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Nothing

  • January 5, 2023
  • Posted by: Carolyn Mahal
  • Category: Devotions
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Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. – John 15:4-5

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? How’s it going? Have you kept it this long? If not, take heart because you are not alone. A 2020 poll of 2,000 Americans found that 68% of us have abandoned our resolutions within the first month. Further, 1 in 7 made the resolution with the firm belief that they wouldn’t achieve it in the first place. Not terribly inspiring, is it? It seems that the commercials promoting the ways you can achieve the new and improved you last substantially longer than the new and improved you does.

With that established, allow me to share with you my New Years resolution for this year:

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a doggone thing!

Before you criticize me, I would like you to know that my odds of achieving this far exceed those of people who take the more traditional route of weight-loss, improved organization, financial planning or wasting less time on social media. In fact, whether you chose nothing as your resolution or not, you WILL achieve this resolution. It’s Biblical!

Consider the following:

  • Romans 3:23 tells us, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
  • Isaiah 59:2 explains that “…your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
  • John 14:5 delivers Jesus’s clear message that “…apart from me you can do nothing.”

The way I see it, I can’t possibly fail to succeed at failing. Of course, neither can you or any of the other 8 billion of humans currently sharing life on this planet. Thankfully, Jesus provides us with a solution even more certain than my New Year’s resolution: Himself! “Abide in me, and I in you.” God’s plan to save us from our sinfulness has been given to us without merit. We deserve our nothing, but through God’s love and grace, and through Christ’s death and resurrection, we have been given forgiveness, peace, and salvation; or to sum it up, God has given us everything!

May this new year bring you everything, in Him.

 

Devotion by Richard Schumacher

Senior Director of Operations