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"For I determined not to know anything
among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
(1 Corinthians 2:2)
Happy and Blessed New Year! What a grand way to begin a new year in 2023 by spending time with the Lord, reading His Word, praying, and focusing on Christ. Perhaps you have made your New Year's resolutions. Some have, no doubt, while others think it is a waste of time. You may not make those resolutions, but I do invite you to be determined with the Apostle Paul that you will let some things go and pick up and embrace that which is most important.
The title of our devotions this week is "Be Determined", based on 1 Corinthians 2:2. The Apostle Paul was a tenacious, determined follower of Jesus Christ! Take a moment and read our verse within its context: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5:
"And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
One of the greatest gifts God has given to humanity is the ability to be determined. To live with determination and resolve is really a blessed and productive way to live. People of resolve, those who are determined, come what may, no matter what, are the ones I admire and respect and long to emulate. People of determination and grit are those who know what to let go of as well as what to embrace. They have a singular passion that is worthy of imitation.
I finished reading during the Holidays Eddie Jaku's bestselling book, The Happiest Man on Earth. The title is surprising when you consider that Jaku was an Auschwitz Holocaust survivor! How did he survive that brutal existence? He kept going, determined in his heart that he would continue. The reader sees his tenacity early on in his life when, as a teenager, he left his home in Leipzig and took on a new identity to escape German persecution as a Jew and pursue his degree in mechanical engineering. He finished at the top of his class, even though he was unable to go home and had very little contact with his family. Jaku states, "Tomorrow will come if you survive today. One step at a time." (p. 27) It is a powerful book, one that will inspire you and motivate you in your determination to accomplish your goals in life, no matter the opposition. He lived to be 101 years of age and passed away last year in October. He let go of hatred and anger and chose to live his life counting his blessings, determined to live each day to the fullest. When he was rescued by American soldiers, he was in awful shape, weighing only 61 pounds at 25 years of age. He was told by a nurse in the hospital that he would most likely die, but he writes on page 132, "In that moment, I made a promise to God that if I lived, I would become an entirely new person. I promised I would walk from German soil and never come back to the land that had given me everything and then taken it from me. I promised that I would dedicate the rest of my life to putting right the hurt that had been done to the world by the Nazis, and that I would live every day to the fullest."
More about determination in tomorrow's devotion. I am praying for you!
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