Resolutions and Goals in 2023

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        Resolutions and Goals for 2023

There are a few things that allow us to accomplish things like having goals, perseverance, and faith in the Lord.    With God giving us directions and help, we really can set our minds to do some amazing things.    For the past two years, I have made some New Years’ Resolutions and want to discuss what they were, and how God helped us to accomplish them.

Zig Ziglar has said that it would be rather silly to send a basketball team onto the court and ask them to score a goal if there were no goals or backboards set up to shoot at.   So having a goal is important.   One of the books I read this past year said that only 3% of people set goals, but those 3% many times accomplish more than any 10 of those not making goals.

The term Resolutions is not in the bible.   But there are several verses and stories regarding the making of plans and setting up goals.

Luk 14:28  For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 
Luk 14:29  Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, 
Luk 14:30  Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. 

So planning within God’s will for our lives is not a negative, but a good thing.

To not make this too long, let’s review my goals and resolutions at the end of 2021 for this past year of 2022.    I made 7 which is the most I ever tried to accomplish in one year. 
 
The first five were related to my service to God, and the last two were about personal goals.
 
       Resolutions for 2022

1.  Live so close to God that nothing will offend me.

Psalms 119:165 (KJV)  Great peace have they which  love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

2. Stay focused.    One thing at a time.                                                                                                     

3. Trust God no matter what happens.  

4.  Be Bold in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Try to witness every opportunity God gives me to family, friends, and new acquaintances.  

Rom 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

5.  Remember how short the time is we have here on earth.  

Psa_90:12  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Pro_27:1  Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
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6.  Attempt to pay off our Home Loan.

7. Study to make investments more profitable.  

If you remember that in 2021, I had some of these same goals, and all worked out well.  God helped and guided me throughout the year and we even met our one personal goal to be debt free of all loans except our home.   On Sept. 7, 2021, we made our last payment on all those liabilities.   It was shouting time for us. 

But before I got too excited and lead you to believe all was was a bed of roses once that was done, four days after reaching that goal, we found that we had foundation issues on the east side of the house which required some expensive foundation work.  However, for a few days, we were debt free except for the house.   Our financial condition was the best of our lives,  and the foundation issue certainly did not offend me.   I was disappointed, but not offended.   I just trusted God.

Focusing on God and trying to consistently read my bible, really helped me focus on important things.   I quit watching the news and tried to turn every care over to the Lord.   While I might not have been 100% effective, very few things offended me this past year.    And there were tons of things that came up through the year that could have thrown us off course.    When your focus is on God things are much easier to deal with as He carries the load.

When you are a Christian, you know that you will face persecution.  I don’t have time to tell you of the many issues that came up in my family’s lives and at work, but there were many. There will always be a battle to fight.   But our trust was in the Lord and the year went well.
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Of my resolutions, I think the one I failed most on was witnessing more to the lost.  I may have been a bit bolder, but this area I need to work on in 2023.

I watched several of our church members die and leave this old world in 2022.   Also several of my other relatives died, and my focus on numbering my days was made even more real.   I try to realize that this may very well be my last day and I best make the best of every moment.

In August, we made our last payment on our home and I found that the grass is truly a bit greener and more of a blessing to you when you know that the home is all yours.   The Bible teaches that the borrower is a servant unto the lender, and to live debt free is a noble thing to shoot for.

In studying investments, I met a fellow in April while reading one of his free kindle books named Joshua King.   He is a 39-year-old Marine and he began writing kindle books 2 years ago.  He now is the leading seller of Kindle books on Amazon with over 200 books, and I have read several of his books and we have become friends. 

I decided to try and spend more time reading and studying as he suggested, and this week finished up my 90th book in the year 2022.   Sounds impossible since I had never read 12 books in a year before.   All that it took was spending one hour a night to read versus watching 2 hours of tv.   It has been such a learning experience.   All the books I read focused on investing, habits, and having the right mindset.    And my first reading every day and my last reading is the bible.

By focusing our investments on the newer methods I learned (mainly from Joshua King), we were able to end the year having missed by $249 doubling our investment dollars in our Roth IRAs.    And if you ever had a year where that sounded impossible, it was 2022.    I won’t elaborate on it, but I know God has been with me and guided me in the decisions we made.   A lot of the investment advice I read was not true, but the Holy Spirit gave me insights into what was truth and what was lies.  Same in other books.  If they were total myths, I quit reading many and went to the next book.

So for this new year, I am going to do those first 5 resolutions again and really focus on #1 and #4.
 
 2023 RESOLUTIONS
 
1.  Live so close to God that nothing will offend me.

Psalms 119:165 (KJV)  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
 
2. Stay focused.    One thing at a time.
 
3. Trust God no matter what happens. 

4. Be Bold in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Try to witness every opportunity God gives me to family, friends, and new acquaintances. 

Rom_1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 
 
5.   Remember how short the time is we have here on earth.

Psa_90:12  So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
 
Pro_27:1  Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
 
So in conclusion, my results show that setting goals and having resolutions can be a good thing if you use discipline.     I think God wants us to be people of purpose and planning.   While this is all good to be able to reflect upon, it is crucial that we see it accurately.

I pray that we will never look at our earthly possessions as our checkpoints to having success, as that is so minor in comparison to having a great family, a great church, and most of all a good relationship with God.   What is so wonderful about serving God is that he will provide for us with or without any possessions.   If everything here on earth we accomplished is gone tomorrow, God is still there.   My #3 resolution is to ALWAYS TRUST GOD.   Our main focus in life should always be to look to serving the Lord and letting the Holy Spirit guide us daily.
 
Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 
 
 
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