READ: ROMANS 12:1-21; 14:7-9

I purchased a new calendar,

Am I silly for wanting one for the wall?

I look at the days that await me,

I want you to be Lord of them all.

There is so much life coming,

There are so many new days,

The year will be filled with opportunities,

And chances to give you praise.

I look at each little box, each square,

I think about how they belong to you.

I don’t want to make plans to fill them,

I want you to plan all that I do.

My new calendar helps me understand,

It helps me make plans, it helps me see,

And as I move into each new day,

I want it to be all about you and not me. • Emily Acker

• Do you like using a calendar to plan your days? It’s certainly not wrong to plan, and it’s good and healthy to think about the future and what we might do. But as we look ahead, God calls us to hold our plans loosely and be open to what He might call us to. After all, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, let alone a year from now! As this new year begins, what kinds of plans do you want to make? What are some of your hopes and dreams for this year?

• When we put our trust in Jesus, we are saying that He is Lord of our lives. Because He died and rose again to save us, our lives are not our own; He bought us at a price when He ransomed us from sin and death (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So, as Christians, we are called to honor God in every decision we make. And living this way is so much better than living for ourselves. Of course, Jesus knows we won’t follow Him perfectly. Yet God helps us realize when we have strayed, and He mercifully calls us to repent, to turn around and keep following Him. As you look ahead to this new year, how could you invite God into your planning?

• Remember, just as we can trust Jesus with our eternal future, we can also trust Him with every day of our lives. Sometimes God invites us to do less, other times He calls us into more, and often He directs us to do something different from what we may have expected. Who are trusted Christians in your life who can help you pray about your commitments and discern how God might be leading you?

• If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 6:25-34; 16:24-26; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 5:8-20; James 4:13-17.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Romans 12:1 (CSB)