New Years Resolution
New Year’s Resolution
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Do you know what your New Year’s resolution should be? To never make another New Year’s resolution. Of course, this time of year does engender itself to the idea of new and/or improved resolutions. And I am certainly not saying we should let this time slide by quickly without reevaluating a few things. But New Year’s resolutions have become synonymous for making a promise you have no intention to keep. One study stated that only about 9% of people who make them will keep them for the year with almost half quitting buy the end of January. So I think it is safe to say that these resolutions do not serve any good purpose.
But as I mentioned before, the beginning of a new year does seem to get people to thinking about how to better themselves over the next year. Ads for gym memberships grow exponentially during this time. Many of us do take this time to think about what we would like to do better, whether it is get in better shape, eat better, read more. In general, become a better version of us. And there is nothing wrong with that. But let’s not give ourselves a built-in quitting lane by calling them resolutions. Let’s, instead, look at them as goals.
But what goals should we set? That is a question so specific that it would take at least 500 pages to flesh that out. So let’s look at it in a more general way…a way that applies to every single Believer on the planet no matter the specificity of our personal goals. Here is the goal that every single Christian on the planet needs to put at the top of their list. And it should be at the top of the list in every single new year. In fact, it should be at the top of the list of every single goal we have for every single day. If you have a literal or physical to-do list every day (and 99.9% of people do)…this one needs to reside at the top. Ready? Here it is. Our goal should be to know God better than we do right now.
That is the single most important element in the life of every single Christian on the planet. Why? Because knowing Him better makes us better at every other single aspect of my life. The more I know Him, the more I know what I should do and who I should be. If I want to be a better husband? Know God better. A better father? Know God better. A better neighbor? Know God better. A better employee? Know God better. He will show me clearly and unambiguously what it means to be a Godly person in every single aspect of my life. And the more I know Him…the more I will be those things. And what is the only way we can know Him better? Read and study His Word. That’s it. That is the only way.
Every single thing God wants us to know about Him is in His Word. Every single thing He wants us to know about ourselves is in His Word. Everything He wants us to know about the world and our lives in it is in His Word. The less you know of God’s Word…the less you know Him…and literally everything else. 2 Peter 1:3 says: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.” This is an amazing verse. He has granted His children (Christians) ALL THINGS pertaining to life and godliness. How? “Through the knowledge of Him.” How do we get the knowledge of Him? Wanna guess? Anyone?
We have to read and study His Word. We cannot come to this knowledge any other way. It is impossible to know God apart from knowing and understanding His Word. And that will not happen through osmosis. You cannot simply sleep with the Bible under your pillow and hope it sinks into your head. In the Old Testament, we see Joshua passing on this same idea. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be successful in your undertakings (Joshua 1:8 ESV).”
Read and study it at home. Go to Sunday School and study it there. Go to the worship service and hear it (rightly) proclaimed. Go to Bible Studies and engage with fellow Believers about it. Every single thing that God has revealed about Himself, us, the world…it is all contained in those 66 books. You want to be a better spouse? A better parent? A better neighbor? A better boss or employee? A better anything? Three simple words that will 100% guarantee all of those things. Read God’s Word. Simple, right? So why don’t we give that a try and let’s see what happens. Happy New year!
-Dr. Danny Purvis
By: Dr. Danny Purvis
Do you know what your New Year’s resolution should be? To never make another New Year’s resolution. Of course, this time of year does engender itself to the idea of new and/or improved resolutions. And I am certainly not saying we should let this time slide by quickly without reevaluating a few things. But New Year’s resolutions have become synonymous for making a promise you have no intention to keep. One study stated that only about 9% of people who make them will keep them for the year with almost half quitting buy the end of January. So I think it is safe to say that these resolutions do not serve any good purpose.
But as I mentioned before, the beginning of a new year does seem to get people to thinking about how to better themselves over the next year. Ads for gym memberships grow exponentially during this time. Many of us do take this time to think about what we would like to do better, whether it is get in better shape, eat better, read more. In general, become a better version of us. And there is nothing wrong with that. But let’s not give ourselves a built-in quitting lane by calling them resolutions. Let’s, instead, look at them as goals.
But what goals should we set? That is a question so specific that it would take at least 500 pages to flesh that out. So let’s look at it in a more general way…a way that applies to every single Believer on the planet no matter the specificity of our personal goals. Here is the goal that every single Christian on the planet needs to put at the top of their list. And it should be at the top of the list in every single new year. In fact, it should be at the top of the list of every single goal we have for every single day. If you have a literal or physical to-do list every day (and 99.9% of people do)…this one needs to reside at the top. Ready? Here it is. Our goal should be to know God better than we do right now.
That is the single most important element in the life of every single Christian on the planet. Why? Because knowing Him better makes us better at every other single aspect of my life. The more I know Him, the more I know what I should do and who I should be. If I want to be a better husband? Know God better. A better father? Know God better. A better neighbor? Know God better. A better employee? Know God better. He will show me clearly and unambiguously what it means to be a Godly person in every single aspect of my life. And the more I know Him…the more I will be those things. And what is the only way we can know Him better? Read and study His Word. That’s it. That is the only way.
Every single thing God wants us to know about Him is in His Word. Every single thing He wants us to know about ourselves is in His Word. Everything He wants us to know about the world and our lives in it is in His Word. The less you know of God’s Word…the less you know Him…and literally everything else. 2 Peter 1:3 says: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence.” This is an amazing verse. He has granted His children (Christians) ALL THINGS pertaining to life and godliness. How? “Through the knowledge of Him.” How do we get the knowledge of Him? Wanna guess? Anyone?
We have to read and study His Word. We cannot come to this knowledge any other way. It is impossible to know God apart from knowing and understanding His Word. And that will not happen through osmosis. You cannot simply sleep with the Bible under your pillow and hope it sinks into your head. In the Old Testament, we see Joshua passing on this same idea. “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be successful in your undertakings (Joshua 1:8 ESV).”
Read and study it at home. Go to Sunday School and study it there. Go to the worship service and hear it (rightly) proclaimed. Go to Bible Studies and engage with fellow Believers about it. Every single thing that God has revealed about Himself, us, the world…it is all contained in those 66 books. You want to be a better spouse? A better parent? A better neighbor? A better boss or employee? A better anything? Three simple words that will 100% guarantee all of those things. Read God’s Word. Simple, right? So why don’t we give that a try and let’s see what happens. Happy New year!
-Dr. Danny Purvis
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