New Year; Same You?

 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

2 Corinthians 5:17. 17

How many of us resolved to be different in 2023?  Lose weight? Quit a bad habit? More time with the family? One gloomy study tells us that many people break their resolutions by February 14th. We have all broken a resolution.  So how can this year be different? 

You don’t need a specific day of the year to start to change your life. You can resolve to do something differently — spend less money, be nicer, drink more water — anytime. And you can decide to do these things for an hour, a day, a week. Then see if you want to continue. Vowing to overhaul your life on Jan. 1 and trying to stick with the changes forever is a tall order.

When you do make a resolution, be it now or in six weeks or in July, remember that a resolution need not be punishing. It doesn’t have to involve curbing appetites or behaviors unless you want it to. You can resolve to reward yourself more. You can resolve to take more naps. And the resolution doesn’t need to be big. It can be small and boring and meaningful only to you.

So, make a resolution for the month of January and see how that goes. If all goes well, extend it through February. Don't go on a guilt trip if you slip up! There’s always a day or month or year ahead of me with no mistakes in it. Resolve to be resolving! 

ONE Resolution

If we are living now by the Holy Spirit’s power, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:25  TLB

At this time of the year, most people make a list of New Year's resolutions. If their goal is to lose weight, they enjoy a final dessert. If their goal is to stop buying on credit, they make one final purchase using their plastic. And if their goal is to begin having a morning devotional time, they sleep in one last day.

But research shows that most New Year's resolutions are not kept in spite of our best intentions. I speak from personal experience. May I suggest a better way approach the New Year would be to have ONE goal: to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 The construction of the original text means to continue being filled not just a one-time act. A Spirit-filled life is one that is to be lived out daily. That means you daily listen for His guidance and approach life in His strength every day,   Luke 4:1 Galatians 5:25.

After a year of walking in the Spirit; much more will change than made a human resolution. Begin the New Year with the objective to live a Spirit-filled life and see what you will accomplish in and through your life in the coming year.