he says, I am the way the truth and the life. Now, in fact, a large majority of people who have heard this verse have only heard this portion of the verse. But did you know that there's a second part? The rest of it says, no one comes to the father except through me. That means no one gets to God except through Jesus Christ, no backdoors, no secret entries, and no special circumstances. You have to have a relationship with Jesus. And not one of those relationships, like the person you see at the bus stop on some regular basis or you see him at the grocery store, where you can say, Hey, I know that guy. It's not about believing in his existence, okay? Tons of people believe that Jesus existed historically. Now, biblically, even demons believe in the existence of Jesus, but we know that they're not starting a good relationship with him. They're certainly not going to heaven. Now, there are two points to this. First is the entry to that relationship through Jesus Christ. And this is the entry into Christianity. Now, I know that the term Christian is kind of overused today. Anybody and everybody identifies as Christian. So let me take a moment and just define its origin from my understanding. Now, the term Christian is taken from the Bible. In the book of Acts chapter 11 and verse 26 is the first usage. It says, so it was that for a whole year, they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Now, let me give you a glimpse of these disciples in Antioch. They were disciples of Jesus Christ, meaning that they lived for Jesus. They studied what Jesus said. They lived out what he taught on a daily basis. They identified with him. If someone pointed them out in the crowd and they said, Hey, those people are followers of Jesus. And they saw that by the evidence of their daily walk of the things that they did, the things that they said, how they talked even in conversation. It was so evident that they were different from everyone else because they follow Jesus. Now, these weren't just once a week churchgoers. You know, many of these followers were put to death for what they believed and they rejoiced in the opportunity to share in some of the suffering of Christ. Now, that's not insanity. That's the depth of their love for Jesus. They weren't looking to be a part of the Jesus club. Okay. They wanted to know him richly and know the God that sent him to this earth to share that love with his creation. Now, Christians, real Christians want a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. They will admit that they're a sinner, that they have done wrong and they will confess this sin to Jesus and ask him to forgive them. And then they will repent of their sins, meaning that they turn away from their sin and determined to not go back to it, to do all that they can to not live in that sin, but instead live out Jesus's commands. This is the start of Christianity. This is the start of the relationship. Now, the second point here is the next step in this relationship. If you want to see real change in your life, you must move forward in this relationship. Now, all relationships have a beginning. And at the start, you are just learning about the other person, their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams, who they are and what they are like. And as you get to know them more, your conversation grows. It deepens. Your understanding of them deepens, and you have the opportunity to have a really deep relationship with that person, or to just keep it on a surface level. Now, there are many people today who have set a prayer to Jesus, and they go to church, and they're hoping to fulfill the basic requirements of getting in through those pearly gates, but they are not so interested in a long term relationship. They don't really want to put the time into a relationship that involves sacrifice. When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life," what he was doing was he was informing us that a relationship with him really is a long term sacrificial relationship. Jesus says a lot more things throughout the gospel books, but let me share with you something else that he says more towards the end from the book of Matthew chapter 24 and verse 13. Jesus says, "He who endures to the end shall be saved." Now, saved is a term you hear a lot thrown around by Christians. It means being saved out of a life of sin, being forgiven by Jesus for your sins and given the everlasting life with Jesus Christ as John chapter 3 and verse 16 puts it. Now, here in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 13, Jesus is telling us that it's not a preliminary knowing of Jesus that saves you. It's not from a few conversations with him like you have with your schoolmate or your work colleagues. It's not by showing up to a few holiday parties at one of his churches, but it's by enduring or persevering to the end. It's building that relationship, getting to know him, wanting and desiring to know him enough that if he was standing before you, you wouldn't be ashamed. Instead, you would put your arm around him and call him brother. This is the relationship that Jesus wants from you. Now, if you desire that relationship as well, you can ask Jesus for it and he will give it to you. He will show you the way to have a deep and rich relationship with him. And one of the many blessings that we have from this kind of relationship is that we can ask Jesus for things and he will bless us with them. In John chapter 14 and verse 13, Jesus says, "Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Now, what difference do you want to make in the lives of others this year? Ask Jesus for it. He will help you to achieve it. What change do you want to make in your own life for the better? What have you tried to overcome on your own unsuccessfully? Give it to Jesus. He will help you in your journey to real change. Now, the right foundation begins with the right relationship with Jesus. If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, let me encourage you today to start one. If you're not sure, just pray to Jesus. Talk to him about it. Confess your sin to him and determine to leave your sin behind you and move forward for Christ. Now, if you need help, I'll put a link in the show notes for you to help find your way. Now, if you have already set a prayer in the past, but you haven't really sought a strong relationship with Jesus, take the time today to consider what you're missing out on. Talk to Jesus about what you want to change about your relationship with him. And let me encourage you to not try out God, okay? Some people bargain with God, that if he helps them, then they will commit to him. It's like getting a new pair of shoes. We try them out for a few weeks, but if they make our feet more uncomfortable, what do we do? Well, we take them back. We give up on them. God knows when he's being played. He knows what you're thinking. He knows the relationship is genuine or not. Now, if you want to see change, I mean, real long lasting change, you must determine first to have the right relationship. And Jesus has to be your foundation. Let me pray for you today. Lord God and Heavenly Father, I thank you for the opportunity that you can be our very foundation. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to the earth. Thank you for the time that he was on the earth and that he taught. And there's so many things that we can learn from his life in the Gospels. Thank you, Lord, for giving us a clear understanding of what it means to be a Christian and what it means to follow you and to have that relationship with you. Lord, I pray for the listeners today, I pray that you would help them to achieve the goals that they want most in life, Lord, the goals that would most please you. I pray, Lord, that you would help them to accomplish them the right way. Lord, I pray that you would help them to set realistic goals for 2025. I pray, Lord, that you would help them to build a good relationship with you. And though it will be imperfect because none of us are perfect, I pray that they would have a desire to really know and love you as Jesus Christ, as their brother and as their friend. I pray, Lord, for any of those who do not know for sure that when they die, they be in heaven or do not know for sure that they have a real genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that you would help them, that you would guide them through the right scriptures and even guide them to the link in the show notes, Lord, that can give them some more help. I pray, Lord, that you would soften their hearts and help them through the Holy Spirit have an understanding of what it really means to be a Christian. And I pray for those who have set a prayer in the past who have lived a little bit for you, but maybe are struggling in life. I pray for real renewal of that relationship so that this year they can have a deeper relationship with you and a deeper understanding of you. Lord, I pray for strength and help and godly wisdom for all of us as we are working to achieve our goals in 2025. In your name, I pray these things. Amen. Well, don't miss our next episode as we are going to continue studying the best spiritual disciplines that will help us to achieve our goals for 2025. Now, the next one is going to be about something that we need to do with our relationship with Christ. Now, it may be something that you have never personally considered. I hope you'll join me. Well, thank you for listening to Moments in Truth with GT Stikes. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to today's podcast. Now, we would love for more people to hear the truth of God's word, and you can help us reach more people by sharing, following, and subscribing to this podcast. Please be sure to check today's show notes for links to any additional resources, encouragements, and how you can help with this ministry. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
