Happy 2026 to you!
I’m thankful for another day and another year to get closer to God.
Many of us have stopped making resolutions, but as we go through life we usually try to make adjustments & better decisions to improve our lives. Over the decades when friends would tell me their resolutions, usually somewhere in there would be a version of “I want to get closer to God.”
If that is one of your goals for the New Year, let me share this very powerful verse with you and a few others that have impacted my life.
John 14:15 says, “If you love me, keep my commandments”. This verse has only 7 words, but it says so much to us.
“IF you love me” tells us two important things:
1. We have a choice. God doesn’t make us robots that MUST love Him.
2. God wants to have a personal relationship with us – with YOU.
The Bible tells how we can begin a relationship with God. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.”
It isn’t hard. God is saying, “I am right here. All you have to do is TRULY want a relationship with me.” Humans can choose to stay far away from Him, understand logically that there is some kind of God without doing anything about it, or we can choose to use our hearts and minds to actively seek to have a relationship with God. That phrase ALL YOUR HEART pops out to me in Jeremiah 29:13. God knows us. He knows our thoughts and our motives. He knows if we sincerely want HIM to be our Lord.
I grew up in church and always believed that there was a God. I even understood that He answered prayers, but there was a time when I had to stop and choose to change from simply understanding in my head that there was a God to wanting a personal relationship with him, choosing to obey Him and loving Him with all my heart. I learned that neither going to church nor singing in the choir made me His child. True to Jeremiah 29:13, when I sat down and sought Him with my whole heart, He was right there, not to judge me but to love me, forgive me, save me and change me.
God LOVES us.
God LOVES YOU!!
John 3:16 tells us the depth of His love. God sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, to DIE in our place. IF we believe that Jesus died for our sins, rose from the dead and we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, we are guaranteed an eternity with Him. This is the only way to Heaven. The Bible tells us in John 14:6, “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father, but by me.”
We may think “But I have done really REALLY awful things.” The Bible assures us that God knows all about that. He loved us then and loves us now. There is nothing we can do that is so bad that it changes. What an amazing God. Yes, He is the God who made the oceans, the birds, and every human being, but He is also a personal God who knows YOU, loves you dearly and wants you to know and love Him.
Let’s talk about the second part of our verse, “IF you love me,
keep my commandments.”
What stops us from being obedient to God? We come up with variations of, “Maybe I’ll miss out on something fun.” Or “I actually LIKE this thing that God calls a sin. I don’t want to give it up.”
Here is how I explain COMPLETELY trusting God.
Have you ever opened a box with multiple pieces in it and you had to read the instructions to put it together? When I follow the instructions to the letter, things go well. Have you ever stopped reading the manual because it appeared to be very “obvious” as to the next steps only to go back and try to fix the problem caused by not following the manual? The manufacturer knows his/her product inside out. He knows the shortcomings and warns us not to do things that will “mess the product up.” We can actually break our product by not following the instructions.
That’s true about the Bible and our lives. God is our manufacturer. He loves us MOST and wants the best for us. Since He is God (and we are not) He knows what we don’t. He knows the outcome if we do what He says (the right thing) or if we do our own thing (the wrong thing). He knows the blessing that is right around the corner. Sometimes we miss the blessing because we took a shortcut or made a U-turn.
He knows what will give us peace and how we will be the best version of ourselves.
There have been too many times when I knew exactly what God said to do, but my brain said, “Go ahead and do it your way. It will be alright.” I can’t tell you how many times things have blown up in my face for being stubborn. In His Word, God tells me to forgive those who have been unkind to me. When I’ve responded the wrong way, God isn’t pleased, I’m miserable and things don’t end well. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:30 that we can grieve the Holy Spirit of God. That is a powerful thought. We NEVER want to hurt those we love, do we? It’s so beautiful that when I mess up, my heart is broken, I tell God that I'm sorry and He lovingly forgives me. (I John 1:9).
We must remember that God’s plans are for our good. Therefore, we can trust God completely. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” He also promises us in Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Everything He tells us to do is for OUR good.
Since God can be trusted with our eternity, He can be trusted with our every day lives. Because we can trust Him, we can follow His commandments. He has done so much for us that it is not too much for Him to ask us to obey him.
Romans 12:1, 2.
Have you made the decision to ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior? Are you ready to start the New Year off right by putting Jesus first?
Pray something like this:
Dear Lord, I admit that I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. Thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to die in my place. I believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. I ask you to save me. I give my heart and my life to you. I will follow you. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer and meant it in your heart, your life and your eternity are now secure. Congratulations. You are a Child of God. What a way to begin the New Year!
You’ll want to read your Bible. Our instruction manual helps us to grow, learn more about God and learn what He is calling us to do.
Praying is very important. Praying is talking to God and telling Him what is on your heart. He is your Heavenly Father. He wants to hear from you.
God doesn’t want you to be alone in your journey with him. That’s where a good Bible teaching church comes in. You will learn more about God and meet other followers of Jesus. Pray that God will direct you to the right church.
God tells us to get baptized which is an outward sign of your obedience to Him. Your church will help you with that.
Be sure to let others know about your wonderful decision.
Jesus said “If you love me, keep my commandments.”
My answer is - "Yes, Lord. I am all in."
If you made a decision to follow God or to rededicate your life to Him, please send an email to me at aDailyWord@proton.me
I’d love to hear from you.
God bless you.