Reverend Michael Dissanayeke – Chairman / General Superintendent
2017 is more than another year in a calendar or another page in your diary. It is Your Life. It is the best time of your life!
Therefore, before planning for 2017, ask yourself: “What will I do with My life?
Here are 3 things to challenge yourself to do in the new year with your life:
Change. Change is the only evidence of life and growth. New year is a great opportunity for change.
Only “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever”. You are not. You are called to change from glory to glory (2 Cor 3:18) strength to strength (Ps 84:7), faith to faith. (Rom 1:17) Write down areas of change you desire in your life and ministry. Remember, if you don’t change to what you want to be (better), situations in 2017 will eventually change your life to something you don’t want to be (bitter).
Enlarge. We all have the capacity to grow and enlarge our personal lives. God has no limits or boundaries to what He can do through you using your gifts and capacities. God’s invitation in Isaiah 54:2 is to “Enlarge the place of your tent” and you will always find keys and opportunity to ‘stretch’, ‘lengthen’, ‘strengthen’ and ‘expand’.
If you don’t expand, you will shrink, and lose significance; even though you may still maintain a position or a title as Pastor. Without enlargement your life will end in frustration. So pray like Jabez: “Oh Lord, enlarge my boundaries…” (1 Chronicles 4:9)
Relate. Relationships are so important to life.
Begin with your relationship with God and don’t let it become a ritual or a religious one.
I decided that the most important thing this year is my ‘love relationship with Jesus’. Get to know God and His Love in a greater way. Enrich relationships with your wife and children and don’t take your family members for granted, but spend more quality time with them. Those having children, remember, older they grow, the tendency is to grow away from relationships. Keep family relationships alive.
In your church and ministry, get over the hurts and disappointments of last year, and choose to build better relationships.
In AG, let us develop a ‘friendship group’ like David and Jonathan, who can help you to live an accountable life and protect you from pitfalls. Remember our theme: “Be kindly affectionate to one another with Brotherly Love. In honor giving preference to one another”. Romans 12:10.
May the Lord Bless you,
Pastor Michael & Debi
Assemblies of God Sri Lanka 