Whether you've finalized your 2020 resolutions, don't have plans to make any, or are somewhere in between, the best place to start thinking about change in the New Year is with the Word of God.  Before you start figuring out how to get out of debt or shed those holiday pounds (and those are wonderful goals!), start with the Bible, and with prayer, ask God to guide your priorities.  Even within the 66 books of the Bible, you may wonder where to begin, so here are some suggestions.

If you do not plan ahead, you could unintentionally allow this year's Black Friday to give your church a black eye.  You love your church, and you believe in the work that the church is doing.  You sincerely want to see it thrive, and you believe God is blessing.  Even if you are someone who is not easily lured into impulsive bargain snatching, despite your best intentions, if you do not set aside funds now for your year-end donations, those donations will likely be weaker if they happen at all.
A little less than a third of all tax filers itemize deductions, but we give to God's work for reasons beyond the Internal Revenue Code.  For Southern Baptists, December is the month we emphasize international missions through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.  There are many opportunities for charitable giving, and I love what one speaker from the NC Baptist Foundation set forth awhile back.  Christians should give to Christian causes; who else is going to do so?  
Pray about an amount God would like for you to give, and go ahead and give those funds or set them aside if you can discipline yourself not to spend them later.  By taking care of what is most important first, you avoid the possibility of accidentally omitting your church from the cash outflows of the season.  Remember, whatever you do, don't give out of compulsion or obligation.  Give out of a cheerful heart, because you want to - not because you felt guilty after reading this blog post. 

In 2 Timothy 2:2, the Apostle Paul instructs his protégé Timothy: "And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."  These words set forth an effective plan for spreading the Gospel and investing meaningfully in the lives of others.  For this devotional, our focus is on the word "commit to."  It means "to entrust, to commit to one's charge."  A helpful picture of this action is the relay race where the one currently carrying the baton commits that baton to someone else who is reliable, who will, in turn, be able to hand it on to someone else.  
As I was studying this text afresh recently, I came across a resource that explained reasons that professionals have identified for what they call "baton drops."  What goes wrong that causes a costly baton drop.  I was amazed to find principles that can carry over in our discipleship efforts to pass our faith on to those around us and future generations.  Here they are: