I AM RESOLVED!
Read It
James 4:7-8
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Discover It
It’s the dawn of something fresh! The old year is swept away like the tide. The new year is God’s way of pressing a reset button on our calendar, giving us His people a way to start anew and afresh. And our scripture for today contains some helpful suggestions, written in the form of commands. So as your read, resolve to be different for the Lord and to do different for the Lord in 2023! “Happy New Year!”
Ask It
1. The first command in our scripture is to “submit to God” (v. 7a). What are some ways we can yield our lives to the Lord in the coming new year?
2. The second command in our scripture is to “resist the devil” (v. 7b). What are some ways we can stand against the devil and his lies every day? According to this scripture, what does the devil do when we resist him?
3. Our third command is to “draw near to God” (v. 8a). What are some ways we can draw near to the Lord in the coming new year? According to this scripture, what does God do when we draw near to Him?
4. A fourth command in our scripture passage is to “cleanse your hands” and to “purify your hearts” (v. 8b). How can we live clean lives before the Lord? (Hint: Mark 10:27).
Live It
1. MAKE A RESOLUTION! Determine that 2023 will be the best year you have ever lived for the Lord. Submit to God. Resist the devil. Draw near to God. And ask the Lord to cleanse and purify your heart and mind.
2. KEEP YOUR RESOLUTION! Begin now and live each moment in the power of God. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you until the character of Jesus Christ overflows from you daily in your life and words.
Pray It
“Dear Lord, as a new year stretches out before me with its new beginnings, give me also the courage to begin again. Please give me a renewed optimism to face difficulties, to overcome obstacles, and to seize new opportunities. Give me a divine insecurity in my strength and abilities, replacing it with an unsinkable confidence in You. Help me to be alert enough to sense your work and leadership every moment of every day. Help me to be patient enough to keep coming back from defeats. And help me to be wise enough to know when to ask for help from my family, my friends, and my Christian brothers and sisters. As I look forward to the future, help me to continue to look diligently into Your Word, and to remember the lessons of the Bible as I fully depend upon You for strength and guidance. In Jesus’ strong name I pray, Amen.”