Unique New Year’s Resolutions
Intro: Are you seeking unique New Year’s resolutions? It is that time of year when we all decide to try to do better at all kinds of things. We want to lose weight, get smarter, learn a new language or do many other things.
This year why not do something much more life-changing?
This year not only list some things that you really want to change, but also some that will change you. There are many things in our lives that we would like to change; losing a bad habit or building a new habit that would do us some good.
Last year, 2021, I made a resolution that has really changed my life. My wife of 54 years went to be with the Lord in 2020 and I stumbled around for a while. My life had changed and I tried several things to get it back in focus.
I thought that I wanted to build an online business and eventually stop my printing business. Investing a lot of time and money did not bring peace even though I was making money.
What is my Christian duty?
As a Christian, I knew that I should be telling people about Jesus as a major part of my life. After praying about it, I decided that I would give half my time to ministry and half to building my online business. That seemed fair to me.
I made a New Year resolution in January of 2021. It was to read more Bible each day than I had ever done before. The more I read and prayed the more God continued to deal with me about using all my time for him.
I built a website, IAmCalls.com, to try to reach more Christians with a call to return to God’s Word and start doing all that Jesus had commanded us to do.
It was hard to split my time and energy between the business sites and my ministry site.
God did a lot to change me during 2021.
As I prayed and studied, the Holy Spirit continued to convict me of not doing enough for the Kingdom of God. It came to the point that I realized that I needed to devote myself fully to ministry.
My unique New Year’s Resolution has changed my life for the better. I am at peace and full of the joy of the Lord.
So where should we start?
This year I started where we should all start.
Love God
We should always make our first resolution the most important. The following one could stay in first place every year. It comes from the Old Testament.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. Mark 12:30 NKJV
Loving God takes a conscious effort. We tend to love ourselves and think of God once in a while. God requires first place. You cannot love God without working to make Him the center of your life every day.
Loving God is not a passive pursuit. He needs top-of-the-mind positioning and that takes a lot of effort on our part. We need to put all our effort into loving Him.
Love Others
The second thing we should work on this year is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus showed us how to love by coming and living among us. His ultimate expression of love was going to the cross to pay the price of our sins.
31”And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 NKJV
Loving our neighbors is not always easy. Sometimes it is downright hard. You may have a neighbor with all kinds of problems. Some of their problems may offend you and make you want to retaliate.
Remember that God first loved you and gave His Son for you, before you knew Him. He loved you while you were living in your sin.
Study God’s Word
This is the resolution that literally changed my life. I have always studied the Bible, but my commitment was to read it morning and night. I did not just study it but applied it to my life.
Paul says to Timothy, “15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV
It is not enough to just read the Bible daily! You have to apply it to your daily life. For your life to be changed you must ask yourself what would Jesus do, and do it. God will give you a new understanding of the scripture.
Pray without ceasing
Learn to pray. Prayer is the key that opens the door to the works of God. He does not need you or your prayers. He responds when you pray for the will of God to be done.
God does not want long prayers; He wants prayers from the heart. If you are praying for what God wants He will answer your prayers. Prayers are not always answered the way you want and not always in the timing you want. God answers prayers in His timing and according to His will.
Paul tells us in Thessalonians, “17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thess. 5:17-18 NKJV
Do what Jesus says
We should not need a resolution to remind us to do what Jesus says. One of the reasons we need to remind ourselves is because the church has stopped reminding us. It seems that because we teach God’s love we fail to teach the rest of the message.
In the gospel of John, Jesus says, 15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” John 14:15 NKJV
We thank Him for paying the price for our sins and we pay Him a lot of lip service. Christians need to commit themselves to do what Jesus taught. If we do what Jesus did we will be right with Him.
Practice Love
The second resolution above tells us our love for our neighbor is right below our love for God. The act of love does not always come easy. It cost Jesus to love us and it will cost you to love others.
Jesus says to His disciples, “12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 NKJV
He makes it clear in another scripture that if we love Him we will obey His commands.
Our love is to be so strong that we act differently from the world. Paul says, “15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. “ 1 Thessalonians 5:15 NIV
This verse means that when someone hurts you, one doesn’t try to hurt them. Instead of hurting them, one is to show them, love. It is hard to do, but necessary in order to follow Jesus.
One of my favorite scriptures says, “4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NKJV
Don’t judge
If you practice the command to love one another you will not have as much trouble with this scripture. Too often we fall into the trap of Satan and start judging others, but Jesus tells us, 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV
Paul expounds on the same principle when he says, “2 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. Romans 2:1 NKJV
Jesus is the judge and we cannot replace Him. We are not righteous and do not know the heart of anyone. Paul says that you condemn yourself because you also are under sin.
Always Rejoice
And finally this year and every year I want to remind myself to rejoice in all things. As a follower of Jesus our hearts should be full of joy. When things go badly, we need to see that God is in control and rejoice.
Our faith is strengthened by adversity. Here is another place where we should follow Paul’s advice given in 1 Thessalonians. I used this scripture before about prayer, but it starts with REJOICE. 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thess. 5:16-18 NKJV
Rejoicing in the Lord brings peace to our hearts and minds. It is one of the great blessings of knowing Jesus. You can be full of joy in all circumstances. It is your right as a Christian.
Conclusion
There are many more scriptural resolutions you could and should make, but these are a starting place. If you follow just these it will change your life and make you a life changer for others.
May the peace of God be with you through this coming year! May He bless you with all joy as you grow in faith and love for God’s creation.