Here it is 2018. When we think of a new year, we usually think of New Year Resolutions. What will you resolve to do in the coming year? When Jonathan Edwards the great Protestant theologian was just a young man, he made five resolutions and lived by them faithfully:

Resolved: to live with all my might while I do live.

Resolved: never to lose a moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I can.

Resolved: never to do anything which I should despise or think meanly of in another.

Resolved: never to do anything out of revenge.

Resolved: never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

I have heard it said that resolutions are like babies crying in church. They must be carried out to be good. James tells us that when we consider the year that is before us that there is much about the future that is uncertain. He says to us in James 17:14, ''whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.''

He reminds us that we don't even know what tomorrow holds, much less a year. Let me say that even though we may not know what we face in the future, we should know how to face the future. We all know that a list of resolutions can lead to discouragement if the goals prove too difficult to maintain. After all, lasting change begins in a person’s heart—not on a numbered list or piece of paper.

The following are three resolutions to consider for the year, but instead of being tasks to accomplish, each resolution below represents an attitude of the heart that you can choose to adopt:

 LIVE GENEROUSLY

 Be generous with your time, generous with your money, and generous with your belongings, then it’s easy for others to see Christ’s love lived out through your life. And you reap the benefits tenfold through watching joy overflow into other people’s lives. Just as God is always generous with us, so His followers should be generous with others in everything. You can you be generous this year With your forgiveness, your time, your care for others, and the gifts and talents God Himself has given you. Live generously, and God’s love will be evident in your life.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38, NIV).

 BE THE PERSON GOD WANTS YOU TO BE

 Take a moment each day to spend time in prayer. Ask God to show you the kind of person He wants you to be. It’s painful to reflect on one’s actions and then try to change for the better, but over time, self-reflection leads to wisdom.

“Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it— he will be blessed in what he does” (James 1:22-25).

 GROW CLOSER TO GOD

 Many Christians begin a new year with the goal of reading the entire Bible in a year, and it is an admirable goal, one that anyone can accomplish. But reading the entire Bible might seem a little overwhelming. Billy Graham writes some words of wisdom for anyone beginning to read the Bible, for the first, or fiftieth, time. He writes, “Begin by reading the Gospel of John, for it tells us of Christ, of the ‘greatest life ever lived,’ and what He has done for us.” The way to grow closer to God is to spend time with Him daily. A good new year habit to get into is having devotional prayer time every morning, whether that means a few minutes of prayer in the car or an hour of scripture meditation and study.

“Come near to God and He will come near to you” (James 4:8).