Jason Sneed Simple Thoughts

A Christian’s Goal for 2021

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is goals-for-2021.png

I am not, nor have I ever been, someone who sets New Year resolutions. Resolutions really just fade away quickly, much like the difference between gym attendance in January & February.

I am one that does enjoy setting goals for myself. Goals help to keep me focused on what is important and what is not. Setting goals allow you to strive for something.

“A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.”

Walt Disney

We have all strived to set goals for ourselves at some point in our lives. We have said we would like to get more active; or we would like to lose some weight. We want to read more, eat healthy, spend more time with family. We all have good intentions, but do we follow through with those intentions? That is the question!

In this post, I want to help challenge you, if you are a Christian, to set some goals for yourself. Let’s be men & women of the Bible. Robby Gallaty has always said, “Let’s get into God’s Word, until God’s Word gets into us”! YES, YES, YES!!!!!

The following are 6 goals that I believe every Christian should strive for in 2021 (and beyond).

  • Hearing The Word – Jeremiah 3:15

“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

  • Reading The Word – Deuteronomy 17:19

And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them…

  • Study The Word – Proverbs 2:1-5

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

  • Memorizing The Word – Psalms 119:11

I have stored up your word in my heart,that I might not sin against you.

  • Meditating On The Word – Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

  • Be Doers Of The Word – James 1:22

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves

These are six goals that every Christian should try to make for themselves in 2021. They are worth the time and energy to achieve. As Walt Disney said, “With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding.”

Christians, let’s be people of the Word. And in getting into the Word, I believe that we will find something that is even more rewarding – Jesus himself! He is the one who is the sustainer of life, our rock, our refuge and our strength. Does it not make sense to spend time with Him each day?

Jason Sneed Simple Thoughts

Listen To Me Please! — Proverbial Thought

Proverbs 19:20 “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” I have one child. She is currently eight years old going on 16 and she already knows everything! I am sure that most parents have been in this situation at one time or another. I have found myself more […]

Listen To Me Please! — Proverbial Thought (& More)
Jason Sneed Worship Wednesdays

“The Goodness Of Jesus” (Worship Wednesday)

If you have been around church circles for a long time you may have heard the old saying “God is good all the time and all the time God is good”. I believe that this is an accurate statement but I truly believe that the word “good” has been overused and its meaning diminished.

When we look into the book of Genesis, we see that the word “good” was used to describe creation:

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

We see these same words written in the New Testament:

“For everything created by God is good…”

1 Timothy 4:4

Today’s Worship Wednesday song is entitled “The Goodness of Jesus” and comes from the group City Alight. (They are quickly becoming one of my favorites because of the strong theology they put into their words) Please pay close attention to the words:

Come you weary heart now to Jesus, come you anxious soul now and see. There is perfect love and comfort in your tears, rest here in His wondrous peace

Oh the goodness, the goodness of Jesus, satisfied He is all that I need. May it be, come what may, that I rest all my days, in the goodness of Jesus

Come find what this world cannot offer, come and find your joy here complete. Taste the living water, never thirst again, rest here in His wondrous peace

Come and find your hope now in Jesus, He is all he said he would be. Grace is overflowing from the Saviour’s heart, rest here in His wondrous peace

My prayer is that you will worship God today because of His goodness. 1 Peter 2:2-3 says – “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is GOOD!

Jason Sneed Worship Wednesdays

Worship Wednesday: “Great Are You Lord”

Today’s Worship Wednesday song comes to us from the group All Sons & Daughters and is entitled “Great Are You Lord”.

The Bible tells us:

Jeremiah 10:6
There is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
Psalm 104:1
Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
As we begin preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday, may we always remember that every breath we are given is a gift from God and we should those breathes to praise & worship Him.
I hope you are encouraged today through this song and I hope that you take the time to worship our GREAT GOD today!

 

Jason Sneed Points To Ponder

Points To Ponder – December 16, 2016

Points To Ponder

5 Easy Holiday Traditions – [A Man’s Guide]

By: Kris Dolberry

When I was 9 years old, my parents decided to take a weekend trip to the Smokey Mountains in early December. Needless to say, it stuck. Over the years grandparents, extended family, and friends have made the trip with us. Now 28 years later, our weekend trip to the Smokies has become one of the great highlights of the year for my kids, and ushers the Christmas season into full swing for us.

Traditions are important. They can be significant spiritual markers for your family. And, the holidays are a great time to start. Here are a few easy ideas:

Read more…

The Bible In America: 6-Year Trends

by: Barna Group

With over 5 billion copies sold, the Bible remains earth’s most-read book. But the world in which we read and engage with the Bible is rapidly changing. The steady rise of skepticism is creating a cultural atmosphere that is becoming unfriendly to claims of faith; the adoption of self-fulfillment as our culture’s ultimate measure of good is re-orienting moral authority; and the explosive growth of digital tools such as Bible apps, daily reading plans, study resources and online communities offer unprecedented access to the Scriptures.

Read more…

Why We Should Pray For All People, Including our Leaders?

by: Casey Lewis

I have talked about prayer in my last two posts, specifically for whom we should pray and what it takes for us to be able to pray for all people. If you haven’t read those two posts, I encourage you to do so. Today I’m going to end the series by providing motivation to pray.

Read more…

The Broken Places

by: Reba Bowman

In Ernest Hemingway’s, A Farewell to Arms, there is a quote that has always struck a chord with me,

“The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong in the broken places.”

There is nothing romantic about brokenness. No poetry or fancy words can dress it’s ugliness up to an acceptable level. We fight against it with every fiber of our being and we pray that it never reaches our door. But it does.

Read more…

Jason Sneed Points To Ponder

Points To Ponder – October 7, 2016

Points To Ponder

3 Practical Steps to Forgiving Yourself

by Lifeway Men

Over the years, helping men deal with anger, grudges, bitterness, rage, and hatred has always been an amazing experience, watching the Holy Spirit address past issues and lead guys to new freedom. Watching men forgive fathers, mothers, siblings, wives, ex-wives, children, bosses, and so on breaks the bondage of them “holding someone hostage” in their hearts.

But the one person that all of us men struggle the most to forgive, and often can’t, is ourselves. Letting go of the past, getting rid of regrets, and stopping the beating and bleeding from “the condemnation club” often feels impossible to do.

Read more…

When God Doesn’t Listen

By Drew Tankersley

Perhaps one of the most frustrating phenomena of parenting younger children is their inability to listen.  As a parent of an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old, I know all to well the irritation of a child who is completely distracted and patently oblivious to the requests of their parental unit.  Technology is the greatest culprit of distraction in our house. 

Read more…

3 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Pray for the Persecuted Church

By Ruth Ripkin (International Mission Board)

Stories of the persecuted church around the world have grown in number of late. This one regarding Christian arrests in Iran ran just last week. An article that appeared on CNN earlier this year claimed that 2015 held the distinct honor of producing the highest rate of Christian persecution in history. Of course, the case of Iranian American Pastor Saeed Abedini has topped news cycles for the last three years. 

These stories aren’t going to go away; Jesus informed his followers that persecution would come (John 15:18–25). It’s not a new thing—just ask the early church—but many within the rather insulated West have been unaware of its existence for a while. As we continue to awaken to this reality, we need to think about how to understand persecution. More importantly, we need to learn how to persevere through it and pray for those who face it around the world. 

Read more…

Americans Love God and the Bible, Are Fuzzy on the Details

By Bob Smietana (Lifeway Research)

Americans don’t know much about theology. Most say God wrote the Bible. But they’re not sure everything in it is true.

Six in 10 say everyone eventually goes to heaven, but half say only those who believe in Jesus will be saved. And while 7 in 10 say there’s only one true God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—two-thirds say God accepts worship of all faiths.

Those are among the findings of a new survey of American views on Christian theology from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

Read more…