New Year; Same Gift.

 “Or do you know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters no adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the Kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).


It’s a brand new year, and with a new year means millions of people have made new year's resolutions. And chances are that you are probably one of those people… But I just wanted to share what the Word says about New Year's resolutions and a few things that are so important to know as you try to live them out these next 365 days… 


No, the bible doesn’t have a verse that specifically talks about New Year's Resolutions and how to live them out, but the verse that I started this with I thought was pretty close… The people of the church of Corinth were living a sinful life… Worshipping idols, sleeping with people outside of their marriage, stealing things, being greedy, getting drunk, and plenty of other things… And maybe you weren’t doing all of that in 2020… But who knows maybe you were doing one of them or a couple, or maybe even something completely different… And just like the Corinthians, you were doomed. Because of your sinful ways, you were no longer eligible to inherit the Kingdom. But then as soon as Paul writes this heart-wrenching truth, he states in the next verse that God has granted them, and you, a “New Year''… He has given you a new beginning… As Paul writes, the Lord has “washed, sanctified, and justified them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.” You, much like the people in the church of Corinth, were living a life that was not satisfying your heart… And they received an encouraging letter from Paul, and you were given a fresh start for 2021…


But I want you to notice something… They were not actually ringing in the New Year… This was just simply another day in their life that they received a letter with the best news of ever… They didn’t wait for a whole 365 days before they started to live out the good news that they had heard; they did it RIGHT THEN! And with that, I want to share with you some truth about New Year's resolutions… 


New Year's Resolutions are awesome. In fact, Jesus calls us to set goals for ourselves that glorify Him, and to work at them with our whole hearts… So actually, He loves our New Year's goals. But having a New Years' resolution means going against our flesh, and our flesh tends to be hard to overcome… Our flesh wants to eat that cheeseburger, even though you vowed to eat healthy for the year… Our flesh wants to sit on the couch and watch Netflix, despite the goal you made to workout every day for the 365… And yes, your flesh wants to stay with the habits you made of getting drunk, and cussing, and sleeping around, even though it’s a “new year, new you”… We are going to fail in life. We are Human. But we get to receive the same gift of grace that Paul was writing to the church about!! No matter what you do/did in 2020 or 2021, you are WASHED clean!!! you are SANCTIFIED!!! and you are JUSTIFIED through Jesus Christ!! 


So please if you haven’t understood any of this I pray with my whole heart that you receive this… Being a Christian means a New Year, EVERY SINGLE DAY OF OUR LIVES! We can wake up every morning and have a fresh start because of Jesus Christ… Just because you might fail this year, does NOT mean that you have to wait until the next New Year to start over again… Because just like the Church of Corinth, it was just another day when they learned of their new beginning… And do you think that they all of a sudden became perfect? Absolutely not! But they were free from the weight of their sin and shame because of the good news they heard and received!! 


If you promised yourself that you wouldn’t say a bad word this year, and January on 2nd you stub your toe and let one out… DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED! Because of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross you have been washed of that cuss word you just said and can start over immediately… If you made the goal to read your bible every day, and you forget to the third day of the second week of the new year, you are NOT a failure. You are Human, and tomorrow is a new day. And if you vowed to start praying more, but realize it's been a few days since you have even acknowledged Him; He doesn't love you any less. 

Do not take advantage of His grace and Mercy, but be mindful of it when you make a Human mistake.


It might be a “New year, New you” but we still serve the same, GOOD and FAITHFUL God. Don’t stop your New Years' goals just because you might mess up… He NEVER gives up on us, so don’t give up on yourself!!!


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