These 5 Things Will Positively Change Your New Year

“Behold, I make all things NEW.”

God said that.  Even HE likes new things!

No wonder our nature is to get revved up at the experience of anything that is brand new. 

“New” is not just a position on a calendar.  It is a total frame of mind.  It clears out all your mistakes.  It opens up new possibilities for you and can reset your relationships.

Think about becoming “brand new” in these 5 important areas:

1.  New relationships

• The terrible words, mistakes, and attitudes toward those closest to you can all be “made new.”  It starts with your sincere, heartfelt apology. 
  

• Think about your relationships like a symphony.  Sour notes and missed rhythms randomly happen but the whole symphony doesn’t stop!  Move on.  Keep playing together.  Work harder at understanding each other.  Your relationships are worth the effort.

2.  New plans.

• My former plans (or lack thereof!) may have failed or mildly succeeded.  I can begin again.  I can take up where I stopped.  I can finish the book or watch a few You Tube videos on solving my greatest difficulty.
  

• A slight change can mean a total change of direction in your budget, your housing, your retirement, your learning…and your future.  Make that adjustment right now and completely alter your destiny!

3.  New habits 

• You may have a habit of eating greasy, unhealthy, sugary food all day.  Year after year means you weigh more and more.  You can lose it the same way you gained it by a change toward fruits, vegetables, water…and appetizer-sized portions. 
  

• You may not look forward to your doctor telling you every year how out of shape you are.  You can change that by a brisk, daily 20-minute walk to clear your mind and fill your lungs with fresh air.  You will feel totally energetic in several months.

4.  New thinking

• Your mind needs to be “re-NEW-ed.”  The brain is filled with ruts and patterns of thinking.  New thoughts and decisions engage the awesome power of your will to accomplish those things! 
  

• You may be negative and cranky.  Most people are fired because of attitudes, not skills.  Look at your job with pride, creativity, and innovation.  Start thinking like an owner.  A simple shift in thinking can separate you from the herd!

5.  New heart

• “I will give you a new heart…and will remove the heart of stone” (Eze. 36:26).  Guilt, condemnation, and inferiority all come from recurring sin.  It makes you afraid to pray, afraid to approach God.
  

• The blood that Christ shed on the cross was given for your total forgiveness.  He doesn’t “half-forgive!”  Receive your NEW HEART.  Get joy instead of hurt.  Get freedom instead of bondage.  Get acceptance instead of rejection.

This is your moment!  Ask God to change your relationships, plans, habits, thinking and heart.  Sit quietly for one hour and write down one “action step” in each of these five areas.

2019 is not just HAPPY NEW YEAR.  It is “HAPPY NEW YOU!”