New Year Tool Kit

Matthew 6:33 may just be one of your favorite verses too:

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (NLT)

Sounds great. Important. Life-changing and life-giving.

But how?

Here are some tools at the beginning of a new year that may help.

1. Before you use your phone for anything in the morning, open the YouVersion Bible app, read the verse of the day, and listen to the story of the day. It takes about 5 minutes and is a great way to set the default of our minds to the things of God.

2. Develop a system for praying, and then pray. The system you choose is not important. The fact that you have a system is important. THAT you pray is most important. I have found that same app -- YouVersion -- to be very helpful for me with the Daily Refresh prayer portion. But you can also use the Lectio 365 app... the Hallow app... or the Pray app... or the Dwell Audio Bible app... or a paper journal... etc. You can write on the inside cover of your Bible. Whatever system you choose, use it. The world needs God to hear from you.

3. If you find yourself struggling to stay in a "seek first" rhythm, ask for help in at least these two ways:

   1. Ask friends you can be vulnerable with to pray for you. Tell them you have a deep desire to build your life around the Kingdom of God, and you need help from the Holy Spirit.

   2. Invite friends to do these things with you. The YouVersion app has a great tool in their reading plans for doing devotional plans together. I have used it dozens of times and will be doing more in 2025.

4. Consider the Pause App from John Eldridge. It could be that you're starting (or ending) your day faithfully, but in the chaos of the in between, the Kingdom of God gets shoved aside. Eldridge developed this app for all of us who experience that reality. They even use it in their Wild at Heart office. Every day at 10a and 2p the entire office stops to pause for just a few moments. Inside the app are options for a 1 Minute Pause, a 3 Minute Pause, and a 5 Minute Pause. There are other, more thematic choices as well.

5. Listen to podcasts about Kingdom of God things. There are tens of thousands of options. Here are some of my favorites (and no, I don't agree with or endorse everything these women and men of God say):

   1. John Ortberg: Become New

   2. That Sounds Fun with Annie F. Downs

   3. The Resilient Pastor with Glenn Packiam, Rich Villodas, and Sharon Hodde Miller

   4. John Mark Comer Teachings Podcast

   5. The Stetzer Church Leader Podcast

   6. The Dallas Willard Podcast

   7. Church of the City: New York with Pastor Jon Tyson

   8. The Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast

   9. The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast

   10. An old podcast from Bethany Pedigo and me: So Every Soul Sings: Worship for the Real Church

6. Read fiction. There are some spectacular fiction writers out there who write on Christian themes without being too preachy or predictable. My favorite five: Charles Martin, Ted Dekker, Joel Rosenberg, Frank Peretti, and Dee Henderson. (I almost put Charles Martin a second time; he's that good!)

7. Read non-fiction. Some of my most significant mentors in Kingdom life are people I've never met. Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Robert Webber, Max Lucado, Chuck Swindoll, and literally hundreds of others. I grow in my understanding and demonstration of Kingdom life every time I read a book.

If that's overwhelming, take a breath and pick one. Just one. That was great advice I got reading "Celebration of Discipline" the first time. Pick one thing this year. Add one next year. Be willing to let go of one from time to time. The goal is not to do more; the goal is to become more like Jesus.

Here's the thing I've been noticing more and more in recent years: we keep trying to find ways to fit a little more of God into our lives, which is backwards. If my life is His, if I'm seeking His Kingdom first, then I would have a better life if I built the other activities--even work or school--around the Kingdom. My hope, my prayer, is that these tools will help us all move toward that aim... to "seek the Kingdom of God above all else."