2010 will mark my 65th year on planet earth. I’m getting old but I stand on the starting line with a twinkle in my eye, with a sense of expectancy, and with faith in my heart.
What will a new year bring? Who knows but God alone? I know that whatever it brings will come to me with God’s approval and for my good. It might be great blessing or it might be pain and suffering, or even death, but it will be filtered through His sovereign will. Of this I am sure and am content.
My prayers and my dreams are alike. I desire that my future, however long, be marked with increased holiness, a more desperate prayer habit, loving others more frequently and in tangible ways, and being a blessing rather than waiting for one.
I want to become one who loves God more than I love the approval of men (This is an admitted struggle for me all of my life). I want to place more emphasis on adjusting my life to the truth I know than seeking more truth. I want my teaching to be marked by more integrity, my love for my wife and family to be more generous, and my need for repentance less frequent.
If I could be granted but one wish it would be at this time next year God could say of me “Royce is my friend”.
An honest appraisal of this man who has been a believer for almost 50 years is not pretty. I love satisfaction at the expense of sanctification. Sometimes I spend more time on Face Book than in God’s book. I tend toward measuring myself against men rather than against the God-man. I am too negative and skeptical at the expense of being poor in spirit. And, perhaps worst of all, sometimes I try to rationalize rather than repent.
So, I lean heavily upon the arm of the everlasting One, wallow in His grace, and give thanks for His faithfulness. I am the chief of sinners but I know whom I have believed and am confident that one golden day break He will complete his work of making one helpless sinner into the glorious likeness of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.
I will not live in Romans 7 forever. Sooner than later I will move to Romans 8. Count on it…
Happy New Year! Agape
Royce
Grace Digest 
Thanks for a wonderful post and for sharing thoughts that apply to so many of us.
Royce, your desire for “being a blessing rather than waiting for one” has come true with me. Thank you, my friend, for blessing my life this year. I look forward to reading more of your thoughts and desires in 2010.
Peace,
Gayle
Thank you, Royce, for sharing your heart’s love and longing for the friendship of our Father. For encouraging our transparency before Him and one another by revealing your own. For prompting my mind and heart toward more intentionality in my life of faith, hope and love
in this new year. Thank you for being my friend in the Lord.
Blessings,
Alta
Thank you for putting into words the very thoughts of my heart. I want so much to be a blessing to others and stop looking for my own blessings. I have faced some very tough circumstances in my life and I can truthfully say God used my adversities to bring good later in life for me and for others. Now I face another huge trial and my prayer is that I face it fearlessly knowing God is always in control. He will not leave me to face it alone.
God bless and keep you,
Rita
I was blessed by your article on resolutions for 2010…I am 68 on Jan. 3rd, and I share similar feelings that you expressed. I appreciate your comments and feel challenged to think soberly about them. I so want to walk closer to God this year. I agree that I need to just implement the truth I know instead of always continue seeking more…that would really change my life. I have been a Christian since 1951, and often feel like I should be more mature than I now feel I am. Thank you for your candid remarks! God bless your year!
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