Working on your New Year Resolutions

We're a few months into the year and plenty of us are feeling the strains of keeping up with our aspirational goals for life.

But as Christians, how can we look at our New Year Resolutions with hope and joy?

With a new year comes the perfect opportunity to reflect on your spiritual life. How has God answered your prayers in the past year? How have you served him? Where is God growing you? There’s much to celebrate, but there’ll also be areas where you want to grow in the coming year.

The books in this collection will equip you to take steps forward in various areas of your life. Whether your goals are around your devotional life, discipleship, or church involvement, you’ll find guidance and insight. 

This post covers Bible reading, prayer, evangelism, and rest. For more, see Part 2 of our recommendations or browse the full New Year’s Resolutions collection. 

Read the Bible

Help for the Hungry Soul: Eight Encouragements to Grow Your Appetite for God's Word by Kristen Wetherell 

Jesus is the bread of life who offers us himself through the life-giving and sustainable feast of Scripture (John 6:35). But how often do we sit at Christ’s table, truly hungry for his word? Help for the Hungry Soul offers 8 encouragements to spur an appetite for God’s word. Through searching questions, practical ideas, and moving testimonies, author Kristen Wetherell will help readers to reflect on their journey with their Bible and uncover how it is possible to treasure God’s word.

Truth for Life: 365 Daily Devotions (or Volume 2) by Alistair Begg

We all need to be reminded of the truth that anchors our life and excites and equips us to live for Christ. Reflecting on a short passage each day, Alistair Begg spans the Scriptures to show us the greatness and grace of God, and to thrill our hearts to live as His children. His clear, faithful exposition and thoughtful application mean that this resource will both engage your mind and stir your heart. Each day includes prompts to apply what you’ve read, a related Bible text to enjoy, and a plan for reading through the whole of the Scriptures in a year. 

Memorizing Scripture: The Basics, Blessings, and Benefits of Meditating on God’s Word by Glenna Marshall

Writer, mother, and lover of Scripture Glenna Marshall shows us that to love God with our hearts, we must first love him with our minds. Scripture memory bolsters our daily faith, grows us in discernment, and gives us courage to walk through trials. It arms us with what we need to share the gospel, to fight sin, and to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ! You'll look at how to memorize Scripture in Bible study groups or local church settings as well as with children and friends.

Pray 

A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller

Prayer is so hard that unless circumstances demand it—an illness, or saying grace at a meal—most of us simply do not pray. We prize accomplishments and productivity over time in prayer. Even Christians experience this prayerlessness—a kind of practical unbelief that leaves us marked by fear, anxiety, joylessness, and spiritual lethargy. In A Praying Life, author Paul Miller lays out a pattern for living in relationship with God and includes helpful habits and approaches to prayer that enable us to return to a childlike faith.

A Praying Church: Becoming a People of Hope in a Discouraging World by Paul E. Miller

In our current culture, the church and prayer are often dismissed as irrelevant. But when believers gather and pray together, powerful things happen: the Spirit equips the saints for ministry, the helpless are met with help, and believers experience the joy of being led by the Spirit of Jesus. In this book, Paul E. Miller casts a vision for a return to the simple yet life-changing practice of praying together.

5 Things to Pray series

This series of short books on prayer is designed to boost your prayer life by giving you fresh ideas. Each chapter takes a passage of Scripture and looks at how it can influence how we pray for a specific issue. Pray for your church, your city, your heart, your kids, the people you love, and more.

Share Your Faith

What Fuels the Mission of the Church? by Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves

Many Christians know they should be passionate about evangelism, but in reality they often find it daunting. In this concise version of God Shines Forth, Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves urge Christians to grow in their knowledge and enjoyment of God—as they know God more, they will be spurred on to authentic service through missions and evangelism.

Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes Our Culture Can’t Stop Talking About . . . And How to Connect Them to Christ by Daniel Strange

Sometimes the Christian worldview feels so out of step with everything else going on that we don't know how to share our faith. However, author Daniel Strange wants to show you that the connections are there—in fact, the longings that our culture cannot help but express are the very ones that Jesus fulfils. This book will help you to spot these connections in our culture, excite you about how Jesus makes sense of humankind’s deepest questions and longings, and equip you to speak of him to others in a way that is truly magnetic.

Mere Evangelism: 10 Insights from C. S. Lewis to Help You Share Your Faith by Randy Newman

C.S. Lewis was used by God in the conversions of countless people, from friends and acquaintances in his own lifetime to modern-day readers of books such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity (the most influential Christian book of the 20th century). Evangelist Randy Newman skillfully helps us to apply the methods Lewis used (storytelling, humour, imagery and more) in our own conversations. You will be equipped to talk about your faith and engage with unbelievers wisely, whatever their attitude towards the Christian faith.

Find Rest and Balance

Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David Murray

"How did I get here?" These are the words of many Christian men on the brink of burnout or in the midst of breakdown. They are exhausted, depressed, anxious, stressed and joyless. But there is good news: God has graciously provided a way for men to reset their lives to a more sustainable pace. Drawing on personal experiences— and time spent counseling other men in the midst of burnout—David Murray offers weary men hope for the future. He also wrote a companion book for women with his wife Shonda: Refresh: Embracing a Grace-Paced Life in a World of Endless Demands.

The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction by Justin Whitmel Earley

The modern world is a machine of invisible habits, forming us into anxious, busy people. We yearn for the freedom of the gospel but remain shackled by our screens and exhausted by our routines. The answer is a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. The Common Rule's four daily and four weekly habits transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Justin Earley provides doable, life-giving practices to find freedom and rest for your soul.

Refreshed: Devotions for Your Time Away by John Hindley

Holidays often give us an opportunity to rest and reflect. However, when our normal routines and habits are suspended, it can be hard to spend time with God. These 30 devotions have been specifically designed to help you to rest in the Lord’s goodness and glory during your time away so that you can return home feeling refreshed spiritually as well as physically.