Gospel.com Blog

New Years Eve is the victory lap of the holidays. We expend our energy between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then cap it off with one last party to say good bye (or good riddance) to what just happened and hello to what’s to come.

It’s no wonder so many of us use the New Year as a time to change. We finally have the freedom to glimpse a future with no major holidays for a few months.

This article from Jason Gardner via Cross Rhythms lists the top ten resolutions people make for the new year:

• Get organized
• Help others
• Learn something new
• Get out of debt
• Quit drinking
• Enjoy life more
• Quit smoking
• Tame the bulge
• Fit in fitness
• Spend more time with family and friends

As Jason mentions, “all certainly forgotten by the time February kicks in.” In fact, it’s oftentimes an anomaly to keep a resolution throughout the year.

Personally, I’ve never been one for year-long resolutions, mainly because of how much trouble I have with week-long resolutions. For change to work for me, it needs to come out of a God-placed desire to be a different person. And while there is no extra sprig of spirituality amid the tick of time that takes us from December to January, we’d be remiss not to use any opportunity to reevaluate aspects of our lives, especially the spiritual aspects.

Maybe a positive spiritual change for you this year would be something as simple as committing to reading your Bible for a minute a day, or maybe even reading it for the first time in its entirety. Perhaps it’s going to church every Sunday this year, or getting involved in that ministry you’ve always thought about. Or maybe you want to actually pray this year. Maybe it’s something even more drastic: maybe it’s a complete turn from the path you’re taking.

Whatever it is, even though there’s nothing magic about January 1, it’s a great time to listen to what God might be asking you to consider.

What were the highlights (and low points) of your 2008? What do you think 2009 holds in store? At this time every year, columnists, bloggers, and writers set to reviewing the events of the Old Year, and a few dare to pose predictions about the New Year. Here are a few end-of-year posts that have caught my attention this week:

• GetReligion, a blog about religion and the media, has a post boldly predicting what 2009 might hold for the “God beat.”
• Humorist and blogger James Watkins has his annual 2008 year-in-review up. Lots of links to some of his best material from last year.
• Christianity Today has compiled a list of the top ten theology stories of 2008. From the Evangelical Manifesto to controversy over The Shack, theology was in the news a lot last year!
• And what end-of-year review would be complete without some discussion of the year’s best films? Jeffrey Overstreet, one of my favorite Christian film critics, has posted his list of the films that made the strongest impressions on him in 2008 (link goes to part 1; see part 2 as well). And over at ThinkChristian, Josh Larsen has posted his top ten films of 2008 as well.

That’s a somewhat scattered list of reflections and predictions, but lots of food for thought in there. I hope you’ll take a few minutes as the new year begins to reflect on the old year—and to make a few bold resolutions for your own life in 2009!

A new year is right around the corner. The New Year holiday is the perfect time to take stock of your life and think about the year to come—with the hectic Christmas holiday is behind us, January 1 offers a chance to reflect on what you’d like to change in your life in 2009.

One of the most common resolutions that people make at the New Year is to get their finances in order. In the current economic climate, that makes more sense than ever. But spending money wisely isn’t just a good, practical idea; it’s an act of service to God! These articles walk through the spiritual aspect of money management, and offer some useful guidelines for making 2009 the year that you get your finances under control:

• Cindy Summer has a good short article at MOPS about making a financial fresh start. There are several other good articles on the topic of money as well, addressing topics like money management for couples and keeping careful track of your finances.
• If you want to jump right into the big topic of stewardship and what it looks like in everyday life, you can’t do better than Ray Porter’s essays about Christianity and personal finances. Porter explains the spiritual angle of financial stewardship, and then provides a lot of detailed and practical advice for creating a financial plan and using your resources wisely. (You might find the other articles about finances at the site useful, too.)

That’s a lot of information, but if you’re thinking about getting a grip on your finances in 2009, these are a good place to start.

How many resolutions did you set this year? How many have you set in your life?

Jonathan Edwards is probably most famous for his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (listen to a modern day reading here), which was instrumental to spurring on the Great Awakening of early American History. Before he went onto become a respected theologian though, he came up with about 80 resolutions for himself.

The most stunning thing about these resolutions are that they were all made before he was 21!

Here are a few interesting ones:

Read them all over at Into Thy Word.

What were the best youth ministry resources and innovations of 2007? Youth Ministry Exchange asked their readers to help them pick the best new book, innovation, worship song, and musician of the year for youth ministry. Stop by the YMExchange site and see who made the list.

What did your 2007 look like? In honor of the new year, several ministries are looking back at the highlights of the old year. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane, shall we?

• Humorist James Watkins has a very thorough month-by-month review of 2007. Good, bad, or ugly—if it happened in 2007, it has been the subject of James’ witty commentary.
• What an interesting year 2007 was! So at least says David Bruce of Hollywood Jesus in his visual reflection on the year gone by. From scientific discoveries to our entertainment choices, there’s a lot of good material for thought and discussion.
• Christianity, and religion in general, was in the news a lot in 2007. Terry Mattingly comments on the top ten religion stories of the year over at the GetReligion blog. And over at The Culture Beat, Jim Dalhman weighs in with his reactions to the list as well.

As the year comes to a close, it’s not uncommon for people to look for ways to make last-minute, end-of-year donations to worthy causes. If you’re looking for a ministry to donate to this year, why not consider one of these ministries from the Gospel.com community? This list of organizations covers all sorts of outreach and ministries types, so you’re sure to find a ministry with a vision you can get behind.

Here’s our (partial!) list of ministries worth supporting. And remember, even if you can’t support your favorite ministry financially, all of these ministries would appreciate your prayer support, and many of them have ways you can contribute your time or talents instead of your money. Without further ado, here’s the list:

(more…)

What lies in store for you in 2008? Lots of people like to make resolutions for the New Year—tasks to accomplish, habits to break, lifestyle changes to make. Making a realistic list of New Year’s resolutions isn’t a bad idea. If you want to make some changes in your life in 2008, here are some resources that can help:

• The main problem with New Year’s resolutions is that they’re much easier to make than to keep. Max Frazier offers some advice on making New Year’s resolutions that will achieve results.
• Getting back on track financially has got to be one of the most common resolutions people make—and it’s also one of the toughest to keep. Cindy Sumner shares some ideas for making a financial fresh start that might be helpful. And if you really need to step back and get your financial situation in order, there’s a great series of practical essays about Christians and personal finance by Ray Porter.
• Do your New Year’s goals seem way too big to be achievable? Consider breaking them down into smaller, more accomplishable goals. Blaine Smith has some encouraging words about the importance of small beginnings when setting goals for yourself.
• The Back to the Bible radio program spent a week talking about five words of resolution for the New Year. (Link goes to the first day of the discussion.) Their conversations offer a lot of good insights into making personal resolutions that will truly accomplish something for you and your spiritual life.

Tomorrow we’ll point out some useful resources for another popular New Year’s resolution—reading through the Bible in 2008!

As you’re pondering resolutions for 2006, have you considered making regular Bible reading a part of your New Year? It sounds like an intimidating task, but a number of ministries have reading plans and other resources to help you delve into the Bible this year:

• Back to the Bible has five different plans you can follow to read through the Bible in a year–just choose the one you want and check back each day for your daily Bible reading.
• If you prefer to receive a daily Bible reading via email, E-Word Today lets you do just that.
• Year of the Bible recommends that you commit to spending just five minutes a day reading the Bible, and has online tools to help you do that.
• Daily Manna from the Net and the Bible League both let you sign up to receive a daily Bible verse via email.
• And of course, if you prefer to read through the Bible at your own pace, the Bible Gateway is always a good option.

Lots of ministries are using email and the web to help us spend more time in Scripture each day. If you’re feeling called to do more Bible reading, consider trying out one of these free services!

Columnist James Watkins has been making humorous annual predictions (with a serious message) since 2002, and he’s back this year with some startling and daring guesses about what the New Year holds. Will there be armed conflict in 2006? Will a famous Hollywood couple divorce? These are the questions that only James can answer.