2010 is upon us, folks.

A new year typically brings with it feelings of hope and excitement.  Resolutions are broken made with a hope of things changing.  But, this world really doesn’t do that, does it?  Even in our “best” year, we can always find something that held it back from being worthy of thanks.  Each year gets harder to look forward to.  Heck, tomorrow looks pretty grim.  I tend to just try to hang on and just make it through the year, hoping that it doesn’t kill me.  Fear and anxiety begins to creep in, affecting each and every decision I make.  And, with current times being pretty tough, it seems like one thing after another takes me down the road of panic and fear faster and faster than ever before.

But, I want to challenge all of us to make our resolution for 2010 this: Not worry.

You know, fear is a big deal.  Anxiety is a huge problem in our world. I’m pretty sure I’ve experienced some sort of panic attack in my life. Paul said that God did not create in us a spirit of fear; but one of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:7) So, how come we still have it? It must be that in this fallen world, we are prone and conditioned to fear first instead of seeking the kingdom of God.

Jesus talked about this in the Sermon on the Mount, which would be the moment in history that he unveiled, if you will, what the kingdom of God looked like. We can pick it up in Matthew 6:25….. (more…)