The year of seeing through Jesus' eyes

“Teach us to number our days aright,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
—Psalm 90:12

Pastors Jeff and Melodie Leake taught me to name each year as a symbol of what and how you want to become closer to the Lord. This year is my year of 'seeing through Jesus' eyes'.

God is truth, and to see through the eyes of our Lord is to see what is real. Only what you see through his eyes is real. All else is lies and deception.

When we see others through the eyes of Jesus we see who they are in Christ, and we can not help but love them. Everything created by our Lord is pure and wonderful. I want what the world has done to be meaningless and inconsequential - I want to see the perfection and excellence that the Lord intends in my fellow human beings.

I want to see each and every situation through the eyes of Jesus. How might I serve him, do his will upon the earth.

And lastly - and perhaps the most difficult - I want to see myself through the eyes of Jesus. This is absolutely the key to it all. If I can see myself through the eyes of Jesus I can accomplish the two goals above without effort - because that's the person I already am - in his eyes.

This past year was the "Year of Leaning Forward" into the arms of Jesus. It was a year to grow my faith, and I think I did okay. I prayed this year for better health for my daughter, and he answered that prayer by telling me to improve my own. Reluctantly I did, exercising and losing 47 lbs. When people would ask how I was able to find the motivation I said I didn't know other than the Lord told me to. But that was not the truth and I wanted to know why too. I began to pray and study exactly what was going on. I learned that the Lord was slowly revealing to me exactly who and what I am in truth. Who and what he made me to be. Who I ALREADY AM in his eyes. And WOW that revelation makes all the difference!!!!

My prayer for everyone on this planet is that we can begin to truly see who we are in Christ - who he has made us to be. Who we already are in TRUTH. What we are in this world has been warped and contaminated - but through Jesus we can come a lot closer to who we are in his eyes.

That is my goal for this year. To become ever closer to the woman that Jesus made me to be.

The Year of Leaning Forward

Our Senior Pastor Jeff Leake started the tradition of 'naming your year' with is wife. It's a cool idea that allows you to give the coming year a 'theme'.

Last year I named my year "Diligence and the Holy Spirit". I was trying to be diligent not only in my faith, but also in my work, and personal life. And I was seeking to become ever closer to the Holy Spirit.

This year is going to be the Year of "Leaning Forward". This phrase "Leaning Forward" has been used around our Church for some time. Pastor Jeff uses it and a very dear friend of mine even named her Blog after the concept. And I feel sad that I do not know the name of the person who originated the phrase with this particular definition so that I can credit him with this clever verbiage.

Our definition of "Leaning Forward" means to lean forward INTO the arms of God. I don't want to lean back into his arms, I want to lean forward aggressively. I want to have that kind of faith.

So here is to the new year, and my Year of Leaning Forward into your arms Lord, trusting in you in all the situations of my life. I will not be prey for any spirit of fear, but I will trust that your Grace is sufficient for me. Amen.