Mission Statement for 2010

Last night I listened to a message by Pastor Jonathan Falwell online (I usually watch the services live online on Sundays but when I don't see them live I watch them later in the week as they are posted on the TRBC website at www.trbc.org.) At the beginning of his message Pastor Jonathan gave us a mission statement - not some big fancy church mission statement - but rather a personal mission statement, one that each of us can take and apply to our lives. The mission statement said,

In 2010 and beyond, I will be ACTING RIGHT, STANDING STRONG, STANDING TOGETHER, FEARING NOTHING and ENDURING ANYTHING WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL IN MIND of bringing glory to God!

Based on the following passage:

Philippians 1:27-30 (New International Version)

^"27Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."

Pastor Jonathan went on to explain how we each of those things can be possible in our lives. Now I was doing pretty good until he got to 'FEARING NOTHING'. My first thought was how is it possible? How can a person who has undergone panic attacks for several years fear nothing? Of course we all have fears and worries and concerns in our lives BUT I am learning every single day that God is GREATER than all those fears.

A couple verses came to my mind after I listened to Pastor Jonathan's sermon and they are verses that I have written down and am not just memorizing for the sake of memorizing scripture but I am memorizing them so that when I am afraid, when the old fears come and threaten to steal my peace and joy I will be able to stand firm on God's Word and in His strength.

The first verse is 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
- New Living Translation

The second one is Isaiah 41:10 and while many may know this verse from the NIV translation I decided to check out The Message translation and it says the following:

'Don't panic. I'm with you. There is no need to fear for I am your God. I'll give you strength. I'll help you. I'll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.'

What wonderful words!! Amazing!! Those two verses are ones that I am claiming for my life because I know that 2010 will hold MANY challenging days! And I am so thankful that God has a firm grip on me and that when the fears come and threaten to steal my peace of mind I can think of these verses and remind myself that greater is HE that is in me than he that is in the world!

Do you have a personal mission statement for 2010 and beyond? If not maybe you need to consider the mission statement that I quoted earlier. We will all face many challenges and struggles in 2010 and beyond but It is so much better to face those things with God... than without God.

God bless!