Skip to content ↓

Resolutions

Some years I make new years resolutions; some years I don’t bother. This year I haven’t sat down and narrowed in on one or two things I’d consider resolutions. Instead I am going to continue on a trajectory I began several months ago–a trajectory leading toward control and simplicity. In a wired, digital world, I’ve too often felt like technology owns me and drives me instead of the other way around. I’ve started to try to regain that sense of control, sometimes scaling back, sometimes changing the way I do things. I hope to continue that through 2009 and beyond.

Here are some things you may wish to do in the new year. I do believe I’ll be doing some of them myself.

  • Read the Bible Using a Plan. Justin Taylor offers various ways of going through the Bible in a year.
  • Commit to Fasting. John Piper gives advice on how to fast and offers six good reasons to commit to doing it in 2009.
  • Pray. Piper dives into the Desiring God archives and offers up good suggestions on how to pray for other people (this year or any year).
  • Look Back and Look Forward. Ray Ortlund models this in a reflective blog post.
  • Make Resolutions. The Point blog quotes David Jeremiah and gives seven great resolutions you could make for 2009.
  • Keep Your Resolutions. Matt Perman gives advice on actually keeping your resolutions.

And through it all, keep your attention focused squarely on Christ. Lydia says this well. “If our 2008 retrospective is focused on ourselves, we are missing the point of discipleship. Cross bearing is about death, not self-improvement. The less we think about ourselves at all, the closer we get to true discipleship. … As we consider our goals and hopes for 2009, how about putting this one at the top: ‘For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain’ (Phil 1:21).”


  • Anxiety and Surrender

    Combat Anxiety Through Surrender

    Life is intimidating at times. Sometimes it’s intimidating, sometimes it’s scary, and sometimes it’s downright terrifying. As we gaze into a future that is uncertain or frightening, our natural tendency is to pursue comfort through control. If we can only gain control over the situation, then we can ward off what frightens us and usher…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 31)

    A La Carte: “Adolescence” isn’t daring enough / Biblical literacy / I believe in miracles / Christian artists are not priests / The careful justice of hell / Gratitude / and more.

  • Let the Lord Choose

    Let the Lord Choose

    Though we are limited beings with little knowledge, we are proud beings with little humility. When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to bring our petitions before the Lord, to bring to him all our cares, all our burdens, all our sorrows. We can and should plead our case before the Lord, for…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (March 29)

    A La Carte: Does God withdraw his presence? / Celebrating the Lord’s Supper / Difficult, emotionally-overwhelming seasons / Wisdom for difficult conversations / Why four gospels? / Sales and deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2025

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new books in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…