First of all, I recommend this devo for ALL men who are or want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is for any man who wants to serve the Lord the way the Lord desires.
First the devos (these are excerpts):
From December 31st, Tozer says:
Of all persons the Christian should be best prepared for whatever the New Year brings. He has dealt with life at its source. In Christ he has disposed of a thousand enemies that other men must face alone and unprepared. He can face his tomorrow cheerful and unafraid because yesterday he turned his feet into the ways of peace and today he lives in God. The man who has made God his dwelling place will always have a safe habitation.
(From the devo and from Tozer's book "The Warfare of the Spirit", p148)
From January 1st, Tozer says:
Every new year is an uncharted and unknown sea. No ship has ever sailed this way before. The wisest of earth’s sons and daughters cannot tell us what we may encounter on this journey. Familiarity with the past may afford us a general idea of what we may expect, but just where the rocks lie hidden beneath the surface or when that “tempestuous wind called Euroclydon” may sweep down upon us suddenly, no one can say with certainty…. Now more than at any other time in generations, the believer is in a position to go on the offensive. The world is lost on a wide sea, and Christians alone know the way to the desired haven. While things were going well, the world scorned them with their Bible and hymns, but now the world needs them desperately, and it needs that despised Bible, too. For in the Bible, and there only, is found the chart to tell us where we are going on this rough and unknown ocean. The day when Christians should meekly apologize is over—they can get the world’s attention not by trying to please, but by boldly declaring the truth of divine revelation. They can make themselves heard not by compromise, but by taking the affirmative and sturdily declaring, “Thus saith the Lord.”
(From the devo and from Tozer's book "The World: Playground or Battleground?", p9-10)
What this means to me:
At our last "retreat" at LeTourneau, about 45 men of God discussed and agreed that we would no longer use the word "retreat" to refer to these get togethers. We would hence forth refer to them as "advances". After all, everything we do at these men's events is geared toward equipping the male saints to pretty much be prepared to follow Tozer's exhortation to the Church.
Make no mistake - there is no room for arrogance or prideful Bible thumping here. But the same principle that Tozer indicates about not knowing what lies ahead, applies here as we let the Word of our Lord be the lamp unto our feet in every circumstance while we abide in Him. Then, as we serve our Lord Jesus Chirst, in every circumstance we encounter, and in every soul we get to speak with, we will do it as He has demonstrated, which Paul taught us in Ephesians 4:
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-3).
Paul goes on with some very practical instruction in that same chapter. The point of all this is this. I make no "New Year's Resolutions", but I simply commit and renew my walk with Him.
And think about what it means to "walk" - when you walk, you're moving, advancing, right? Well then, just walk forward, in and with Christ!
Again, in the words of Scripture, "therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
We have the true and living God dwelling in us and there is no safer habitation!
So with that said, and no flesh-powered resolutions hanging over our heads, I exhort my brothers in Jesus Christ to advance with me, in the Spirit and Truth of our great God who calls us and equips us!