God does not want us to neglect our relationship with Him nor does He want us to be passive in our walk with Him. Instead, He wants us to be intentional and attentive to following Him faithfully.
With the present year coming to a close, it is time to start thinking about the New Year. As Christians, we should not be passive in this line of thought because we should be striving to follow Jesus closer throughout the New Year. The New Year is the perfect chance to start aligning our hearts and minds with the Lord’s and begin following Him on a deeper level. It is easy to become passive in our relationship with Christ or even neglect it when we get into busy seasons of life.
God does not want us to neglect our relationship with Him nor does He want us to be passive in our walk with Him. Instead, He wants us to be intentional and attentive to following Him faithfully. If you have noticed that your faith has become less of a concern for you compared to other things, it is important to get your heart reset on following Jesus. There are many things in our lives that demand our attention; however, the most important thing we need to focus on is our relationship with Jesus.
Taking a Biblical Approach to the New Year
Before stepping into this New Year, it is important to take a biblical approach. While this can sound intimidating, it is important to serve God this year. In the past years, it could have been you were only working on self-improvement or self-centered goals. Challenge yourself this year to take a biblical approach to the New Year. You can do this by being active in your relationship with Jesus by reading your Bible, talking with Him in prayer, and serving Him with your entire life.
Being active in your relationship with Jesus through Bible reading and prayer is crucial to approach this year biblically. If you are not focusing on growing in your relationship with Christ, your year will not be biblically based. Nobody can have growth as a Christian without being active in Bible reading and talking with the Lord. Through talking with Jesus, you will be able to tell Him about your concerns, praise Him, and ask for His help. In the same way, by reading the Bible, you will be able to hear back from Him.
Without doing these two things, it will be hard to take a biblical approach to the New Year. The Bible contains everything we need to know about God as well as how to follow Him in our life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we do not read the Bible, we will not be able to learn about God for ourselves. While watching sermons, listening to podcasts, and reading devotionals can be helpful, none of them can replace actually reading the Bible. All of these things are supplements to the Bible—they are not to be used as a replacement for the Bible.
As you are taking a biblical approach to the New Year, do not forget to spend time with the Lord in prayer and hear back from Him through the Bible. You might be surprised as to how much your relationship with Christ will grow as you implement these two crucial biblical concepts into your life. If you are someone who is already active in your prayer life and Bible reading, there are also more things you can do to take a biblical approach to the Bible. One of these many things is by implementing what the Bible says.
Implementing What the Bible Says
James, the half-brother of the Lord, tells us, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1:23-24). As James tells us in this Bible passage, anyone who listens to the Bible yet does not do as it says is like someone who looks at their reflection and forgets what they look like. We do not forget what we look like just by turning away from the mirror. Instead, we have seen our reflection so many times that it would be impossible for us to forget what we look like.
This is the message that James is trying to convey to us. Anyone who studies the Bible and follows it does not forget what it says. They are not going to listen to the Bible and then turn away and do something that the Bible condemns. This is something that we need to take to heart in our own lives. It is not enough to only read or listen to the Bible—we have to do what it says. If we fail to do what the Bible says, then we are failing to do what God says.
Take a good look at your own Bible reading. Are you implementing what it says? Don’t just speed-read through a passage to check it off of your to-do list. Instead, take your time to read the passage, soak it up, and implement what it says. Implementing what the Bible says is the hard part. It is easy to just read a part of the Bible and then go about your day; however, it is completely different if you are being intentional about implementing what the Bible teaches. This is what God wants. He does not want you to just listen to the Bible—He wants you to do what it says (James 1:22).
Finding Trusted Christian Friends
In addition to implementing what the Bible says, you can also take a biblical approach to the New Year by finding trusted Christian friends. Trusted Christian friends will be able to help you when you are going through parched seasons of your faith. They will also be able to pray for you and point you back to Christ when you are struggling. God never intended for us to walk through life alone. We need trusted Christian friends who will be able to help us in our times of need.
Making new friends can be hard; however, true Christians will want to be your friend. There will not be any drama nor will there be favorites amongst the group. Instead, true Christian friends will want to selflessly be your friend because they want to be your friend. There will not be any ulterior motives in the way they conduct themselves because they want to be your friend. It is a beautiful gift to have trusted Christian friends. They will be able to be there with you and support you as you approach the year biblically.
Deep Dive into the Bible
As mentioned, it is important to read the Bible daily to learn more about God and to grow in your relationship with Him. However, it is also important to do a deep dive into the Bible. You can do this by studying books of the Bible, studying specific passages, or studying the life of Christ. By doing a deep dive into the Bible, you will be able to learn even more about God and be better at applying its teachings to your life. While a deep dive into the Bible can sound intimidating, it is very important.
You do not have to read the Bible straight through in one setting. This would be impossible. Instead, read the Bible at your own pace. Even if that means just one passage at a time, that is okay. The important part is learning what the Bible says and applying it to your life. Once you continue throughout this year with a biblical approach, you will be able to help other believers when they turn to you for help.
Taking a biblical approach to the New Year should not only be a one-year goal. Instead, it needs to be something you do every year. Jesus died for us to have life. He didn’t die for us to waste our lives living by the sinful flesh. Rather, Jesus wants us to live for Him, and we can do this by approaching each year and each day with a biblical approach. The more we take a biblical approach toward each year, we will quickly find we are growing closer to God.
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