I’m a firm believer that we should always strive to become the best versions of ourselves. And if you are a Christian, that’s a part of you. We are all a work in progress and can most certainly become better. God’s work in us is never finished. So this means He doesn’t want us to get complacent and think we are as good as we can be.
Ephesians 4:17-32 tells us that it is easier for the enemy to destroy us in our infancy rather than in our maturity. This means it would be very wise for us to get past the beginning stage in our relationship with Christ and move on to bigger and better things. I don’t know about you but I want God to do big things in my life. But how can He when we haven’t moved past the basics and are constantly struggling to put Him first in our lives?
The best way to become a better Christian is to follow what I like to call The Big 4. This includes fasting, daily prayer, reading your Bible, and staying true to Gods word. These basic Biblical teachings will help strengthen our relationship with Jesus. But how many times have you tried to get more consistent incorporating some of these things into your life and ended up not following through?
I know I have not always been the best Christian I can be. And I have a million excuses why, but it all really boils down to this. I failed to make Christ a priority in my life. Yes, I would still pray every night. But they got shorter and shorter by the day. Can you guess what my problem was? I simply had not created a habit of making time for God. That’s the same reason we don’t follow through with our New Year’s Resolutions or life goals.
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So that’s what we need to do in order to become a better Christian this year. Set your goals that will help you get closer to God and make them a habit. But before I get into how you can turn your goals into habits, I want to offer some examples of goals that you could have. Just in case you have no idea where to begin.
Goal Ideas
Feel free to mix and match however works best for you. Just try not to overwhelm yourself.
- Pray for 10 minutes a day- Seem like too little? You can always work your way up later.
- Read one chapter of the Bible a day
- Fast from deserts or snacks one day a week
- Fast from the internet for a day
- Consistently attend church
- Pay your tithes and offering faithfully
- Get more involved in your church
Easy enough, right? But it’s also very easy to do any of these things for a couple of days and give up. So here are seven ways to make your goals a habit and become a better Christian.
1.Commit to 30 days
Write out your goals and stick to them for 30 days. That’s about how long it takes the average person to form a habit.
2.Start small
Don’t give yourself any crazy hard goals that you will probably give up on. It’s better to start simple and work your way up. So maybe start praying ten minutes a day for the first two weeks and then go up to twenty the next two weeks. Set a timer if you need to. Before you know it, you will be praying for an hour and wondering where the time went. Ever have that happen with a friend? That’s what God wants for our relationship with Him.
3.Remind yourself
Post sticky notes all over your house or set a reminder in your phone if that’s what it takes. This is not second nature to you yet so be easy on yourself right now.
4.Get help from a friend
Find a friend that you are comfortable with that will help to keep you accountable. And if they want, you can keep them accountable for their goals as well.
5.Don’t forget you’re imperfect
God knows we aren’t perfect. He created us after all. He just wants us to try. Our goal should never be to try to achieve perfection (I mean it is impossible) but to be the best version of ourselves that we can possibly be.
6.Limit or remove temptation
Is your phone, TV, or computer keeping you from spending time with God? I use electronics as an example often because human kind has never had all the distractions that we have today. These devices can hold us back if we aren’t careful.
I’m not saying you have to throw your phone in the garbage, but you could either limit your time on it or remove that game app you just can’t seem to stop playing. I mean does it really make you happy to escape reality? Maybe for the moment, but it will only leave you feeling like you aren’t living up to your full potential.
7.Know the benefits
We are naturally selfish creatures and are always asking “what’s in it for me?” This is obviously not usually a good thing, but it can be helpful. If you aren’t aware of the benefits that go along with becoming a better Christian it can get easy to lose sight of why you’re even trying.
1 Timothy 4:8 tells us, “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
I really like Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” I’ve noticed over the years, I would have something I really wanted and I would put all my focus into achieving it. But then I would fall short every time or it would never make me happy when I actually got it. Now that I’m a practicing Christian (instead of just an identifying Christian), I know it’s because I wasn’t putting God first. I don’t claim to be America’s Next Top Christian by any means but I have seen how God has changed me to make me more content and how He has redirected my desires to things that actually matter. So instead of just always wanting more money and focusing on that, I find it much easier to live in the moment and enjoy the little things (which are actually the big things).
Life won’t be perfect for any of us no matter how close we get to God, but when we learn to trust Him our problems don’t affect us as drastically as they did before. There really is a comfort in casting our cares on Him. Our lives are in His hands. And if we just let Him take the wheel, the drive will be a whole lot smoother.
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What are some of your goals to help you become a better Christian this year? Let me know in the comments below!
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