- Dec 30, 2017
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Greetings All,
As we approach the new year I found myself thinking about the tendency we have to make new years resolutions and within weeks fail to follow through with whatever it was we decided to change/stop/start in our lives.
While studying my Bible I started to ask myself what the Bible says about resolutions. I checked my King James reference and found that the word "resolution" isn't used in the Bible. The word resolved was used 1 time in Luke chapter 16. However I began to look at similar words and found the word determined was used 30 times throughout the Bible. I decided to look at instances where this word was used and came across a familiar passage for anyone who has attended church for a significant amount of time. (1st Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 1 through 5) This time however something new caught my eye and I felt compelled to share.
Paul's 3 D's for a successful Christian life 1st Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I found it odd that I had never noticed this before but the three words beginning with the letter D in this passage basically outline our entire Christian relationship with God.
Determined: The word determined can be used as a past tense verb which it is here in this verse to mean "firmly decide", or, it can also be used as an adjective meaning having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it. When we accept Christ as our savior we have made a determination to follow him and repent of our sins. Determined in the sense of an adjective should also apply. We should all have the determined attitudes of those like Paul, Nehemiah, Daniel and Job in our daily walk with Christ.
Declaring: After we have determined to accept Christ as our savior, place our faith in him, and follow him we should make a public profession or (declaration) of our faith. This is a very important part of the Christian life. This is done both through baptism and through our ongoing testimony and witness. We should constantly be declaring the glory and blessings of Christ on not only our own lives but the grace that is available to all men.
Demonstration: To be a Christian means to be "Christ Like", therefore, once we have made our determination and declared it publicly we should demonstrate the Christ like principles found throughout the bible such as forgiveness, honesty, charity, love, etc.. as Paul words it in verse 4 "demonstration of the Spirit and of power"
I think the reason we often fail in accomplishing what we seek out to do with resolutions during the new year is that we often focus on things of the world or of the flesh. While it's great to be healthy (and God certainly wants us to be) it's more important that we look at the things we would like to change from the perspective of "How will this help me better serve God?" If we do this we no longer have a resolution, we have determination.
Happy new year and may God bless you!
As we approach the new year I found myself thinking about the tendency we have to make new years resolutions and within weeks fail to follow through with whatever it was we decided to change/stop/start in our lives.
While studying my Bible I started to ask myself what the Bible says about resolutions. I checked my King James reference and found that the word "resolution" isn't used in the Bible. The word resolved was used 1 time in Luke chapter 16. However I began to look at similar words and found the word determined was used 30 times throughout the Bible. I decided to look at instances where this word was used and came across a familiar passage for anyone who has attended church for a significant amount of time. (1st Corinthians Chapter 2 verses 1 through 5) This time however something new caught my eye and I felt compelled to share.
Paul's 3 D's for a successful Christian life 1st Corinthians 2:1-5
1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
5 That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
I found it odd that I had never noticed this before but the three words beginning with the letter D in this passage basically outline our entire Christian relationship with God.
Determined: The word determined can be used as a past tense verb which it is here in this verse to mean "firmly decide", or, it can also be used as an adjective meaning having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it. When we accept Christ as our savior we have made a determination to follow him and repent of our sins. Determined in the sense of an adjective should also apply. We should all have the determined attitudes of those like Paul, Nehemiah, Daniel and Job in our daily walk with Christ.
Declaring: After we have determined to accept Christ as our savior, place our faith in him, and follow him we should make a public profession or (declaration) of our faith. This is a very important part of the Christian life. This is done both through baptism and through our ongoing testimony and witness. We should constantly be declaring the glory and blessings of Christ on not only our own lives but the grace that is available to all men.
Demonstration: To be a Christian means to be "Christ Like", therefore, once we have made our determination and declared it publicly we should demonstrate the Christ like principles found throughout the bible such as forgiveness, honesty, charity, love, etc.. as Paul words it in verse 4 "demonstration of the Spirit and of power"
I think the reason we often fail in accomplishing what we seek out to do with resolutions during the new year is that we often focus on things of the world or of the flesh. While it's great to be healthy (and God certainly wants us to be) it's more important that we look at the things we would like to change from the perspective of "How will this help me better serve God?" If we do this we no longer have a resolution, we have determination.
Happy new year and may God bless you!
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