After reading so many New Years resolutions I kept thinking about our New Year’s “Spiritual” Resolutions that take care of our spiritual growth and development. We can call them our Christian New Year resolutions, but let’s emphasize on the spiritual side of our Christian walk. There are probably many more than only 10 essentials; they could add up to 100 essentials or 50. We’ll see how far we get. Today we will not go further than 5 or 10. You know, Our choices have to line up with The Word of God.
1. God must be your 1st priority in all areas of our life.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). You must give God first place in your life. Many people are typically crisis-oriented; they wait until a crisis develops before they do something about the issue.
The Spirit of God can lead and guide you if you will acknowledge him in all your ways first. He can lead you away from an environmental problem; he can lead you to the right room, the right place, the right building, and away from the wrong room, wrong place and wrong building.
The first thing you do is pray, Father, I want to thank you and acknowledge you in all my ways and that you may direct my path. Say, “Thank you Lord, your healing power flows in my body from the crown of my head to the very soles of my feet.” Before you do anything else, spend some time with God. You want God to be Number One in your life and if you put God first you’ll get his direction first. If you put him last, you’ll get his direction last.
2. Putting God first means of course that we “Learn How To Pray And How To Talk To God”.
Click here for a great lesson on prayer. Everybody has a call to prayer. The Father longs for us to come to Him and talk to Him, to give us whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name. We tend to limit the great love and promises of our God. The Church (that means you and I) needs to learn that God intends that prayer have an answer. We have not yet fully conceived what God will do for the one who truly believes his prayer is heard.
3. Fasting and Prayer.
Fasting without prayer is not fasting; that’s just dieting. You might want to know how to fast and pray effectively. There are many resources on the internet like awake21.org. Jentezen Frankin is a pastor that calls many other churches and people to fast. There is a lot and it is not too late for you to start yet! The disciples asked the Lord, why they could heal a lunatic boy. Jesus said, “Because of your unbelief…Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” Matt.17:14-21. Faith needs prayer for its development and full growth, and prayer needs fasting for the same reason. Fasting has done wonders used in combination with prayer and faith.
4. Live by faith.
The Bible says clearly the just shall live by faith.
Faith is like a house; it must be built on a strong foundation if it is going to stand tests and storms. Faith’s foundation is the Word of God. You cannot build a great faith life without it. The best part about this truth is that the Word of God will never fail. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” According to this and other verses in the Bible, what you believe determines what you receive from the Lord. In other words, your believing has a great effect on how and what you receive from God. Faith Is the Language of Heaven.
5. Walk in love.
The God kind of love is full of kindness and is tenderhearted. Since God’s love is kind and tenderhearted, it is always ready to forgive. Faith works by love.
First Corinthians 13:4–7 in the Amplified says,
“Love (I) endures long and is patient and kind; love (I) never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (I) (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love (I) bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].”
If we would all practice this passage on a daily basis, we would live peaceful and productive lives. However, our flesh often gets in the way. Instead of ignoring injustices that are done to us, we want to get even. Instead of walking in love, we want to repay evil for evil.
Ok, today we came to 5 essentials, this week I will add five more to get to the 10 essentials. If there is one that you yourself like to add, write it in a comment and we might come to 100 essentials for ourspiritual growth and development. The power of choice is to act upon these truths and to be doers of the word is always at hand. Our life is truly choice driven.
Thank You For Your Reading!
Olga Hermans
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