Resolutions

Have you ever made New Year's resolutions? How successful have you been in making (and keeping) them?

If you are like most people, you start out fast, but your success rate is poor. What does it take to bring about real and lasting change?

You may have realized by now the very real limitations of human resolve. In fact, you may have given up on the whole idea of resolutions altogether. If our resolutions are self-centered - that is, centered upon self-generated goals and effort - it is only natural that they fail. Sure, they may have the outward appearance of success for varying lengths of time, but failure is certain. Jeremiah 17:5-8 gives us a long term and eternal view of the contrast between trust in self and trust in God. The apostle Paul, despite all of his human credentials, recognized that, as a true worshiper of God, he 'put no confidence in the flesh' (Philippians 3:3) and counted his past accomplishments as dung compared to the surpassing value of knowing Christ. (Philippians 3:7)

Our Lord Jesus was perhaps the most direct on the subject when He said, 'apart from Me you can do nothing.' (John 15:5)

So, what place can resolutions have in a believer's life? Does our resolute will have any place in the journey of life? I believe so, but it must be God centered:

  • We pray persistently (Matthew 7:7-8) according to God's will (1 John 5:14-15); this gives us confidence that God will answer in the affirmative.
  • We rely on His Holy Spirit to enable us to do His will (Romans 8:12-14)
  • We see in the Old Testament examples of people making and fulfilling vows to God (Psalm 76:11)
  • We see New Testament commands of engaging our will fully, e.g. in fighting sin (e.g. James 4:7)
In this spirit, last year God led me to a number of resolutions which I have repeated daily, and post here for your consideration and encouragement:

  • TRUTH. To measure all claims of truth that I make by the truth of Scripture. (John 17:17)
  • LOVE. To measure all claims of love that I make by the love of Christ. (Romans 5:6-8)
  • GROWTH. To actively seek rebuke as a primary means of growth. (Psalm 94:12, Proverbs 9:7-10) To always be willing to say, 'I've been doing it completely wrong, and at that all my life!'
  • GOSPEL. To intentionally relate to each person for the advancement of the Gospel (Colossians 4:2-6) and the need of the moment (Ephesians 4:29), promoting grace and edification.
  • HUMILITY. To actively fight sin, particularly by rejecting pride as my greatest enemy and embracing humility as my greatest friend. (1Peter 5:5-7, Isaiah 57:15, Isaiah 66:1-2)
  • RIGHTEOUSNESS. To pursue righteousness in my own life more than to rebuke the sin of others. (Proverbs 2:20, Proverbs 21:21)
  • CHRIST. To measure all things in relation to Christ:
    • Myself: Romans 8:29 (His Image)
    • The Church: Ephesians 4:13 (His Fullness)
    • Unbelievers: Colossians 1:28 (His Completion)
    • The World: Revelation 11:15 (His Kingdom)
    • The Universe: Philippians 2:9-11, Ephesians 1:10 (His Lordship)
    In other words, to live in the truth that conformance to the image of Christ is the ultimate measure of success.
May God richly bless us as we joyfully seek Him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! (Mark 12:30)

In His Grip,

Mark

Comments

  1. MelMarch 1, 2010 at 6:45 PM

    I like your resolutions. I am a little surprised by your "growth" one, but you are consistent there. You confront, and you want to "grow" from being confronted. More power to ya.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete

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