Tag: New Years Resolutions

Devoted Goals

On By BrianIn Habit Miscellaneous, Holidays

This past Fall our church looked at five habit of growth to which we should be devoted. Then during advent, we looked at being devoted to the gospel. Below is my attempt to pull it all together with the goal of applying our study to our lives during the coming year. I believe these would be good questions for any Christian to ponder as we look at a new year, a new month, and a new week.

Annual Goals (Review at least monthly)

Gospel: What habit will I begin this year to better remember, focus on, and live out the hope, peace, joy, and love found in Jesus?

Worship: What habit will I begin to better prepare my heart to come into God’s presence for corporate worship each Sunday? 

Prayer: What is one way I would like to grow in prayer this year? 

Word: What portion of Scripture (Old Testament, New Testament, Book(s) of the Bible, etc.) will I commit to read and meditate on throughout this year? 

Fellowship: In what ways will I partner with my church family this year in serving, giving, and prayer?

Outreach: What habit will I begin to become more watchful for opportunities to share the gospel this year? What will I do to become better prepared to share the gospel this year?  Who might I specifically pray for to receive salvation this year?

What might distract me from these goals, and how can I overcome that?
How can I live out these goals as expressions of love instead of pride?

Monthly Goals (Review at least weekly)

Gospel: What might I do to better grasp some aspect of the gospel this month, and let that aspect of the gospel better grasp me?

Worship: Is there an area in my life that I need to start submitting to God this month, and what will I do about it?

Prayer: What promise or attribute of God will I incorporate into my prayers this month?

Word: What passage of Scripture will I memorize this month?

Fellowship: What practical need in my church family will I seek to help with this month?  Who can I get together with this month around a meal?

Outreach: What practical need do I see in my workplace, neighborhood, or community that I could seek to meet this month?  How might God lead me to help with this month’s church outreach activity and/or outreach/missions project? How do I specifically need to pray for my missionaries this month? 

Weekly Goals (Review daily)

Gospel: What aspect of the gospel from my Bible reading or Sunday’s sermon will I meditate on this week?

Worship: In the midst of my current trials and temptations, what attribute of God or aspect of the gospel will I cling to this week to tune my heart to praise Him? 

Prayer: Who and what do I specifically need to pray for this week?

Word: What Biblical truth from my personal reading or Sunday’s sermon do I need to very specifically apply to my life this week?

Fellowship: Who in my church family might God be leading me to care for and/or seek to encourage this week, and how will I do it?

Outreach: How might I better shine as a light with integrity, hope, and love this week? What is one way I might purposefully seek to share the gospel this week?

New Years Collection

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Collections

Here are some good posts to help you review the past year and think about the new year:

End of Year Check-Up Questions For Christians – David Qaoud

9 Questions to Help You Steward All of Your Life for God’s Glory – Brad Hambrick

Resolution Principles – Brian Mikul (that’s me…)

How to Make Your Resolutions Stick – Mike Cosper (TGC)

10 Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year (pdf) – Donald Whitney

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

20 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Make (and Keep) Right Now – Kevin DeYoung
But this post isn’t about arduous resolutions. Well, not exactly. It’s about something simpler. It’s about your calendar and about making decisions now that will serve you later in the year.

Beginning of the Year Check-In Questions for Christians – David Qaoud (GR)
Don’t leave your spiritual growth up to spontaneity. Make a plan. Now that we’re in 2018, here are some questions to ask as you formulate ways to grow.

Watch Where You Walk in 2018 – Scott Hubbard (DG)
Until that day, 2018 is another year to “look carefully . . . how you walk” (Ephesians 5:15). Walk in love — go low to lift others up. Walk in light — drive the shadows from your soul. And walk in wisdom — seize your days from the devil’s hand. These are three roads that lead us to God’s city of joy, where our journey of ten million steps will finally end.

Doing Church Away from Church isn’t Church – Eric Davis (Cripplegate)
In short, my hike or a Bible open in my living room with the kids is not church. Here are a few reasons why doing church away from church isn’t church.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church!

New Year’s Resolutions

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Collections

Here are some good posts on making resolutions for 2018:

Ten Questions To Ask at the Start of a New Year (pdf) – Don Whitney

Nine Questions to Ask Yourself to Prepare for 2018 – Scott Slayton

4 Christian Principles for Making New Year’s Resolutions – Burk Parsons (Ligonier)

A New Approach to New Year’s Resolutions – Zach Nielsen (TGC)

New Year’s Collection

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Collections

It is time to ponder some new year’s resolutions!  Here are some good posts as you reflect upon your life this past year, and how God might be leading you to grow in 2016:

Ten Questions to Ask at the Start of a New Year – Donald Whitney

One Big Tip to Make Your Resolutions Stick – Tim Challies

Striving for a More Intentional Life of Prayer – Erik Raymond

The Church Comes First – Nick Batzig

New Years Collection

On By BrianIn Holidays, PASSION Collections

Here are some good posts to consider as we enter the new year:

How To Make A New Year’s Resolution That Sticks – Tim Challies

10 Questions To Ask at the Start of a New Year – Donald Whitney

3 Reminders as You Enter the New Year 2015 – Brian Najapfour

A Holy and Happy 2015 To You – David Murray

Planning for the New Year – (My collection of new year links from last year)

Planning for the New Year

On By BrianIn Holidays

It is that time of year again when many, myself included, make New Year resolutions.
How do we want the coming year to look different from the past?
How do we want, by God’s grace, to change?
How might God wand us to grow this year?
In what ways will we seek to train ourselves for godliness (I Timothy 4:7)?
Below are several helpful links.

Questions for the New Year – Donald Whitney provides several helpful questions to help us think about the new year.

New Years Resolutions – Here are the categories I use as I think about the coming year.

Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions – Sometimes it helps to see what others resolved to do.

Resolution Principles – Ten helpful principles for making and keeping resolutions.

How to Make Your Resolutions Stick – Mike Cosper offers four very good principles for actually keeping your resolutions.

Your Most Courageous Resolution for 2014 – Jon Bloom challenges us to make love our goal for 2014.

May we press forward this year in following Christ for the glory of God!

Resolutions Resources

On By BrianIn Holidays

Tis that time of year when many, myself included, make New Year resolutions.  How do we want the coming year to look different from the past?  Below are several helpful links.

Questions for the New Year – Donald Whitney provides several questions to help us think about the new year.

New Years Resolutions – Here are the categories I use as I think about the coming year.

Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions – Sometimes it helps to see what others resolved to do.

A New Years Day Challenge – A good challenge from R. C. Ryle for any day of the year.

Resolution Principles – Ten helpful principles for making and keeping resolutions.

How to Make Your Resolutions Stick – Mike Cosper offers four very good principles for actually keeping your resolutions.

My we press forward this year in following Christ for the glory of God!

Resolution Principles

On By BrianIn Holidays

After evaluating the past year and considering how you would like to grow in the new year, it is time to write down your resolutions for the coming year.  The biggest problem with new years resolutions is that they often are never accomplished.  While I do this every year, my record is rather spotty on follow-through.  So let me share ten principles I am learning along the way when it comes to new years resolutions:

  1. Be specific.  “Growing in your walk with God” is a great desire, but how will you do it?  You need to write out exactly how you want to grow in the coming year.
  2. Be realistic.  If you have never had a quiet time with God, resolving to start spending two hours each day is probably not realistic.  Take small steps.
  3. Keep it short.  The longer your list, the harder it will be to carry through.  The shorter your list, the more you can focus on making each one happen.
  4. Be Biblical.  Make sure your requests agree with the Scriptures.  How has he challenged you to grow recently as you have been in his Word?
  5. Be prayerful.  Ask God how he wants you to grow.  Ask him to guide you as you evaluate and ponder.
  6. Be committed.  I just read in I Timothy 4 that we should train ourselves for godliness.  We make resolutions to guide this training.  But we must commit to carry through.  Training will require some real effort on our part.  Commit to work hard to do what you resolve to do.
  7. Be grace-dependent and grace-empowered.  While we must train ourselves, God is the one who changes people.  You need his help.  Seek his help regularly in prayer.  At the same time recognize that he will help you.  His grace will empower you.  We need not walk defeated.
  8. Be grace-filled.  Change is a struggle.  You will fail.  Remember the cross covers all your sins.
  9. Review regularly.  If you write your resolutions down and never come back to them, you have wasted your time.  You must regularly review them and recommit to fulfill them.
  10. Be flexible.  As you review your resolutions, be flexible enough to change strategies along the way that aren’t working.  If your life situation changes during the year, be ready to adjust your resolutions.  Perhaps God challenges you to add one or postpone one during the year.  Life changes – be ready to make changes to your resolutions as you go.

May God help us to grow and change for his glory this year!

Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions

On By BrianIn Biography/History, Holidays

In the last two posts I have given some suggestions of questions to ask to evaluate our lives and ponder changes we might want to pursue for the coming year.  Another way to profitably evaluate ourselves and consider the coming year is to look at other people’s resolutions.  Perhaps some of their resolutions might suggest ways we want to live in the coming year.

Jonathan Edwards recorded 70 resolutions not simply to guide one year but to guide his life.  Below are a sampling.  All 70 can be found here.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory, and my own good, profit and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many and how great soever.

2. Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things.

3. Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

4. Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6. Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7. Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

9. Resolved, to think much on all occasions of my own dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death….

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

25. Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it….

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same….