When a new year begins, people naturally begin reflecting on the past year and changes they want to make. Unfortunately, many develop resolutions for the new year that are broken in weeks if not days.  The result is that many give up on having New Year’s resolutions.  Yet, I do believe there are lifestyle changes and commitments that do provide positive benefits in our lives. Or another way to approach the new year is to refocus on the areas of your life that are important to you.

The highlighted verse today is from King Solomon’s dedication of the new Temple. The people of Israel had waited years to have a temple to worship their Lord.  King David had wanted to build the temple, but God told him that because he was a man of war, he could not build the permanent sanctuary. So, after many years of waiting, Solomon built the temple for the people to worship God.  There are three important messages that we find from this specific dedication that we can dedicate ourselves to in a new year. 

Dedicate your life to following God.  Some people are really good at studying God’s word and listening to God’s word.  However, we are called to respond to God’s word with our actions.  Following God is just not mentally believing in Him.  It involves living a life that pleases Him.  This leads us to be obedient, which is the second message.  After learning of God’s will, are you going to be obedient or place your will before God.  Being obedient to God means that you may have to turn away from your desires which seem important at the moment.  Finally, we strive for consistency.  This means that we will make mistakes, but we learn to make the correct decision of following God’s will more than we deviate from His plan.  With this commitment, we become better and better in living a life of dedication, obedience, and consistency.  This is what it means when a person says they are growing in their faith.  You may not want to call this a resolution, but it would not be a bad goal!

Read 1 Kings 8:54-61