It’s that time of year. Yep, that New Year’s Resolutions time of year. Do you make resolutions? Personally I think it’s all setting us up for failure, plus, the resolutions are usually focusing on the things that are wrong in our lives and why focus on that?
So what should we focus on for the new year? I think the BEST thing we can focus on is GOAL SETTING for God! God is the one and only one that will be guiding our every move in the new year, so why not focus on Him?!?!
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I’m going to give you 10 Christian Goals that will help you to get on the right track for the new year. We cannot go wrong when we put God first in all parts of our life; can I get an AMEN????
1. GOAL SETTING: Wake Up Early for God
I know you can’t imagine waking up any earlier, but believe me, this is for a good cause! I even wrote a blog post about this topic. I promise you, it won’t take up hours of your day. Start small and increase as you become more consistent with it. Check it out here: Morning Routine with God
I’m quite passionate about this because when I started this new routine of mine, I was in such a funk. I was in my 40’s and still single. As you can imagine, quite down in the dumps about it: check out my ebook about this topic: “But First, Pray” I realized that God was telling me to stop putting my focus on the future mate, but on Him. As soon as I made that daily commitment to Him, my entire life changed. I eventually went from only 15 minutes earlier to my current state of almost 2 hours every morning. God will clear up your schedule so you’ll want to do this everyday. This girl ain’t lyin!
2. GOAL SETTING for God: Read the Bible Daily
Yet another lofty goal, right, but it can be done. With all of these goals, it may seem like a lot, but I break it down in a very easy manner for you. Check this out: Easiest Ways to Start Reading the Bible The Bible does not have to be some huge, crazy undertaking. In fact, most of these goals can all be combined during your morning quiet time. Just start with a little at a time and it won’t overwhelm you.
I find the easiest was to start reading the Bible are:
- Start reading one Psalm per day
- Pick a daily devotional; I like Jesus Calling. Pick out your favorite verse from that reading and write out a prayer using that verse.
- Pick out a Bible with a clear reading plan: One Year Bible or any Bible usually has a reading plan at the beginning or end of the Bible.
3. GOAL SETTING for God: Pray Daily
Such a vital step in our daily walk with the Lord. We should be praying to Him all day everyday, but I realize that life can really get in the way, right??? This is why I think it’s so so important to start your day in prayer. You want God to lead every move of your day, right? So why not give the first part of your day to Him?
When you are doing steps 1 & 2, this should go right along with that. Some good blog posts I wrote centered around this topic: Making God a Priority and How to Reach God through Journaling
When I began my daily quiet time with God, about 10 years ago, I made a point of combining steps 1, 2, & 3. This way, it made it way easier to do it all together. And as I have said earlier, start small, so you don’t get so overwhelmed you set yourself up for failure.
- Before my feet hit the floor in the morning, I say a quick prayer to God for waking me to a new and blessed day.
- As I sit down to my quiet time, I say another quick prayer that God will help me “hear” what He wants me to learn.
- As I finish my quiet time, I begin my prayer by using the scripture I had been reading and then I finish with my full prayer time. While praying, begin with praising God and thanking Him for your blessings. Leave the “asking” for the end of your prayer time.
4. GOAL SETTING for God: Tithe Regularly
I realize this can be a touchy subject for some, but as Christ-followers, we must TRUST God with our finances; after all, He is the one who has blessed us with the money. This is also the ONE topic that God says to “test” Him on, in the Bible.
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
The first time I heard a sermon on “testing” the Lord when it comes to money, I decided to give it a try. Yes, I had just bought a house, was running my own new business, so I was praying for work! In no way did I have extra money to be giving to God. But I trust the Bible completely and I know that my God is an awesome God. So I did it! I started with the 10% from every paycheck I made and YES, it worked! I owned an entertainment company and was always praying new gigs would come my way and of course, as soon as I started to tithe regularly, gigs began to pour in!! I was never without work and God surely did bless me!!
When God tells you to “test Him”, you better believe He will show you that you can trust Him!!
I personally feel that God wants us to give first and foremost to the church. If you have given your 10% to the church and feel you want to give more, pick your favorite charity and give regularly to that as well, only if you feel you can. Just do what you can do, but TRUST HIM!!
5. GOAL SETTING for God: Volunteer
Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.
We all know how much God speaks about helping out others in the Bible. God commands us to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ He truly wants us to love and help our fellow man. Volunteering is such a great goal to set for the new year.
By the way, this is a picture from my husband’s mission trip to Costa Rica. They help build skate parks for kids, build and fund churches, feed the hungry, and so much more. If you are ever interested in joining his annual mission trip, Contact Me.
There are so many ways to help others. Start by thinking of those close to you: do you have elderly neighbors who could use help with the yard, running errands, help around the house? What about friends with kids who could use a night out? I would then check with your church. Churches always need help!
I would then check out this list of sites that I found from The Balance Small Business, to get a feel for the types of opportunities available. If you find yourself honing in on a particular cause, you can then research more specifically to turn up volunteer needs in that area.
6. GOAL SETTING for God: Get Involved at Church
This goal goes right along with the above step. Churches run on volunteers, so this is the easiest way to help. Not only do churches need help just running their Sunday services, but also day to day activities.
Getting involved with church is also a great way to meet fellow Christian friends. If you have been wanting to find more friends who believe like you do; so important to have, this is such a great way to meet people. Usually on Sundays, churches will put in their bulletin ways to contact them to help. Or you can always call or email them as well.
7. GOAL SETTING for God: Join a Bible Study
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.
For me, this is huge!! There’s no better way to get through life, than a Bible study group, some may still have Sunday School, and several now have “small groups”, or “home groups.” Also, you can search Meetup.com to find a local Bible study near you.
There are so many ways you can meet up with a Bible study: women’s groups, men’s groups, couples, singles, etc. Do whichever one you feel most comfortable with. I have done both and love them both. And please don’t give up if you try one group and you just don’t mix well with them. Believe me, I’ve been in those too. But, I can promise you, if you keep trying, God will bring you the perfect group to be a part of. If I had not found my perfect group about 20 years ago, I have no idea if I’d be a SAVED woman now! Since then, I have been in so many groups and have met the most amazing godly friends. They truly help you get through life. There’s nothing better than having a group of friends who have your back, no matter what. And what’s better than a group praying for you regularly?
8. GOAL SETTING for God: Be a Better Wife
What could be better than becoming the godly wife God wants you to be? This is a book I just love and continuously go back to: The Power of a Praying Wife God has blessed you with a husband and no, he may not be the most perfect man ever or even trying, but, YOU can become the perfect wife and I can promise you, God will bless that.
I can remember that my whole life I couldn’t wait to be married and just begged God for a husband. When I was still in my 40’s with zero hope in sight for a husband, I was so depressed about it. I truly thought being married would be IT!! I figured my life would be complete. But we all know,that is NOT true! No man could ever fulfill that for you, only God can. If we put all of our hope in our spouse to fulfill our every need, we will ALWAYS be disappointed. Instead, we need to put all of our hope in the Lord, who will always be there for us, no matter what.
This is a topic I could go on and on about, but for now, I want you to pray about this daily. Really focus on putting your marriage in God’s hands and give Him control of it. You just focus on being the BEST WIFE you can be. Don’t try to change your husband or beg God to change him, because maybe God wants to change you!! All you can do is pray and be the best wife you can be.
9. GOAL SETTING for God: Find an Accountability Partner
Christians who attempt to walk with God entirely on their own will have a very rough go at it!! God wants us to have fellowship and accountability with our fellow Christian friends.
Being accountable to others can help us stand strong in spiritual warfare. When we confess our sins to one another, we can remind each other of God’s faithfulness to forgive. Rather than hide in shame of our own struggles, being accountable to other believers helps expose us to God’s trust. Other Christians can pray for us and support us in our walk with Christ.
This is why being a part of a Bible study and getting involved at church can truly help with this accountability. We need help from our fellow believers. I also have a closed Facebook group for my fellow sisters in Christ; you are always welcome to join that as well: God’s Gals
You cannot walk this Christian walk in isolation; we need friends to help us get through everything. God never meant for us to walk alone.
10. GOAL SETTING: Be More Bold with your Faith
Wow, this one’s a doozie! Am I right or am I right? I feel like we all want to be more bold, but do we really want to embrace this? Maybe we pray for boldness but kinda hoping God doesn’t give us that. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
I can remember when I was first “born again”, I shared with anyone who would listen. I was so new in my relationship with Christ that I just shouted it from the rooftops. Then, as so many of us do, we get complacent and a bit lazy in our relationship. We start to get more and more quiet when it comes to speaking our FAITH boldly. But…God doesn’t want that!! He wants us to do more than just post a Bible verse on Facebook occasionally.
I just read this from a blog post, Desiring God – Boldness is acting, by the power of the Holy Spirit, on an urgent conviction in the face of some threat. Without sufficient conviction that something ought to be said or done, what’s there to be bold about? Without sufficient courage, we don’t have enough fiber in our conviction to face opposition or threats. Without a sufficient sense of urgency, we lack the fire under our feet to get us moving. People who are halfhearted, fearful, or indifferent are, by definition, not bold.
Pray for Boldness! “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.” . . . And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Acts 4:29,31
Boldness for us Christians is not an option! We are commanded by God to be bold for Him. To share the Gospel with all we come in contact with. The best thing we can do is pray for it!
Whatever it takes, Lord, decrease the hold that unbelieving fear has over me and increase my boldness to declare the gospel to everyone you put in my path.
So what goals are you going to set for 2019? I’d love to hear about your goals and if you plan to adopt any of these?
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