Happy New Year! With the turning of the calendar to 2018, many people will be putting pen to paper in order to write their resolutions. Now, everyone knows that more often than not, we all start strong for the first week or two of January, but as February looms only a dedicated few are still going strong on attaining their newly penned goals.

Resolutions are not the problem, because wanting to change your behavior in a certain area of life is many times an excellent idea. Losing a few pounds while being more active, spending more time with family, or learning a new hobby are all excellent goals for 2018. However, I would like to suggest a different “challenge” for us all as we face the next twelve months.

What if you took the One Year Bible Challenge with me for 2018? We all want to start the New Year off on the right foot, so how about reading through the entire Bible in one calendar year? There are dozens of reading plans to follow, and a simple Google search will provide you with one that is suitable for you. It’s as simple as reading four chapters per day.

Consider the claim of God’s Word from 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

The Bible claims that the words on its pages are the very words of God Himself, and that the greatest human need is to have our relationship with God restored. We need this because we have all sinned and are therefore separated from God. Scripture goes on to say that the only way to be restored to God is through faith in Jesus Christ.

As we have just come out of the Christmas season where the Christian Church celebrates the birth of Christ, I wonder how our 2018’s would be different if we simply took time each day to ponder what God has to say in his Word and then apply it to our lives?

I can think of no better “resolution” than committing to spending time in God’s Word daily for the next year. No matter where life has you in 2018, God’s Word is truth for you, the challenge is to pick up the Bible and read it.

Will it be difficult? Yes. Will it be worth it? Absolutely.

Brandon Herron is pastor of student and family ministries at First Baptist Church. He can be reached online at firstbaptistsandpoint.org, by phone at 208-263-3625, or at the church at 1230 Michigan St, Sandpoint, ID 83864.