The best New Year resolution is to accept the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ offers you by your confession of faith in Him and belief in your heart that He alone is LORD who could make the sacrifice to remove your sin and save you from eternal damnation. If you’ve already believed and confessed this truth, then your best resolution is to conform yourself to His image by allowing the Holy Spirit to take you through the process of sanctification for as long as you live on this earth.
This requires a willingness to live, give, and serve in the way the bible instructs Christians. You do not need to know specifically the unique things God will have you do throughout your time on earth. You only need to take one step forward at a time according to the practices you know are pleasing to Him like studying the bible, worshiping daily via thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, faithful fellowship with a local church, and serving in a ministry that helps your local church draw others to Christ and build them up in the faith. Adhering to these foundational practices of faith in Christ allow you to hear God’s voice of continued instruction that lead you into His perfect will.
He does not often give anyone the entire plan for their life at one time nor all the nuances that will occur and He does not remove all temptations and obstacles that will be placed in their way to fulfilling the plan. He simply put Holy Spirit power in you that you can use to overcome and obliterate tempations, snares, and weights. But, it’s up to you to use His power to crush the enemy's head and continually move forward!
It’s important that you be so humble that you don’t require the pastor, elders, leaders, or other members to recognize your contributions, but you understand that God recognizes faithful service to others that glorifies Him. He ultimately causes your faithfulness to rise from obscurity in His timing, not yours, so that leaders and others somewhere within the body of Christ and most times within your local fellowship begin to recognize your commitment, obedience, and sacrifice.
This is God’s process for increasing your wisdom and stature with Him and man. This process creates steps for you to rise to elevated platforms of ministry / leadership within and outside the Church walls that give you a greater audience to whom you can minister in a way that gives God glory. Your resolution should be so strong that you are willing to crucify your own will wherever it will impede God’s will from taking place in your life and ministry.
When you have not specifically heard what God uniquely desires as your specific life calling, you must follow the vision and goals set by God for His Church, as identified in scripture (worship, evangelism, disciple-making, and serving others). Also, you must be ready for Him at any time to identify more of His vision for your life as well as goals to move you ever closer to fulfilling the vision. God brings the greatest fulfillment and brings out the highest purpose in people who plan to consistently put their faith into actions that please Him.
Over time, He is sure to tweak your plans where He sees fit and to change or rearrange any part of your character, vision, and goals that may need to be changed to conform to His unique will for your life. Again, humility and meekness are necessary so you don’t superimpose your will over God’s will for your life, over the method’s and traditions employed by the delegated authorities that God has placed you under, nor over the process He utilizes to create platforms and open doors of greater ministry opportunities for you.
Your commitment to Jesus Christ and to being led by His Spirit should never allow anyone to keep you from delivering the gospel and ministering Jesus to people who are lost and misguided without Him. The best new year resolution is continued intimacy with Him, so His will becomes etched in your heart leading you to be His hands, feet, and mouthpiece in the earth who helps others come to Him and become the sons and daughters of the LORD they were created to be. That is the wealthy place that allows you greater ministry opportunities and fruitfulness.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Matthew 28:19-20, Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 10:25, Hosea 4:6, Proverbs 29:18, Habakkuk 2:2-4
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