5 Words to Keep Your 2018 Resolutions Doable and Memorable

It’s the first day of the New Year and most bloggers will be writing about making resolutions, new beginnings, and things of that nature. And to be honest, I normally would be among them. But if you know me, or have read any of my past New Year’s blogs, you would know that I do not believe in making resolutions…mainly because, while well meaning, they usually serve no other purpose than to set a person up for failure.

Recently I came across a Bible Study that shed some new light on making the most of the New Year, and what it taught me is that as a Christian I should be more concerned with making my spiritual life more of a priority, rather than just physical comforts and mental fortitude. Resolutions are made to be broken, but what I am proposing is finding direction for our spiritual lives by living these five simple, but powerful, words.

REJOICE!

Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!”  I don’t know about you, but life can be pretty time consuming. And to be honest, finding time to actually pause and ‘rejoice in the Lord’ can seem pretty darn impossible, especially when you’re going through the ringer. But here’s the beauty of this verse, worship doesn’t have to be so difficult. The key is in the word, ‘always’.  When should we rejoice? Always. That means our worship should be a part of our lifestyle, a part of the fabric of who we are, we should live and breathe and walk in worship because God’s grace and love never end.

REMEMBER!

I’m not talking about remembering to take our medicine, or pay a bill, or what Aunt Flora said three years ago that made you mad. I’m not talking about ‘positive thinking’. What I’m talking about goes deeper, much deeper, than that. Our minds are bombarded every day by thoughts, some are good, some are bad, but doesn’t it seem like the bad ones linger the longest? Old memories of past sins we might’ve taken part of, regrets of bad decisions, and so on. But what a lot of Christian’s don’t realize is that allowing these thoughts to reign over our minds affects our spiritual lives. They taint us and can make it difficult to see God at work in our lives. We are what we think. That’s why Philippians 4: 8 says this…”In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.”

PREPARE!

A new year can often bring fear and anxiety, because, quite frankly, we don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s tough to look into the future and realize that we have no control over anything that happens.  As Christian’s, we don’t have to buy into this mindset. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” We prepare for the New Year by simply putting our trust in God because He holds the future in His more than capable hands. There is no fear when we realize that God has our back!

LIVE!

The Christian life isn’t supposed to be withdrawn, an activity we do once a week tucked away in a building. As Christ followers our lives should be actively obedient and fully engaged in the world around us. It’s not enough to just pray and read our Bibles; we are called to live the Bible in our daily lives so that we can reach those around us with God’s loving mercy. The Bible was never meant to be a bookend, and our lives were never meant to be lived alone. Philippians 4:9 says “Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.” To follow Jesus is to do the things He did.

LOOK!

Philippians 4:5 tells us, “Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near.” Did you catch the little phrase at the end? Just four little words that stir up such hope…The Lord is near! As we move into the New Year we need to remember that this world is not our home. Whatever happens to us, whether good or bad, is temporary because ‘The Lord is near’. His return is promised, and God doesn’t lie. Regardless of how long, or little, we may have to wait; it’s worth it to live expecting His return. Jesus is coming, and that gives us the hope we need to face the future.

A new year brings new beginnings. Have fun with making resolutions if you’d like, but as we look toward the future let us set ourselves up for success instead of failure. Making our spiritual life the focus will have profound, lasting effects on both our physical and mental lives as well.

Here’s a great New Year’s resolution for you…write down these five words we’ve discussed on a card, or maybe on separate cards, and include Philippians 4:4-9. Place them where you are sure to see them every day. Use them throughout the year as a guide to keeping your spiritual life focused on the One Who hold our future in His hands.

As a gift to you, I've created a Word List for you. Simply download it, print it out, and hang it up! (It's in PDF format.)

5 Words for 2018

Have a Blessed New Year!