7 New Year's Resolutions For Christians
by Jennifer Jolene Deal
In my Christian circles, I often hear resolutions getting a bad rap. There’s a fear that creating too many rules for ourselves is not grace-filled living or making all these lofty resolutions will just set ourselves up for failure. And, it’s true. We often do fail to keep our resolutions. However, there are two issues with this line of thinking.
#1 - The Christian walk is all about exercising self-control
God intends for us to practice intentional self-control. This means that we need to analyze our life, determine where we are lacking, and make necessary changes. God knows that these good changes are difficult for us because they go against our nature. For example, we would rather indulge in something bad for us than to choose to resist and do something better. Thankfully we are not left to do this alone! God has given the Christian a helper - the Holy Spirit. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
#2 - Failure is not necessarily bad.
I love the quote by Winston Churchill, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” I feel like this really describes my life. I set lofty goals for myself all of the time. I put no limits on what God can do through me, so I am willing to try anything that seems right and good for my life. Another quote I like is, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars," by Norman Vincent Peale. Basically, what Peale is saying is that even if you don’t completely hit your goal, you’ve probably accomplished something great that otherwise would not have been accomplished if you hadn’t set the goal in the first place. (For more great quotes about success and failure, check out this article from Forbes.)
Since we know that God is going to help us exercise self-control and that He wants us to grow, here are some suggested resolutions for the Christian believer:
Gather with your church people at least once a week. The church is described as the “Body of Christ” where each member does their part. So, if you’re not at church, you can’t do your part. Check out I Corinthians 12 to learn more.
Read through the Bible. The Bible is how we know what to believe about God, Jesus, the Church, and everything else concerning the Christian life. God gave the Bible to everyone, not just the pastors and leaders. I recommend reading from The Daily Bible in Chronological Order.
Practice a Sabbath rest. Spending one day a week to rest and focus on God is completely Biblical. Take a look at your calendar and find a way to make it work!
Disciple someone. We’ve been given a commission directly from Jesus and He expects us to share His love with others. Discipling someone else is not as hard as it seems. For an easy way to do it, read this short book by David Helm: One-to-One Bible Reading.
Add silence back into your life. In this day and age of non-stop digital engagement, we rarely sit in silence. And if we’re not sitting in silence, then we can’t hear God, let alone hear our own thoughts long enough to talk to God. Find time each day to unplug and enjoy the silence.
Give regularly. God expects his people to be generous with the blessings he’s given to us. Every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17), and we acknowledge that it’s all from Him by giving a portion back. Regularly giving to your local church is a great place to start!
Serve regularly. The Holy Spirit has given every believer a gift for the purpose of building up the church. Ask God to show you what your gift is and start using it! (Read Romans 12:1-8 to learn more.
Another favorite quote of mine is, “If it’s not on your calendar, it doesn’t exist.” The first step in making resolutions is putting it on your calendar. If you’re looking for some calendar inspiration, I recommend The Jesus Centered Christian Planner by Group Publishing.
So why not make a Christian resolution for 2025? What’s the worse that might happen? — You might fail and do something great in the process.