Christians are not called to specifically make new year resolutions as a mandatory exercise. However, we tend to practice it nevertheless, due to cultural norm. But Christians are to approach this as a spiritual discipline primarily, and not just for physical wellbeing.
It is important to keep our attitude in check while we pray, because we are invited to speak to Creator of Heaven and Earth. We simply cannot pray to Him without reverence, or pray to impress others. But it is also important to know what should be the content of our prayer towards Him.
Bible is clear on how sin needs to be dealt with in Christian life. As we close the series on Jeremiah, we hear the final words from the prophet on what Christian life is and how we are to live it. We learn how repentance is the way to persevere in faith.
In the Bible, prophets, priests and kings have always been imperfect saviors of their own flock. Their leadership was always lacking, and the failures always pointed for a need of having a better savior. OT has always pointed to that One Perfect Savior i.e the Lord Jesus Christ. In this passage, we see how Christ fulfills the need for a better Savior and protector of His people.
We see in the Bible, that God often uplifts the lowly and the oppressed. Also, He often humbles the proud. This is how His kingdom works. In this passage, we learn how Jesus demonstrates His love toward the helpless, but also humbles the exalted.
The Bible is filled with God’s promises. These promises are not primarily about God promising to provide for material things. It is about God promising to keep the covenant which He made to His people. However, it’s not just important to see how God kept His promises and will continue to keep them, but also realizing that even His children are called to be faithful to the covenant keeping God of the Bible.
Bible keeps reminding us again and again to trust in the Lord especially when we cannot control the outcome. Sometimes we fail to trust in the Lord when we are uncertain about the future. In this passage, we learn how to trust God during impossible situations.
In the Bible, Israelites living in exile was often a result of their disobedience and their lack of trust in Yahweh. Instead of repenting of their sins, they grumbled against God without understanding His purpose for their lives even during their state of exile. This passage reminds us how we can be like Israelites, but also shows us the remedy to live a purposeful life.
God often uses man as a vessel for His own Holy purposes. But He not just uses people for His purposes, God also shapes them into a particular vessel so that His children can fulfill their intended purpose in life. In this passage, we learn how God is a potter, and we are His clay who are shaped into Christlikeness as vessels of His glory.
We live in a culture that is very hostile to Christianity, perhaps increasingly becoming hostile. This is also because the Lord Himself prophesied about persecution. The Lord prophesied about it because the world was already hostile to Him. In this passage, the Lord teaches us how we can endure persecution.