New Year’s Resolutions

As the calendar turns to a new year, Christians find in this season not merely a cultural tradition of self-improvement, but a profound invitation to spiritual renewal rooted in God’s unchanging promises. Scripture reminds us that “His mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT), and “anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new creation. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT. So as we start this new year afresh filled with hope, watch this video from GotQuestions.org about how Christians should be making, and read to the end for some resources to help you in that.

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Daily Bible Reading

To honor God and grow spiritually is a great motivator to reading the Bible every day. Though a person can start any day of the year, there is something about starting on day one, that gives us a sense of renewal.

There are many Bible reading plans and types available at your disposal. Here are some good ones to choose from:

• Blue Letter Bible offers a wide variety of daily Bible reading plans that take you though the entirety of Scripture in one or two years. You can either subscribe to these and receive them daily, or print out a .PDF version and check off the chapters as you go. They have canonical plans that go through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation as printed in the Bible. They also have blended plans designed to add variety to your daily reading of the Bible which combines daily reading in the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalm’s and Proverbs. There are also chronological plans in which readings are compiled according to the order in which events actually occurred. I personally prefer the blended plan for variety, while my wife prefers the chronological plan.
• YouVersion Bible App offers the same different types of plans as Blue Letter Bible in an app form and from many different publishers as well, through a “social media” feel. Each publisher and plan is different. Some come with devotionals for daily reflection. Others are also geared towards men or women. Not only that, but reminds you each day to do your specific reading, and tracks your progress to help you get back if you fall behind. The YouVersion Bible App allows you to share updates, plans, teaching clips through your profile page, explore what is going on in your community with posts and events, as well as the social media aspect of sharing, making friends, and seeing what each other is learning. You can also share prayer requests and gain badges which shows you more visually how you are growing. I personally have done The One Year Bible and also The Entire Bible in a Year plans.
• I’ve developed my own effective system for tracking my Bible reading by incorporating dedicated pages in my yearly bullet journal. This method keeps me organized and allows me to monitor how many books I’ve read. My preferred choice for journaling is always the Leuchtturm 1917. Here are some pictures.

Pray More Consistently

Maybe you want to pray more consistently and pray for the things that matter, but don’t know where to start. Keeping up with prayer requests from people can be a difficult challenge for some of us. Life is busy enough, but for those who are in ministry and are involved in so many lives, organizing our prayer requests can be daunting. Some make elaborate lists, use 3×5 cards in boxes, or use technology like Google Sheets or Google Keep which can be accessed anywhere, and be shared with anyone.

The best method I have found is PrayerMate. Without being redundant, please check out the Pens & Wrenches expose’ and watch the videos on how this simple but effective app can help you organize your prayer closet for the coming year.

Be Consistent in Evangelism

New Year’s Resolutions aren’t about getting “a-little-Jesus” into our lives, but also, giving “a-little-Jesus” too. Evangelism, especially in the frozen tundra of Iowa, is a little more difficult this time of year. Yes, there are malls you can go to and spend your time evading security guards as you share the gospel covertly with people. You can also look for events around the holidays, or even create some of your own. But most importantly, it is to have gospel-centered conversations with strangers “as you go.” Always be open, willing, able, and available to share the gospel as you go about your day. Think about conversation starters and ways to engage people at the grocery store, coffee shop, in line at the bank, and wherever you go.

One way to get into this mindset is to stop caring about what people think, and begin to think about caring for people. Emeal Zwayne talks about this in his book, Fight Like a Man: A Bold, Biblical Battle Plan for Personal Purity.

“One of the biggest killers of evangelistic zeal is concern over what people might think of us. When I was a very young man, I started an evangelism team though through the church that I co-planted. When I took our group out on the streets for the first time, I was absolutely terrified. But then a thought entered my mind that really helped calm my heart and propel me to open my mouth in love. It was simply this: Stop caring about what what people think and begin to think about caring for people…. I began pushing myself beyond the boundaries of my comfort zone, casting aside my apprehensions, and doing what I knew was right despite what I felt.”

Emeal “E.Z.” Zwayne, Fight Like a Man: A Bold, Biblical Battle Plan for Personal Purity (Minnesota: Broadstreet Publishing, 2024) 130.

Let love swallow your fears this year and determine in your heart to share the gospel and make disciples in the coming year. But whatever you choose to do as a New Year’s resolution, be committed and God-honoring through it. As the above video stated: There is no power in a New Year’s resolution, but we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength (Philippians 4:3) for apart from Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:5). If God is at the center of our resolutions, we will have success depending upon our daily moment-by-moment commitment to it.