Philippians 3:13-14 NIV — Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

We are finishing up our first full week of 2025 together. Have you committed to any new goals? Are you committed to nurturing God’s temple by taking care of your body? Have you made a plan for keeping your mind focused on Christ? How will you grow spiritually this year? 

Below are my goals for my body, mind, and spirit.

Body: Focus on eating “cleaner” foods

Mind: Read a devotion each day during my lunch break

Spirit: Read the Bible Recap and listen to the podcast

As we end this week together, let’s have a laugh by reading this article titled 22 of the Funniest Tweets About New Year’s Resolutions.

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Mark 12:30-31 NIV — “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

This week we have discussed setting goals for our body and mind. Have you ever considered setting spiritual goals? Take a moment to read the following articles titled 10 I’m Examples of Spiritual Goals You Should Set and Setting Spiritual Goals for 2024. While the latter was dated for 2024, the ideas shared are informative and relative.

Is God nudging you to work on your spiritual life? What goals are you considering setting for 2025? For 2025, Ray, Julie and myself are joining another friend in The Bible Recap by Tara-Leigh Cobble. Please reach out to one of us if you are interested in joining us on this spiritual growth journey. We would love to hear from you about your spiritual goals!

Let’s pray. Dear Father, thank You for nudging me to continue to grow spiritually. May all that I say and do reflect You. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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Philippians 4:8 NIV — Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Yesterday we focused on setting goals for our body by focusing on the spiritual aspect of goal setting. Today, let’s focus on our minds.

Tony Robbins, author of many self-help books, said, “Whatever you focus on is what you get.” In other words, whatever you choose to think about is what will shape your decisions. How can we set a spiritual goal for our minds? Our featured scripture directs us on where to turn our attention — scripture.

I encourage you to set a spiritually grounded goal to keep you focused on Christ. If you do not already have a daily devotion routine, pray about a time each day you can meet with God and focus on reading scripture, devotion, and prayer. If you are already in the practice of a daily devotion time, perhaps you can set a goal of memorizing scripture. Pray about God’s direction for you and ask Him to guide you in making a spiritual goal for growing your mind.

Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, guide and direct me as I set a spiritual goal to grow my mind so I may become more like You. Help me to stay focused on You and Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV — Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Today begins the first full week of 2025. Often as a new year begins we choose resolutions or goals to focus on in an effort to better ourselves. Many times our goals are related to losing weight or exercising more. We start off strong at the beginning of the year but rarely stick with our resolutions for the entire year. 

While it is always good to work to better ourselves, this year let’s approach our goals a little differently. This year, let’s ground our goals spiritually. Instead of choosing to lose weight and exercise for the earthly and material reasons, let’s focus on honoring God by caring for His temple. What can you do today to honor God with your body? How can you reflect Him in the food and exercise choices you make today?

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for the price You paid for me. May I stay grounded and focused on the sacrifice You made and may I honor You with the choices I make to care for my body. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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Take some time to read and meditate on this week’s featured scriptures.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV — Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Philippians 4:8 NIV — Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Mark 12:30-31 NIV — Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Philippians 3:13-14 NIV — Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

@biblegateway

@youversion

Spend some time listening to the following songs as you pray and meditate on the week ahead focused on goals. What goals do you have for your body, mind, and spirit?

Breathe by Hillsong United

O Come To The Altar by Elevation Worship

Romans 15:13 NIV — May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 5:9 NIV — Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

As we focus on a new year, I not only encourage you to choose a word of the year, but also a mantra. Mantras originated in Hinduism and Buddhism. It is often a phrase that is repeated to aid in concentration or meditation. Over the last few years I have chosen a mantra to repeat each day along with my word of the day to help set the tone of my day. 

My words for 2025 are peace and joy and it is my goal to not only be affected but also to affect others by focusing on those words. I want to be a person who affects the temperature in the room. This year my mantra is “be a thermostat.” Watch this short video titled Are You a Thermometer or a Thermostat? to help explain.

What have you chosen as your word to focus your attention in 2025? Have you chosen a mantra? Please share with us so we can be in prayer with you as we enter a new year together.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank you for today and the blessings of today. Thank you for your divine inspiration to lead me to words and a mantra to shape my focus in 2025. Please continue to guide and direct my steps. May my words and actions promote peace and joy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Close out your devotion time today by listening to this song titled Peace Be Still by Hope Darst.

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