A Christian’s Resolutions

By - Eric Shulman, National Capital Bible Church

Every New Year, the big conversation centers around “resolutions.” How are we going to improve this year? What goals do we want to set to help us get there?

We set resolutions for fitness, like running a certain number of miles each week. We set resolutions for learning, like reading a set number of books in a year. Sometimes, we even set resolutions for relationships, like calling or meeting up with a specific friend or family member once a month.

When we sit down to think about these resolutions, we tend to on areas in our lives that we find important. Otherwise, why would we spend time on them? Therefore, it’s only natural to assume that these areas of life are priorities for us. 

During this period of reflection, I always like to challenge myself and other Christians to consider the following: What’s actually the most important thing in your life? What do you spend the most amount of time on each day or each week? What do you refuse to let anything else get in the way of? This is truly the best way to understand what we’re making our top priority.

Then, I ask a follow up: What should be the most important thing in your life?

Popular answers tend to include our families, morality, and personal growth. But above all of these, for Christians, should be God. Let’s explore how we know this and why it may be the case. 

How do we know God should be above all other priorities?

The easy answer is that the Bible, God’s Word, tells us so. Review Hebrews 3:1: 

“Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,”

A simple declaration. Follow this up with Luke 10:27:

“So He answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”

Again and again, the Bible tells us to place everything we have towards focusing on God. We are called to use all our strength, mental focus, and even soul towards this goal. We are even called to do our most basic daily activities, like eating and drinking, to the glory of Him (1 Cor 10:31). 

Perhaps most convincing in this discussion is Matthew 10:37-39:

“37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

This passage highlights our calling to place God even above the family He has blessed us with. We can find a significant number of additional verses supporting this, including Matthew 6:24 and James 4:7,8 which discuss an inability to serve two masters, throughout the centerpiece of our teachings, the Bible. 

How can we make God our first priority?

With the reasoning for making God our first priority established, let’s look at the how. Again, we receive clear direction from His Word. 2 Corinthians 10 provides a great list, with verse 5 serving as a simple instruction:

“Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;”

All thoughts are to be held in captivity of Christ. From wake up to the time our head hits the pillow, we are called to concentrate on God. By no means is this an easy directive, however it certainly backs up our notion of what a top priority should look like. 

More specific actions can include:

• Showing ourselves “approved” to God (2 Timothy 2:15)

• Keeping His commandments (John 14:21)

• Praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Showing ourselves approved, in laymen’s terms, refers to understanding God and knowing His word. Much like a relationship with your significant other, spending time with and learning about them grows our love for them. This is the same with God. As such, here are a few tangible practices I follow that can help make God a first priority in your life:

• Listening daily to a sermon from a qualified pastor teacher 

• Designating daily prayer time

• Learning and memorizing a new verse each week

• Encouraging conversations with other Christians, including your significant other or friends

• Saying grace at every meal

With the calendar year having switched to 2024, there’s no better time to reflect on your top priorities. Spend some time reflecting on what your top priorities are and how you can place God into the top slot. 

If you have any questions on this topic or on how to make the information above real in your life, we highly encourage you to reach out to us at National Capital Bible Church. Our pastor, Freddy Cortez, would be happy to discuss it with you.

This post was written by Eric Shulman of National Capital Bible Church. If you have questions about this post or Christianity in general, please contact us today!