Several British soldiers were enlisted to fill in for firefighters while they were on strike in the late 1970s. On one occasion they arrived to the home of a lady who was distraught over her cat getting stuck in a tree. The soldiers successfully retrieved the cat, saving the day and making the woman so grateful that she invited them in for tea. After sharing a joyful time together the soldiers thanked the woman, bid her goodbye, and proceeded to back the firetruck down the driveway, running over the very cat they had earlier rescued.

THE WORD "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man."

-Luke 2:52

Perhaps your previous experience with setting goals for the New Years bears a striking resemblance to the efforts of those soldiers-turned-firefighters: one step forward, two steps backward. For many, the idea of resolutions is a sore-spot because it brings to mind past attempts and failures at making some changes in life. As we draw closer to the end of another year, I want to encourage you to shake off previous shortcomings and discard the metaphorical dead cat in the driveway. Don't let past failures prevent you from future successes. History's greatest martial-arts guru, Bruce Lee, once said, "Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail."

GOAL-SETTING IN THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER

As little insight as we have into Jesus' younger years, the last verse in Luke 2 that tells us one thing for sure: Jesus GREW. When God saw fit to come in human form, He not only submitted Himself to the experiences of hunger and temptation (Luke 3 & 4) but also the experience of process. Though His birth was supernatural, His growth was not.

Let me just be clear, God has never needed a new year to make a new you. He's in the business of making new creations and giving out new names. But much of our spiritual formation is our responsibility to prioritize and participate in. Believing on Christ creates within us a new heart, but Romans 12 tells us that we must renew our minds. In other words, the heart is His job, but the mind is ours. The reality is, converts are born but disciples are made. So if we're going to grow as disciples, ministers, leaders, spouses, parents, and anything else the Lord has called us to be, then we have a responsibility to be intentional in how we grow..

Luke 2 tells us Jesus grew in wisdom (intellectually), stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually) and in favor with man (communally).

4 TYPES OF GOALS TO CONSIDER FOR THE NEW YEAR

1. INTELLECTUAL GOALS

Jesus grew in wisdom...

"Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding,14 for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold." -Proverbs 3:13-14

Over and over the Bible implores us to grow in wisdom. James specifically tells us to ask the Lord for wisdom and it will be given to us. It seems to be a prayer the Lord never resists to answer. Intellectual goals are all about how we can expand our knowledge and understanding.

The following are examples of intellectual goals you could consider setting:

- Financial Goals - Author and artist Jackie French Koller said there are two ways to be rich, "one is by acquiring much, and the other is by desiring little." Three major financial goals everyone should consider setting are giving, saving, and investing.

- Educational Goals - Charlie Jones once said "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read." We have the all the knowledge of previous generations available at our finger tips. What books will you read or listen to this year? How many books per month or how much per day will you devote to reading? What skills would you like to develop or grow in?

- Professional Goals - These are goals for your career or position at work. This past Sunday I spent some time teaching on the importance of glorifying God in your workplace, not just by sharing the gospel but also by exemplifying excellence in how you perform your daily tasks. How can you become better at your job this year so as to bring glory to the One who supplies you with the strength to work?

2. PHYSICAL GOALS

Jesus grew in... stature...

"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." -1 Co. 6:19-20

"My body, my choice." That seems to be the mantra of the day, chanted from the street corner to the courtroom as the prevailing sentiment in favor of abortion rights. But the deception of owning the rights to your body doesn't begin and end with pre-natal procedures and sexual practices, it extends into how we treat our bodies on a daily basis. Your body has been entrusted to you by God, so how will you care for it?

The following are physical goals you could consider setting:

- Fitness Goals - What kind of activity would you like to take up? How much weight would you like to lose? Fitness goals are ultimately about stewarding the body God gave you to the best of your ability. It's more important that you establish a daily or weekly habit of exercise than trying to accomplish a massive undertaking. How much could you walk each week around the neighborhood? What would it look like to go to a local gym a few times a week? Who could you include on your journey?

- Sleep/Rest Goals - Corrie Ten Boom famously said, "If the devil can't make you sin, he'll make you busy." There's a reason God wove a day of rest into the foundation of the earth and into the commandments for His people. If you don't prioritize and schedule hard boundaries around your sleep and rest, it will never happen and you will never reap its benefits. What bedtime can you begin setting in place? What day of the week will you guard with hostility to ensure your body and soul are getting the rest you need?

- Nutritional Goals - The greatest cause of death in the U.S. year after year continues to be heart disease, largely caused by the kind of diet we keep. As the Apostle Paul said, "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial." What does your relationship with food look like and what goals can you set for how you improve your overall health?

3. SPIRITUAL GOALS

Jesus grew... in favor with God...

"So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." -Colossians 1:10

Spiritual formation is not optional. The moment we come to Christ God begins to spiritually form us by way of tests, trials, and tribulations. Spiritual disciplines are just the way we can participate in our spiritual formation alongside the Holy Spirit. Take stock of the disciplines that have been largely practiced in the lives of the faithful for centuries. Prayer, meditation on scripture, silence, solitude, fasting - these are not just a part of the Christian life, they are the Christian life.

The following are spiritual goals you could consider setting:

- Fasting Goals - Did you know it was not only common but fairly expected that part of the Christian life in the early Church involved fasting weekly, every Wednesday and Friday? Fasting was a normal rhythm in the believer's life, which is how Jesus frames it in Matthew 6 when He instructs us to fast in the same way we both give and pray. Perhaps this is the year that fasting becomes a normal part of your life.

- Praying Goals - We set up times to meet with friends and have events. Some times the most effective way to get your prayer life off the ground is to start scheduling time to do it. Consider setting times and ways you want to begin remaining consistent in prayer and making it a daily part of your routine.

- Bible Reading Goals - Have you opened the Bible app lately? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a traditionalist when it comes to reading. I don't like reading on screens, but the people over at Bible app headquarters have put in some MAJOR work when it comes to developing reading plans and devotionals. They're not giving anybody an excuse for why they can't find the time or right approach to staying in the Word consistently. Choose a plan and make this the year you not only get in the Word but you get the Word in you. I'm personally setting scripture memorization goals this year, which I'm both excited and a little nervous about.

4. COMMUNAL GOALS

Jesus grew... in favor with man.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." -Heb. 10:24-25

Life is lived out in relationships. All of the fruits of the Spirit can only be manifested in relation to one another. You can't practice love, joy, peace, and patience in seclusion. That means the Christian life is a communal life. So what goals could you set this year that help you value the community that God has placed you in?

The following are communal goals you could consider setting:

- Serving Goals - Whether it's in your home, your church, or your city there is no shortage of needs to be met. What opportunities are available to you to shine the light of Jesus by sharing in the burden of Jesus? His burden is for people. Consider setting goals that result in you partnering with local charity organizations monthly or ministry teams weekly.

- Generosity Goals - Jill and I are strict budget people. We really do our best to know exactly where every penny goes each month. It was a game changer for us early on in our marriage when we began budgeting our giving. What has been even more of a blessing to us has been planning a certain amount each month to set aside solely for meeting the needs of others that come up or blessing people in random places whenever the Holy Spirit prompts us. What could it look like to set goals for how much money you will give away? Richard Foster says, "Just the act of letting go of money or some other treasure does something within us. It destroys the demon of greed."

- Connecting Goals - Life is busy. As a result Church has been downgraded from a family that does life together to a service that happens once a week. Where that is the case, faith will not flourish. Setting goals to better insert yourself into the life of a local body of believers will yield the biggest return. Perhaps you could set a goal to join or lead a small group at your church or to get more involved with a certain ministry. Whatever it may look like in your church, do the work of getting plugged in this year.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps you're reading all of this and it's making you a bit overwhelmed; don't be! This is not about changing everything but rather changing something. Start small, start simple, but most of all just start somewhere. Maybe you can focus on picking one goal for each of these four areas. Maybe you only choose one of the areas to focus on for a month at a time. Ultimately this is about getting a vision for what you want your year to look like. Without a vision and without goals, people often just drift through life.

I want to encourage you to take the last month we have left of this year and seek the Lord about what goals you can put in place for the year to come. If you really want to make them happen, invite others on board with you. I love how the famous inventor Thomas Edison often approached a new venture. He would call a press conference and announce a new invention, then he would go into the lab and invent it. Now that's what I call accountability!

However you answer the call to grow, don't be discouraged when it doesn't happen as quickly or as smoothly as you hoped. Holy Spirit knows how to get you where you need to be when you need to be there. So on your mark... get set... GROW!