Healthy nutrition resolutions for the New Year starting on this 12th day of Christmas
January 6, 2025
January 7, 1945 — Phil teaches his men an easy way to dig a foxhole in frozen ground and how to prevent trench foot
January 7, 2025As I told you in my January 1 post about New Year’s resolutions, according to some research, most New Year’s resolutions fail, with estimates ranging from 80-91%. In fact, 80% of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions within the first two weeks. So now that the 12-days of Christmas and the New Year’s celebrations are over, what about considering some resolutions with eternal implications and rewards?
Below is my “Ask Dr. Walt” column that I wrote for the January issue of Today’s Christian Living that was excerpted from a book I wrote with Dr. Phil Bishop, Fit over 50: Make Simple Choices for a Healthier, Happier You.
Since the issue is not yet published, I’ll have to post a link to the on-line edition when it’s available. But, in the meantime, I thought you’d like to read and meditate on this prescription for your temporal and eternal health:
Recommendations for a Christian’s New Year’s Resolutions
QUESTION: What are some of the New Year’s resolutions that you recommend for your patients.
ANSWER: For decades I have prescribed these three Bible-based resolutions for my Christian patients to prayerfully consider:
1) Resolve to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30, Matthew 22:37-38, Luke 10:27) and be filled, that is to be controlled and empowered, with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
This filling will invariably produce the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). Often Christians think of the “nine-fold fruit of the Spirit,” but I like to think of the “fruit of the Spirit” as being primarily the fruit of love—for God, yourself, and others—that manifests itself as:
- joy (which is love singing),
- peace (love resting),
- patience (love enduring),
- kindness (love’s helpfulness),
- goodness (love’s character),
- faithfulness (love’s habit),
- gentleness (love’s touch), and
- self-control (love holding the reins).
2) Resolve to follow God’s will for your life.
For example:
- “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18),
- “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2),
- “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6), and,
- “It is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people” (1 Peter 2:15).
Of course, I’m not saying that this is the end-all and be-all of God’s will. For example, there are over 50 “one another” commands in the New Testament that instruct followers of Jesus in God’s will for how we are to live out all of God’s instructions for His Church. Also, it has been said the Bible has 320 verses about commandments about God’s will in 42 of the books if the Bible. And many Jews believe there are 613 commandments (‘mitzvot’ in Hebrew) that can be extracted from the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the four verses above are a great foundation.
3) Resolve to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31, Matthew 22:39, Luke 10:27).
The “Golden Rule” may be one of the best-known of Jesus’s sayings among non-Christians and is the main point of His moral teachings: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). This is the standard Jesus set for dealing with our neighbors. It is called The Golden Rule because Roman Emperor Alexander Severus (AD 208-235) had it inscribed in gold on a wall. This resolution may best be demonstrated by each of us serving others (Mark 9:34-35, 10:42–45, Galatians 5:13–14, 1 Peter 4:10–11).
Although all three of these resolutions can improve one’s physical, emotional/mental, relational/social, and spiritual health – what I like to call “The Four Wheels of Health,” all of which were demonstrated in the life of Jesus (Luke 2:52) – for our 2025 resolutions, I’d like to recommend we each consider how we might be flavorful salt and attractive light (Matthew 5:13-16) when we serve our neighbors in 2025.
How would it change our neighborhoods, communities, and country if all of us who are followers of Jesus would focus on serving our neighbors in need?
Most folks think of neighbors as the people who live near us, but that’s not what Jesus meant. Jesus told His famous parable of the good Samaritan that to “love your neighbor” (Luke 10:25-37) means to love all persons, everywhere—not just our friends and those who live near us.
By “neighbor,” Jesus included all mankind—even our enemies! He made this clear when He taught, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your
Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:43-48).
God has given each of us stewardship over what I call The Four Ts:
- our talents (Ephesians 2:10),
- treasure (Haggai 2:8),
- time (Ephesians 5:16), and
- temple (our bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 9:8).
We are to faithfully administer these in caring for ourselves and in the service of others. The Bible tells us, “God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need, and plenty left over to share with others” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NLT).
The unwise say, “The more I give to others, the poorer I become,” but the opposite is true. Service to others brings meaning and fulfillment to our lives in a way that wealth, power, possessions, and self-centered pursuits can never match.
As Jesus said, “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).
A Biblical principle for a happy (blessed) and healthful life comes with understanding that all God has given us is to be used by us for His glory—and this happens most lavishly when we freely give it back to Him for others’ benefit.
God has given each of us much to share with those in need. As we do, we can be conduits of healing and blessing every day.
We received these blessings freely, and freely we are called to give them away—all for the glory of God. Jesus taught us, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that He gave…” This verse is a revelation of the heart of God and a summation of the meaning of the Christian life. If there’s one thing the Bible teaches us, it’s that God is love, and that those of us who claim to believe in Him and want to follow Him are to love one another as He has loved us (1 John 4:8,11). And the message of John 3:16 is that God-like (agape) love always gives voluntarily and sacrificially.
So what time, talent, and treasure has God given you beyond your basic needs? A mentor encouraged me, “Ask God to tell you how, where, and to whom you can freely give them away. As you use your time, talent, treasure, and temple to serve others, you will experience the blessed life.”
Randy Alcorn writes, “God has entrusted us with wealth that we may voluntarily distribute to those who need it most. Never have so many been in need. Never has God showered such abundance on Christians. When will we learn that God doesn’t give us more to increase our standard of living, but to increase our standard of giving?”
From improving your physical well-being to boosting your emotional, mental, family, relational, and spiritual health in 2025, tending to, caring for, and giving to others (loving your neighbors) does a world of good for your health and the health of those in which you invest time, treasure, talent, and temple.
Most of the time, you can experience the immediate impact of giving your talents, treasure, time, and temple; but it won’t be until heaven that we’ll learn of all the eternal benefits.
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THE WHOLE “RESOLUTION” SERIES
- Part 1 – How to finally have successful New Year’s Resolutions – Why do so many fail? (posted on 01/01/25)
- Part 2 – How to finally have successful New Year’s Resolutions – How can you succeed this year? (posted on 01/02/25)
- Part 3 – How to finally have successful New Year’s Resolutions – How to help your kids and grands succeed? (posted on 01/03/25)
- Healthy nutrition resolutions for the New Year starting on this 12th day of Christmas (posted on 01/06/25)
- Making and keeping spiritual resolutions for 2025 and eternity (posted on 01/07/25)
I hope you and yours have a Christ-centered, warm-memory-creating, family-filled, healthy, and blessed New Year.
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The article above was excerpted from Fit over 50: Make Simple Choices for a Healthier, Happier You authored by Dr. Walt and Dr. Phil Bishop, published by Harvest House, © 2019, used with permission.
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Walt Larimore, MD, has been called one of America’s best known family physicians and has been named in the “Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors,” “The Best Doctors in America,” “Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare,” and “Who’s Who in America.” He’s a former Vice President and Physician in Residence at Focus on the Family and the American Life League has named him a “Rock-Solid Pro-Life” awardee. He’s also an award-winning medical journalist and the best-selling author of over 40 books. He and his childhood sweetheart and wife of nearly 50 years, Barb, have two adult children and reside in Colorado Springs. You can find Doctor Walt’s health blog at www.DrWalt.com and follow him on Facebook at “DrWalt.com”. Have questions for Dr. Walt? Email them to editor@todayschristianliving.org.
© Copyright WLL, INC. 2025. This blog provides healthcare tips and advice that you can trust about a wide variety of general health information only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from your regular physician. If you are concerned about your health, take what you learn from this blog and meet with your personal doctor to discuss your concerns.
