New Year's Resolutions

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

It's that time of year when everyone makes "New Year's Resolutions" – things that you and I plan to do to make this year better than last. That list can include any number of high-sounding promises to ourselves like "eat better", "exercise regularly", "be more active in church", "stopping yelling at my kids", "be debt-free by December", and any number of other things that we think will make not only ourselves better, but our lives in general. But, if we want to be realistic, we know in our hearts that we'll fail at one or all of our resolutions. Why? Because our motives are wrong. Our goals are wrong-minded. Our walk is out of sync. In reality, there is only one resolution that any of us needs to make in order to cause all of the other things we desire to fall into place. What is that resolution? It's stated perfectly in Deuteronomy 6:5:

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Okay. That sounds like something you'd like to do, right? But how does that have anything to do with eating right, or exercising regularly, or being debt-free, or yelling at our kids? It has everything to do with all of these things – and with everything in our lives.

If you love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength, you will spend more time studying His word, wanting to know what He would have you do in every situation, no matter how seemingly trivial. If you study his word, you will eat right and exercise regularly, because food will not be the idol you have made it, and exercise will become something you crave. You will realize that your body is a temple of God, and that you want that temple to glorify Him.

You will learn that "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple" 1 Corinthians 3:17.

If you study His word, you will want to be debt free, because "the borrower is servant to the lender" Proverbs 22:7.

If you study His word, you will learn to discipline your children with love, because "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" Proverbs 15:1, and
"Fathers, do not exasperate ! (provoke to anger) your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" Ephesians 6:4.

If you love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength, you will teach your children God's Word instead of nursery rhymes or the Barney song. If you love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength, you will put Him first in all things, "...and all these things will be given to you as well" Matthew 6:33.

How will your new year be?

© Bonnie Ricks, Newsong Ministries