How to Prepare a Christian Bible Based New Year’s Resolution
By George L. Rosario, Bible Based Business Consultant at GC Rosario Group
Before we get into the meat of this blog post, let’s address the fact that over 93% of New Year’s resolutions fail. Most of the 7% of resolutions that make it are those that are not self-centered. That means that if your New Year’s resolution is more about us (the greater good) and less about me (the selfish goal), you have a better chance of finishing the year strong. By January 17 of every New Year, about 70% of people have already broken their New Year’s resolution. This makes sense since it takes about 21 days to start forming a new habit, which means that most people quit before they even begin to develop healthier habits. The most popular New Year’s resolutions are to exercise more (59%), eat healthier (54%), save money (51%), and lose weight (48%). If you live in a city, your chances of keeping your resolutions go up by 6% over people that live in the suburbs, and 44% over people who live in deep country. Only 22% of people who prepare New Year’s resolutions say these have helped them live better lives. 57% of the population thinks New Year’s resolutions are pointless and they prove it using the same failure rates mentioned above. Of the people who were successful with their New Year’s resolution, 99% said they had an accountability/support partner that helped them stay on track. Kathy Caprino with Forbes suggests that there are 3 main reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail; #1: It’s your consciousness that needs to change before your behavior can change, #2: You don’t have an accountability structure to help you sustain change and #3: You are actually scared of, and completely resistant to, achieving this big goal and you won’t let yourself (LINK TO ARITICLE). Studies show that the top six New Year’s resolution revolve around issues and promises that involve money, health, career, self-improvement, family, and love.
Now that you know the statistics, you should feel better about preparing a New Year’s resolution. If you break that resolution, or any item on your list of resolutions, you will be in the majority, which means that you are normal. No need to beat yourself up over it.
But wait, there’s more. Of the 7% of people who actually stayed true to their resolutions, 92% expressed having an intimate relationship with God. So perhaps we should first develop a stronger relationship with God and then jump into preparing a New Year’s resolution. The odds that you’ll succeed go up immensely. So if you are adding anything about money, health, career, self-improvement, family, and love to your New Year’s resolution, you might want to pray on each first and see what God is telling you to write down. You can also find scripture for each one of these in your Bible.
Being that the year has 12 months, I decided to list 12 time worthy New Year’s resolutions for Christians. But first, let me share some of my own resolutions of the past, some which I succeeded in and some which, well let’s just say I could have chosen goals that were much more Kingdom focused. I may not have accomplished all of them, but I will say that I do not regret setting any of them. After all, there are at least FIVE Biblical figures who prove that temporary failures and set-backs are not automatically fatal (David, Elijah, Gideon, Peter, Jonah). There are many others of course. Below you’ll see 5 wins on my “Hit List” and 5 failures on my “Miss List.”
The Hit List:
1. In 2002, I ran a marathon to raise money for cancer research.
2. In 2004, I spoke in front of 5,000+ Christians. Took 3 events to do it.
3. In 2005, I raised $100,000 for the American Cancer Society.
4. In 2008, I spoke in front of 10,000+ Christians. Took 2 events to do it.
5. In 2021, I married #TheFeistyColombian aka My Kingdom Queen Claudia. Gotta tell you more. I had ONE requirement my wife would have to meet. She must love God more than she loves herself or me. God checked that box for me, and added sexy, hot, feisty, beautiful, humble, driven, energetic, smarter than me, perfect height, best smile ever, awesome hair, always smells amazing, beautiful eyes, the most kissable lips, likes my cooking, loves our dog, clean freak like me, loves going to church, loves worship music (even though neither one of us can sing), best kisser EVER (said that twice), hugs me, holds me, loves me, lifts me up, likes to dance Latin music, not a drinker, not a smoker, supports all my dreams and aspirations, compliments me, holds my hand when we walk in public, dresses classy and is respectfully stylish, likes to exercise, is a morning person, loves my family, has a great family for me to love, awesome mom, awesome woman, happy having breakfast food (pancakes) for dinner, coffee lover, hard worker, great business mind, understand my business, and while I can list a million other awesome attributes about this amazing woman, I have to mention that she is as much a beach bum as I am and looks amazing in a bathing suit!
The Miss List:
1. In 2000, I wanted to ride my bike from NYC to LA for cancer awareness.
2. In 2005, I wanted to write and publish 5 children’s books. Life got too busy.
3. In 2006, I wanted to launch a security company but never got the funding.
4. In 2008, I wanted to ride my bike from NYC to FL for cancer awareness.
5. In 2020, I wanted to open up a café in New York but COVID crushed me.
For 2022, I am setting the goals even higher. Here’s my 12 goals for 2022:
1. Increase my knowledge of God’s Word & my relationship with God.
2. Start a Bible Based Business Ministry together with my wife.
3. Increase our Bible Based Business Consulting firm’s territory.
4. Write and Publish 4 Christian Based Books.
5. Create a Bible Based Business Christian Study for Entrepreneurs.
6. Become a provider by sharing the blessings God has provided me with.
7. Get my Kingdom Queen a much needed and deserved new car.
8. Help 18 churches reach their growth & outreach goals this year.
9. Pay off all debts by my 50th birthday (August 30th, 2022).
10. Help my parents change their current situation and enjoy life again.
11. Give my wife and my children the home they deserve.
12. Last but certainly not least (top of the list), be more present with my kids.
See, New Year’s Resolutions for Christians are supposed to be about the blessings we bring to others. Perhaps I should prepare a good study for next year so that churches everywhere can start a great study for their people in January of 2023 to help them keep their Bible based resolutions alive throughout the year. I’ll work on that in 2022. I guess I can add this into point #4 (write 4 Christian Based Books).
The study could help guide us to match each of our points to what God has to say on the subject. We all know that God’s Word is never wrong so, why not take our resolutions to the Word and see how they match up to what God asks us to do. The Holy Bible is not an ancient story, but rather a living and breathing collection of love letters from God that remain 100% relevant, 100% applicable, and 100% useful in today’s world.
Below I added 12 New Year’s resolutions Christians can work on in 2023:
- Matthew 5:9 | LET PEACE RULE AROUND YOU:
While there are men and women around us that have struggled with addictions, infidelity, abuse and other issues, my struggle was with anger. I was a passive aggressive angry man who would stir up negative emotions in people using my words. I was a master at pushing buttons that would lead others to either walk away angry and hurt, or resort to violence which would usually lead them to walking away still beaten and physically hurt. It took very little to get me worked up and instead of throwing the first punch, I would throw the first and the last insult. The closer I got to God (early 20s), the further I got from Angry Foul-Mouthed George. Today I resolve to be the person who deescalates the situation and brings peace to it. Am I saying I am now perfect and incapable of losing it? Of course not. I sometimes struggle to keep my cool, but now I use my words to bring peace, not discord. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. - Ephesians 4:29 | CHECK THE GOSSIP AT THE DOOR:
Don’t engage in rumors, gossip and slander. Don’t spread the rumors, gossip and slander. Don’t listen to the rumors, gossip and slander others want to spread. Don’t be in the clique that is known to talk about everyone else. Anyone who tries to gain your trust, friendship of approval by bad-mouthing others is not a worthy friend or ally. That same individual will spread rumors, gossip and slander about you as soon as you walk out of the room. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Be the one that unites people rather than the one that divides households. - John 12:42–43 | SEEK GOD’S APPROVAL, NOT MEN’S:
Stop doing things to gain popularity, approval or fame among men. Some of us are so hooked on the instant gratification that comes from being praised by our peers that we forget that as Christians we are not to seek praise for ourselves, but actually point all glory and praise to God. In Jesus’ time there were many important people who believed in Him but they wouldn’t profess their faith because the Pharisees might have them removed from the synagogue. They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Are you so worried that you’ll lose your cool card with people that you are willing to lose your relationship with God. Don’t do what is OK with the world just to gain the world’s approval. Before you say yes to the crowd, ask yourself if their philosophy, their actions and their ideology matches with what’s in The Holy Bible. Then you’ll know what crowd to roll with and what crowd to roll away from. - I Corinthians 15:58 | DO THE WORK ASSIGNED YOU TO DO:
An old friend of mine had walked with The Lord his whole life. He knew that as a Christian, it was important for him to do all work as if he was doing it for God. He stayed clean, preached The Word to his coworkers, and was known as a Godly man. Then one day he told me he was tired of seeing promotion after promotion pass over him at work because he wouldn’t be a part of the good ol’ boys club at the office. He said promotions were handed out to the guys who went drinking with the bosses at the local strip clubs and who took casino trips with the big guys. His coworkers said Sundays were for football games, not for church. His close friends told him he was overlooked for promotions because he was “too much of a goodie two-shoes and not cut-throat enough to make it in the big leagues.” So he caved and and soon got his promotion. The company was sold 6 months later and as usual with mergers, the new company got rid of all the top people and promoted new people to top positions. If he had stayed doing his work God’s way, he might have gotten his promotion after all. - Psalm 119:105 | OVERCOME INNER CONFLICTS:
Believe me when I tell you that you are not the only person in the world today who struggles with depression, anger, a bad attitude, mood swings, envy, jealousy, selfishness, contempt, lust, apathy, greed, fear, laziness, etc. Did you know that for some of us, it is easier to heal from a physical ailment or injury than it is for us to heal from our internal struggles and conflicts? So how do we fight these? We ask our loving Father in Heaven to fill us with God The Holy Spirit and help us walk in obedience and humility. We ask God to give us the courage, the wisdom and the discernment to seek and find opportunities to overcome our innermost struggles. We remind ourselves that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet And a light to our path. - John 3:30–31 | DIE TO SELF & BE BORN AGAIN DAILY:
If we really want to win over sin and temptation, all we have to do is to die to self and be born again in Jesus Chris. That means that I have to put God’s Word and God’s Will above my own will, which includes all my wants and desires, all the plans I or the world set for me, and offer up my entire being to God as a sacrifice so that He may do with me as He wills. We must make a commitment to bring glory to God, denying my needs to be right, to be lifted up, to be celebrated, to be revered, to be respected, to be comfortable, to be bigger than others. As a Christian I sacrifice myself for the Lord that sacrificed Himself for me, dying to myself daily no matter how strong my own desires may be. Things like fame, revenge, my own interests at the expense of others, selfishness, and other self-serving desires, wants and needs do not bring glory to God. My life must be a life centered on serving My Father first, and serving others so that I can become more like Jesus Christ. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. He must increase, but I must decrease. - Numbers 23:19 | LET FAITH DIRECT YOUR STEPS:
If you want to walk with real confidence in this world, study the Word of God. Go into the Bible and look up all of God’s promises for those who are faithful to Him. When you know what God has promised for you if you simply repent (turn away from sin) and follow Jesus Christ, you have no reason to ever feel lost. If God said he would take care of His people, then He will take care of His people. All you have to do is pray in the spirit and hold onto the promises Our Father has made us all. He will come through. You see, God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? So have faith that wherever He takes you, He will take care of you. - Acts 16:25–26 | LET THE WORLD SEE YOU REJOICE IN THE LORD:
We all go through trials in our lives. We all face moments that are difficult. All of us have experienced loss, pain, suffering, need and betrayal at some level. The difference between a Christian and a non-believer is that even when we go through the tough storms and the tough seasons of our lives, Christians will have a reason to rejoice. We are loved by God and we have a relationship with God. So even when things get tough, the Christians keep on going because we know there is a great reward waiting for us. We know that God uses everything in our lives to draw us closer to Him, to make us more like Christ. This level of faith produces joy in our hearts that will have us praising and worshiping Jesus even if we are stuck in a prison (concrete or metaphorical) like Paul and Silas did when they were in prison. - Psalm 106:1 GIVE THANKS FOR EVERYTHING:
I noticed a long time ago that the more I thanked God for everything in my life, the more things He provided for me to be grateful for. An attitude of gratitude goes a long way. I’ve learned to give thanks even when it I’m in a situation that is difficult to be thankful for. The great thing about this is that the quicker I give thanks, the quicker I see a solution or escape from the difficult situation. Praise the Lord . Give thanks to the Lord , for He is good and His love endures forever. Forever is a very long time. It is endless. So no matter what is going on, I can find joy in thanksgiving because I know my Father in Heaven will love me for eternity. Scripture tells us to be thankful in all situations, even when we don’t feel like being thankful. Soon you begin to give thanks automatically, and that level of immediately offering gratefulness to God begins to bring a peace over your life that is indescribable. That peace carries you through the most difficult circumstances. So always give thanks and thank God for everything. - Luke 14:11 | LIVE A HUMBLE LIFE:
Humility is often attacked in today’s self-centered, self-serving, self-aggrandizing society. It’s become harder and trickier to make it in this world when you stay humble. Rest assured though that all who exalt and brag about themselves will be humbled, and those who stay humble will be lifted up and exalted. See, people who have to brag about themselves and exalt themselves are giving more power and value to the opinion of others than they are giving God’s opinion of them. People’s opinions are worthless if they don’t bring glory to God. I don’t care if people are pleased with me. My only concern in this life is whether or not God is pleased with me. Here’s a great quote from Charles Spurgeon about remaining humble. “Do not desire to be the principal man in the church. Be lowly. Be humble. The best man in the church is the man who is willing to be a doormat for all to wipe their boots on, the brother who does not mind what happens to him at all, so long as God is glorified.” - Luke 6:38 | BE A LOT MORE GENEROUS:
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use to give, it will be measured to you. Every year, regardless of what situation we’re in, my wife makes a generous end of year gift to our church. I know people who have a lot more than we do who complain about giving to the church. Not my wife. She actually celebrates in the car, singing to worship music at the top of her lungs the day she gives that end of the year gift. Even in those times when she hasn’t been able to do some of the little things she likes to do, my Kingdom Queen Claudia sets aside her yearly gift and she gives with true joy in her heart. I remember a time when I was doing so bad with money that I would pretend I had to use the bathroom when the collection basket was being passed around. I thank God that I can now give comfortably and with real joy in my heart. My wife and I tithe 10% of our income from GC Rosario Group, and then we make an additional 10% gift to a charity or non-for-profit organization of our client’s choice. I believe this is why our business has grown so quickly. - Mark 16:15–16 | SHARE JESUS WITH MORE PEOPLE:
Every time I talk about sharing the good news with others, Christians immediately mention Matthew 28:18–20. Jesus’ last 3 years with us were all about spreading the Good News and bringing the Gospel to the world. In Mark, Jesus told the disciples to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” In Matthew He told the disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” But even before Jesus walked with the disciples, in Isaiah 52:10 we read that “all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.” In Luke 24:47 we read that Jesus said that “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations.” In Colossians 1:23 we read that the Gospel was “preached to every creature under heaven.” It is obvious that the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ is meant to be shared. So as Christians, perhaps we can resolve to share it with more people in 2022, 2023 and beyond.
My hope is that the list of New Year’s resolutions for Christians I’ve mentioned here today will inspire you to prepare a New Year’s resolution for the upcoming year that will be God-centered and Holy Scripture driven. Perhaps if we add some of these Christianity based resolutions to our New Year’s resolution, we won’t fall into the 93% of people who fail to keep their resolutions. May God bless your and your loved ones in the new year, and may your life’s choices and actions reflect His will. Amen & Amen
BONUS: If you are still uncomfortable being the center of attention, look for speaking opportunities where you are a member of a panel of speakers. That way, you are not solely responsible for carrying the event, and can actually feed off the energy of the other speakers.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
George L. Rosario, #GeorgeTheSpeaker with GC Rosario Group
George L. Rosario is a Brooklyn NY born & raised businessman & entrepreneur. He started GC Rosario Group with his lovely wife Claudia to bring his expertise to others. With over 30 years of service to the marketplace nationwide, George has now expanded his office to from NYC to South Florida. He travels the country helping businesses and organizations thrive in today’s changing professional landscape. Changes in the economy have opened new doors of opportunity, growth and prosperity for innovative thinkers. George & Claudia Rosario help companies, businesses, organizations and teams develop the necessary skillset and plan of action to thrive in this new marketplace. GC Rosario Group helps organizations of all sizes meet their goals. George is the author of From Rituals to Relationships, which takes an in-depth look at how we approach our personal, professional and spiritual life, and how they intertwine.
“Every day is a good day when you do what you love and love what you do.” — George L. Rosario
George L. Rosario and Claudia P. Rosario Lead The Luxe Stone Group (National Real Estate Professionals)
No one knows luxury real estate like George L. Rosario and Claudia P. Rosario of the Luxe Stone Group (with Canvas). When you are ready to receive the luxury treatment, contact the team that knows luxury homes. With over 30 years of collective experience, you will definitely experience a much higher level of professionalism than with any other team. You can contact George and Claudia for all your luxury home needs (selling or buying) by contacting Claudia directly via Claudia@GCRosarioGroup.com.
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