New Year, New Start

 

TEXT:  Lamentations 3:22-23  – “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

We just rang in the New Year. Some may have gotten out a clean piece of paper and wrote down their intentions for this year.  Well, I didn’t. You see, I decided not to jot down anything, but to make a commitment to increase my prayer time with the Lord and to continue to exercise. I believe it is the spiritual condition in my life that the Lord is the most interested in. He says in His Word that my body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. 

I found out long ago, those long lists of dos and don’ts either get lost or forgotten. The things that really matter to us, we usually work on, so I find it best to limit any desires each year to a few things and concentrate on the really important ones — whatever they might be.

Most people want a fresh start in life. Those who are sick want a clean bill of health. Those in financial trouble want to be out of debt. We can do these things, but we need to work on them one day at a time. I didn’t make any commitment last year but to love God more and to appreciate my family and friends. I think I made the grade, but only God has the score.

Try not to overwhelm yourself with too many good intentions. Just pray and ask the Lord what you might need to work on in your life, spiritually, financially, and maybe even how to improve relationships or your health, but don’t get bogged down with so many resolutions.

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 NIV

The Bible says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

What is the Kingdom of God? 

It is righteousness, peace, and joy. If we have those three things most everything else will fall into place. If we seek to please the Lord and find out what He wants us to do, then it will all work out. I know He tells us to seek wisdom, so if we do that our health issues and financial priorities will change.

The Bible tells us His mercies are new every morning, so I will daily ask Him what He wants me to do. There is nothing wrong with accomplishing some short-term goals, but never let them consume your entire energy by making them so hard they are beyond your reach.

Simply trust God to help you each step of the way! 

Get a fresh start each year, but plan for a wise one too.

 

READ YOUR BIBLE

The Bible...IT IS PROFITABLE TO: 

     A. Change you. 

a. The story is told of a South Sea Islander who proudly displayed his Bible to a G.I. during WW II. He had received it as a present from a missionary some time before. The soldier said, “O, we’ve outgrown that sort of thing.” The native smiled back and said, “Well, it’s a good thing we haven’t, because if it weren’t for this book, you would be our evening meal.”

b. DL Moody said: “The scriptures were not given for our information but our transformation.”

c. Every person who receives Jesus Christ as their Savior is changed. Changed from walking the road to Hell to riding the cross to Heaven.

B. Convict you. 

a. Mark Twain, not exactly a die-hard Christian, wrote these words: “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me most are those I do understand.”

b. If you read the Bible, you WILL be convicted. We are all sinners – right up to the day we die. And the Bible will help us see where we are at odds with the Father.

d. The real question then becomes – What will you do with this conviction?

C. Correct you

a. How to get it right

b. One Sunday morning during announcements, the preacher said, "I need to make a correction to an announcement from last week’s bulletin. It read: The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility. It should have read: The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hospitality. Sorry, folks, we are a loving church, not a hostile one. We love hurting people." 

d. Often when we try to correct things ourselves, we just make them worse.

e. Using God’s Word – correctly – we can correct those areas of our lives that our not right.

D. Coach you…how to keep it right

a. Albert Einstein was on a train when the conductor came through collecting tickets. Einstein couldn’t find his ticket and became rather distraught. The conductor tried to console him by saying, "Mr. Einstein, don’t worry. When you find your ticket, just mail it in. We trust you." Einstein responded in frustration, "My dear man, that’s not my problem. I need my ticket to tell me where I’m going."

e. The Bible is our ticket to help us know where we are going and how to get there.

f. It will keep us on the right track and in the right way.

E. The Bible is profitable to change, convict, correct and coach us.

This year, commit with me to read through the Bible. Begin today, and spend time with God in His Word. Let Him talk to you and change, convict, correct and coach you in this year.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, speak to my heart today from Your Word. Let me make not a resolution, but a commitment to spend time with You in Your Word each day. Amen.