December 31, 2012
Transformational Thought
So many of us use New Year’s Eve and Day to stop and reflect … look back on the last year, or even our whole life … honestly evaluate and perform some brutile assessing … to focus on our failures … then to try and “fix” our shortcomings. So many resolutions are made … and within a few days or weeks, they are broken. The chances of keeping a resolution for just one month, that’s right, one month … just getting to January 31 with your resolve still intact … is 5-20%! To keep a resolution for a whole year is virtually unheard of in our society.
Remember, the world we live in is fallen and we are part of that brokenness. In this fallen world, all our default settings are tainted by sin. Sure, we can delay the inevitable decay we are destined for, but trying to “fix” yourself, by yourself, is impossible. It’s like trying to put all the pieces of a broken mirror back together so you can get a true reflection. So here is the bottom line, the take home: Only one New Year’s resolution is needed … to develop the Mind of Christ. Growing closer to God, yearning for Him, then glorifying Him with your internal heart/mind and external behavior.
So what is the first step, you ask? Developing the Mind of Christ can’t happen without the Holy Spirit. If you aren’t saved, (often called born again), and haven’t received God’s gift of Jesus as your personal Savior to save you from the penalty for your sins, then click the spiritual basics link below the devotional. If you are saved, AMEN! The next step is a strategy. A strategy to access the power of the Holy Spirit is the key to achieve your resolution and grow the Mind of Christ – to glorify God, achieve your God-given potential and enjoy the peace and fulfillment only Jesus brings.
WITHIN REACH: Disciplines for Real Life Change is our decision-making and growth workshop that covers confession, the armor of God, biblical truths, and a practical strategy to understand and apply the Holy Spirit’s work in the everyday decisions of your life. Having a strategy to access and follow the Holy Spirit continually is so vital, and unfortunately, most people go into each day, each battle, randomly, not with an actual strategy, so defeat is inevitable.
To make a resolution is to make a decision with intention and determination … a decision with firmness of mind and purpose. When the Spirit is in you, and you are obeying and following Him, you will be transformed and renewed. The Holy Spirit will give you incredible motivation to follow through with your resolution.
Today, if you have not yet believed in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, that is the major way to transform your life right now. If you have accepted Christ as your Savior, the next step is to make the only resolution that can truly make a difference in your life. Decide to develop an actually strategy that will give you more success in moving closer to God and access the Holy Spirit to transform your mind and life … now and for eternity. Tomorrow, we will look closer at transformation. But being intentional now is your decision, so choose well.
Prayer
Dear Father God, on this New Year’s Eve, I make the only resolution that counts … to move closer to You by achieving the “Mind of Christ.” In New Year’s Eves of the past, I have defaulted to try and problem solve through resolutions, always trying to find out what was wrong … and then trying to “fix” things my way. I come to You, Father, and ask for Your grace and collaboration to set me free from all my hurtful, sinful ways. I will view each moment in this New Year and all the years to come as a fresh opportunity to draw ever closer to You. I pray in the name of the One you sent to transform me and give me new life, Jesus Christ; and all the children of the world say – AMEN!
Truth
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2
to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10