One of the things we do on New Year’s Day is to make all kinds of New Year’s resolutions that we will put into practice for the New Year. It could be physical, watching your intake of food, starting an exercise class, or possibly spending more time with family.
All of these resolutions are good; however, let’s look to what the Bible says about what should come first in our lives.
Jesus put it this way: Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The moment of salvation, the very moment you were born again, the Kingdom of God was opened to you, and your spiritual eyes have been opened.
John 3:3: Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
When you are born again, your spirit comes alive.
Being born again is not about being a part of a certain denomination. It is not about being a Methodist or Baptist, a Catholic, or a non-denomination church. People from all denominations have experienced this.
What it takes is praying a simple prayer of faith from the heart:
Dear God, I know I am a sinner. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God who died for my sins on the cross. I believe God raised You from the dead. I now turn from my sin and by faith receive You as my Lord and Savior. Come into my heart and save me, Lord Jesus.
I will always remember the moment I was born again. As I repented, I knew I was clean; all shame was swept away in an instant. I was filled with gratitude for the One who took it all. I was filled with a passion like I had never known before, a love for Jesus that filled me up, and a hunger to know all about Him, and a desire to live my life in accordance with God’s way.
However, to keep that fire burning, we must make a commitment on a daily basis to be relentless in our pursuit of Him.
With people, if we relentlessly pursue them, a lot of times they will run from us. But not Jesus. The more we pursue Him, the more we will know Him, and the more His love will saturate our soul. The more we will be filled with passion to follow Him all the days of our lives. I want to challenge you that this year you will make a commitment to be relentless in your pursuit of God.
There are many ways we can pursue God. We are pursuing Him every time we pray, every time we read our Bibles, every time we meditate on His Word, every time we worship Him.
My favorite way to pursue God is through worship. Every time I worship, His love saturates my soul. I start my day with this worship song, “In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus,” and I am filled with gratitude, passion, and a love for the One who saved me, “My Jesus.”