Skip to main content

Resolve to be Resolute in your Resolutions!


RESOLUTION:  the purpose or course decided upon; constancy of purpose; determination.

As we head into a New Year, perhaps it’s time for some of those New Year’s resolutions.  Maybe it’s the typical ones that we all know and perhaps have even attempted; diets, exercise programs, kick the bad habits.  Whether it’s the desire to improve or change or overcome, New Year’s resolutions can be good.  But how do we start and what should we really focus on?

Since resolution starts with the letter “R”, I thought I’d start with reflecting on some “R”  words….

Some of God’s “R’s”:

“In Him (Christ) we have REDEMPTION through His blood, the forgiveness of sins…” (Ephesians 1:7)

“All this is from God, who RECONCILED us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the RESURRECTION of Jesus…” (1 Peter 1:3)

“And the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself RESTORE you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:10)

“God is our REFUGE and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  (Psalm 46:1)

Some of our “R’s”:

“In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now commands all people everywhere to REPENT.”  (Acts 17:30)

“Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you REST.”  (Matthew 11:28)

“Those who look to Him are RADIANT; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:5)

We can come up with all kinds of resolutions.  But, we should first recognize our real needs and look to God’s “R’s”, the resources that we need, not just to change but to really live.
Our “R’s”, our responses, could be the resolutions that facilitate growth and change.  But even our responses should be based on what God reveals as the things we need to work on.

So, whatever you need to work on, resolve to be resolute in your resolutions!   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Not Just Idle Words

I own a 25 year old car.  The body might be falling apart but the engine runs great and it idles smoothly.  Such idling is good. Idling can also have to do with spending too much time doing nothing or being without purpose or being engaged in that which is pointless.  Such idling is not good. What if I were to tell you that I know of something that is the about as far as being without purpose as you can get?  Would you want it? Here is that something:  “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”  ( Deut 32:47) Other versions of the Bible use some different words for that first phrase in the verse and such can be helpful in assessing how important the words really are: “Not meaningless words…”   “These are not just useless words…”   “No empty word for you…”   “Not unimportant words…”   “Not useless words…”   ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Very Present

I love words that have multiple meanings but the same spelling.  Take the word “present” for example.  You may be thinking of “present”, as in a gift.  Gotta love those! But I’m thinking of “present”, as in existing now or occurring now. I’m also thinking of “present”, as in being at hand. Why those two latter ones, you might ask, why not just go with the gift! Well, I recently read Psalm 46, and here is the first verse:   “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Some theologians suggest the word “present” in this Psalm has the meaning of “well proven”.  I certainly can appreciate that. But I’ve been wondering if “present” could include the meaning of “now existing or now occurring”.  That is, God is exists now and is occurring in our lives. Furthermore, I’ve been wondering if “present” could also include “being at hand”.  That is, God is here, right now, with us.   And with even further wondering, the wo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Be Amazed!

Be amazed… Jesus welcomed sinners …The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners… (Luke 15:2) Jesus hung out with sinners …And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Luke 19:7) Jesus ate with sinners …And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” (Matt 9:11) Jesus was a friend of sinners …The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Matt 11:19) With Jesus being so welcoming, what did people do? People came to see Him …They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” (John 12:21) People came to hear Him …Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. (Luke 15:1) People followed Him …While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many ta...
Post a Comment
Read more