Resolutions

Wow, it has been seven months since I last posted! Part of the issue is that my camera broke, so I no longer can provide pictures, which I figured that people would expect from me. So, I reasoned, provide nothing rather than provide something substandard. Another reason is that I suffer from repetitive stress syndrome in my hands, so I try to minimize my typing (very hard for a software engineer). But I noticed today that my hands were feeling better, so today I decided to share what I was thinking about.

Specifically, I was meditating on Jonathan Edwards Resolutions. And I decided to write my own resolutions, reflecting my current state of life. On the side, today I discovered the ESV translation of the Bible. It seems really nice, so I think that I might switch from NASB to it. Today is the first time that I shall have quoted from the ESV. Anyway, here are my resolutions:

The Resolutions of Philip L. Hallstrom

1. Resolved, every day before retiring, to reflect upon the events of the day through the prayer of examen and to invite the Holy Spirit to "search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139: 23-24). Specifically, to examine against these criteria:
1. "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever." (John Piper)
2. "In acting on behalf of others, have I always been loyal to their interests? In intercourse with friends, have I always been true to my word? Have I failed to repeat the precepts that have been handed down to me" (Kongzi)
3. The Decalogue (Exod 20: 1-17)
1. "You shall have no other gods before me."
2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image."
3. "You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain."
4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."
5. "Honor your father and your mother."
6. "You shall not murder."
7. "You shall not commit adultery."
8. "You shall not steal."
9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
10. "You shall not covet…anything that is your neighbor's."
4. "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" (Job 31:1)
5. "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does Yahweh require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)
6. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:30-31)
2. Resolved, to remain ever conscious that the enemy of my soul engages me in a mortal battle, and sober-mindedly to make choices that reflect the gravity of this fact:
1. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Pet 5:8)
2. "But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation." (1 Thess 5:4-8)
3. "As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." (2 Tim 4:5)
   
4. "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." (1 Pet 1:13)
5. "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers." (1 Pet 4:7)
3. Resolved, in light of the fact that my body is not my own but the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19-20), to use my body exclusively for the glory of God:
   
1. "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." (Matt 5:29-30)
2. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)
3. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." (Rom 12:1)
   
4. "So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." (1 Cor 9:26-27)
5. "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming." (Col 3:5-6)
4. Resolved, to live a disciplined, temperate, and healthy lifestyle:
1. Each day, arising no later than 5 a.m. and, barring ministry opportunities, retiring no later than 10 p.m.
2. Each day to spend time worshiping through song.
3. Each morning after exercising and showering, to "get my soul into a happy state" (George Mueller) by meditating on the word of God.
4. Each evening before retiring, to "cleanse my mind" (Bill Gothard) by meditating on the word of God.
5. Each week to fast at least three meals.
6. To abstain from stimulants and depressants.
7. To abstain from animal products, excluding cheese on celebratory occasions and mosaically clean fish (Deut 14: 9-19) on occasion.
8. Each week, to memorize one paragraph from the Chinese Bible.
9. Each day, to spend at least 15 minutes reading Chinese aloud.