NEW YEARS’ RESOLUTION

Posted byDianne HornePosted inUncategorizedTags:, ,

Well, it’s now 2026 and I wonder if you made any “new year’s resolutions?”  I haven’t because I’m still working on resolutions I made years ago.  Yes, I’m joking with you!!  But the thought of resolutions did spark an interest in what it means to have a “resolution” about something.   I often find it helpful to “not assume” I know what a word means; so, I invited my thesaurus to help me out in determining what it means to make a RESOLUTION.

Determination, resolve, decisions, promises, vows, decrees, perseverance, purpose, outcome.  There are countless adjectives on this term “resolution,” but the last three caught not only my eye, but my heart.

For a few minutes I’d like to camp on three words defining a resolution not only for this new year, but for our life.

PERSEVERANCE:  determination, devotion, dedication, drive

PURPOSE:             resolve, commitment, intention, reason, use, objective

OUTCOME:           consequence, result, conclusion, sequel, value, significance

Questioning these words gives me focus (and I need focus).

So, what are you and I “persevering” or devoted, dedicated to that gives us a drive in a particular direction?   Thinking aloud here, we must have an inner resolve so strong that it actually drives us within.  We’re all devoted to something or someone in life.   Our appetite or determination in the morning moves many of us to a coffee machine, tea bag or toast if we’re hungry.  And we persevere in the direction we’re dedicated to, right?!

Our “purpose,” resolve, commitment, reason or objective to enjoying a “cuppa of your choice” is not only for enjoyment, but it adds some motivation, alertness and enthusiasm for the agendas of our day.   

The BIG “little” word that is introduced here is the word “agenda.”  I paused after typing that word……A G E N D A.  It was as though I couldn’t get past it.  I feel God wanted me to think more deeply about that word.  We employ that term in various ways, don’t we?   Many times, it drives and gives compass to our commitments and keeps us dedicated to activities, interests and opportunities.

At the beginning of our year, we face each day, each morning before our Creator.  Have we ever considered what “God’s Agenda” for our day might be?  

This brings us to the word “outcome.”  For our every choice in our days, hours, minutes, seconds, there are results, consequences, that add not only value to our day, but significance to each day.

When I worked as an administrative assistant to my boss, that function in the company was to support my manager in managing daily office operations.  As I approached my work area, the first ingredient to my day was to “check in with my boss” to find out what his “agenda” was for that day.  And if I was to continue receiving a pay check, (ha ha), his agenda became mine.   I’d grab my shorthand pad and head for the chair across from his desk and he would share with me what things were important to accomplish that day.

Now as I came to the word agenda, I couldn’t help but think, what would be God’s agenda, or some of His resolutions for my life this year. 

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” 

This means our deepest desires and focus will follow what we truly value, whether earthly things or eternal spiritual riches.   It’s following and prioritizing “heavenly “treasures” over temporary worldly ones.   It’s where we invest our time, energy, resources and opportunities.

All this brings us to the third word on resolutions:  OUTCOME

Our time in God’s Word, gives us wisdom, discernment, direction, warning, encouragement, joy and strength to attend to God’s agenda (what’s on His heart) for our individual days.

Matthew 6:33 nlt  “But seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

Matthew 6:33 nkj “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

In Matthew chapter 25, verses 14-15 talk about what the “Kingdom of heaven” means, or what it’s like, and it speaks of “talents” or “opportunities” given to different people.   Those opportunities were to be “invested.”   Why?  Because what the people did with what God gave them brought an OUTCOME (consequences, results, value, conclusions, and significance) to peoples’ lives and destinations.

I found David Jeremiah’s comments on that verse critically helpful.  Here they are:

“Here, the word talent represents all the opportunities God gives people to serve Him, including their wealth, reputation, abilities and learning.  This parable warns believers to diligently take everything God has given and INVEST IT FOR HIS GLORY as they await Christ’s second coming.”  David Jeremiah, Jeremiah Study Bible,  pgs. 1326-1327

So, let’s get our New Years’ and Every Day’s Resolute Agenda from Him, so we know what’s on “His heart” for each day, hour, minute and second.  As we put Him first on our agenda, we’ll be aware of His.    Let’s ask Him to make us sensitive to the opportunities as they appear.

Regardless of the amount or size of our opportunities entrusted to us each day, let’s be faithful in the tiny, obscure, seemingly insignificant matters of life He places before us to bring glory to God.   LET’S MAKE GOD LOOK GOOD in all our ways, and on all our days.

LET’S EXTEND OUR MASTER’S INFLUENCE!!!

Published by Dianne Horne

I can’t think of anything I enjoy more than to see lives changed! There’s nothing more that puts “oxygen and joy” into my life than to bring the application of Scripture into the “shoe leather” of our lives and to share it with others. I feel awkward speaking about myself, but I understand it can be helpful to enable others to relate to and enjoy the work of our Lord does in other people. Another down-to-earth way of sharing who I am, is that I love to eat, laugh and to talk about the Lord. I’m not a very exciting individual, but my Savior sure is! I’ve been happily married for many years, and I now reside in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. God has transplanted my husband and I 28 times in our years together; and it is only when in His presence that you can ask the “why questions” as to the adjustments He’s brought us “to” and “through” in the numerous locations and countries we have lived. God’s care, love, forgiveness, faithfulness and moment-by-moment presence has not only carried me (when I had every reason to fall apart), but lifted me to a joy I’ve never known. There’s one thing to have joy when things are going great, and quite another dimension of joy and peace when everything in your world is crumbling and unknown. Most of our lives will appear like “ordinary oatmeal living”, but when we allow Him to “establish our steps”, He alone takes our mundane acts of kindness or aid and makes them “extraordinary” for His purpose in the lives of others. The seasons of caring for my parents and the associated grieving process has forever changed me. It was my honor, joy and privilege to participate with my Lord in what He was accomplishing in their lives, as they both gave their lives to Jesus Christ just days before they were escorted into His presence in heaven. The medical challenges and decisions that needed to be made for a number of those years thrust me into a trust and dependence upon the Lord that I had never known up to that point in my life. In my journey, I’ve come to realize that our “weakness” is our greatest “strength”, because real power, provision, and His purpose being carried out in and through our lives, depends on Him orchestrating such through His sovereignty. My “heartbeat of fulfillment” lies in sharing with women, in various settings, helping them to enjoy, study and apply the principles of God’s Word in a down-to-earth fashion. I thrive interacting with women and encouraging them to put their trust in the One Who knows them best and loves them extravagantly; and to prioritize “spending time alone with God each day” developing their relationship with Him. Our lives aren’t designed to just get answers to prayer….but to know and love a very personal Savior, and to surrender daily to “His plans, His agenda and purpose” for our lives. Several years ago I was challenged to respond to a critical question I had never considered: Why do you exist? What’s your purpose in life? I live to bring an expression of God in the ordinary events of life, seizing every opportunity of serving and delighting in others. I want my life to be an infectious expression of His love for others, and for them to know how special “they are” to Him; and thus be contagious with His grace. My life compass is: After people spend time with me, what do they think of Jesus Christ? The stories that will appear in my blog, are true events that have taken place in my journey. They’re all “very ordinary” circumstances that have occurred through sharing them with Jesus and watching Him orchestrate and demonstrate what He can do when we yield “our ordinary” to the Extraordinary One.

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