Will His power work in you this new year?

Annually many people make “New Years Resolution” they don’t keep!  What would be a good resolution to make?
Resolution is defined as “a resolve to do something.”
At this time of year it’s always interesting to hear people reflect on what has transpired the last year and then what resolutions will be in place for the new year.  During this time of reflection, we try to learn from the past and go forward with a renewed purpose.  I will pray more, I will lose weight, I will work out more, I will appreciate my spouse more, I will not take for granted what the Lord has blessed me with… to name a few.  All great intentions, but as we grow older we realize those resolutions usually do not last long and all too often we fall back to our old habits.
As I reminisced today about last and imagined what this new year will bring, I had a good friend send me a verse that resonated in my mind as one of the best New Year’s resolution I have ever read; and it’s given to us by His Word.  This resolution is for us yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Ephesians 3: 14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen
Paul, the writer of Ephesians,  prays this resolution for us.  When you study it closely, you find many powerful, inspiring petitions in the verses.
1) Paul asks that Jesus would grant us strength, however, not just a little strength; “according to the riches of His glory.”  I can’t even imagine that kind of strength, but I do know it’s possible, as Paul reminds me, “through His Spirit.”
2) Paul also asks that we be given the resolve to comprehend the depth of Christ’s love and that Christ may dwell in our hearts, so we “may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Surely an inspiring resolution.
3) Finally, the last verse is what really made me think.  On this New Year’s day, time is relative to us, but time is not relative to our Father.  It does not matter the year, the day or even the hour or minute.  There is no definition of time in the word forever.  Our human bodies must go through the process of time, but our souls do not know time; and the gift of salvation gives us the right to live eternally with Christ and never worry about a New Year.  There will be no clock; there will be no need for New Year’s resolutions.  That is the power of those verses.
Therefore, we at Reasons for Hope, pray that in this year you resolve to live your life, reflecting the gift that you’ve been given…the gift of eternal life with Him, and the peace that passes all understanding through Jesus Christ. Amen.
On a side note, notice in verse 15 the word family is used.  Yes, Christians, we are a family.  It does not matter where we come from or what we look like, but it does matter how we got here.  When Jesus saved us we became part of one big happy family — His body, the Church.  When you stop and think about Paul’s words, “the whole family in heaven and earth is named,” and what that means, it is so inspiring. That means every heaven-dwelling and earth-dwelling saint, along with the angels, are in the family.  Wow, what a family!