Almost time to watch that ball drop and party like it’s…2023? 🎉🎉🎉
Oh, who am I kidding…it’s almost time to drink sparkling grape juice with my kids while my husband snores like a freight train on the living room couch. 😒😒😒😂😴😴😴😴
Got any resolutions yet???
I can already think of a couple myself.
As you already know, this is the traditional time people dedicate or rededicate themselves to positive change…in fact, “new year, new me” is a phrase often used around this time of year…
And whether your goal is saving money, losing weight, or just watching less TikToks 😂…let me just say, I hope you reach your goals this year. I hope your hard work pays off! ❤️💪
But……..do me a favor?
While you’re working hard to accomplish those goals, remember this:
Setting and reaching goals is great, but (spoiler alert⚠️)…it won’t make you a “new you.”
Shocking, I know. 🤯🤯🤯😱😱😱😱
It’s actually the same old you, just with a few new habits…
Buuuuut….there is one teeny weeny exception to the rule.
One choice, one change, one resolution that trumps the rest.
And it’s simple really:
The only way to become a “new you” is to be born…all over again.
😳😳😳😳😳😳
Sounds crazy, right?
In John 3:3-7, a man named Nicodemus certainly thought the same when Jesus first explained the divine concept to him:
But “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “
When we are born of water and the Spirit through belief and baptism, our old self dies and a new self is born…or as the scriptures so eloquently describe, it is the moment in which we begin to “…walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)
It’s the ultimate definition of a “new you.”
And it’s the most important New Year’s resolution you could ever make.
If you are seeking a new life that only God can provide, there is NO better time to start than today!!! ⏰⏱️🕰️⏳⌚️⌛️🕛⏲️
And there is no better Sunday to start worshipping Him than tomorrow, January 1st.
If you need a Savior — only Jesus can save your soul…
And if you need a church, I can save you a seat. ❤️
For a pretty scrawny kid, I heard this phrase a lot growing up…🙄
Of course, it had nothing to do with me actually outgrowing my pants — it usually meant I needed an attitude check.
As an adult, however, this phrase has taken on a much more literal meaning…
You’ve heard of the freshman 15, right?
Well, over the past two years, I’ve put on the “Covid 19” — if you know what I mean…😜
And as a result, I’ve literally gotten too big for my britches…😂😂🤣😔
When I first noticed that my pants weren’t fitting the way they used to, I thought…no big deal, I’ll just cut back on the calories…take a few more walks…and I’ll be down to my previous weight in no-time.
Ha.
Turns out, it’s a lot easier to pack on the pounds than it is to take them off.
So, despite my good intentions, it became clear that I needed to go with Plan B…
…Buy some bigger pants.
🤣🤣🤣
Ahhh…much better.
In the moment, it seemed my problem was solved…but there was just one glitch.
You see, I changed my pants without changing my habits.
I became so comfortable in my new, roomier pants that it allowed me the wiggle room to continue being complacent in my old eating habits.
Since my old snug pants were no longer there to make me feel like a busted can of biscuits every time I tried them on, there was no longer any catalyst for change.
So…….as I continued along over the course of a few more months, I reached a point where even my new pants were getting a little snug. 😱😱😱
And eventually (I’m ashamed to say), I decided it was time to activate Plan C…
…Stretchy Pants.
😂😂😂
I mean, it was during the height of the pandemic, so we really weren’t going anywhere anyway…(besides Wal-mart pickup, that is)….so it seemed like the perfect solution. 😂
But in the long run, it was more of a band-aid to my problem than a cure.
And in my heart of hearts, I realized that if didn’t break this pattern, it could become an endless cycle…if I outgrew every successive pair of pants I purchased, one day I’d have my own reality TV show and have to be removed from my house by a crane. 😳😳😳
***************************************
But my struggle is nothing new…experts have been spouting statistics for years about the American diet/lifestyle and how it is contributing to conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
We get ourselves in these predicaments in at least one of two ways:
1. By eating for taste, not for hunger.
2. And a lack of exercise.
I think we all know that by now.
But what experts have yet to report on is that Christians in America are having similar issues with their spiritual diets as well:
In a spiritual context, choosing to “eat for taste, not for hunger” means we only consume Biblical teachings that are palatable to us (e.g. God’s love, forgiveness, and grace)…without feeding on the Word of God as a whole.
Many believers in America today want to skip over the “meat and potatoes” of the Bible and go straight to the “dessert” — and many churches are responding by holding back parts of the Truth for fear of offending picky palates.
But this isn’t Golden Corral.
You don’t get to just pick and choose what you put on your plate — and you definitely don’t get to skip straight to the Chocolate Wonderfall. (🤭)
By failing to acknowledge both God’s love as well as His severity (Romans 11:22), we’re not just loosening a belt…we’re loosening doctrine itself…for the purpose of our comfort.
And just like my own experience, it’s a slippery slope.
Over time, as we become more and more set in our unhealthy habits, the belt only tends to become looser and looser…the pants bigger and bigger…until, like me, one day you find yourself just lounging around all day in a pair of “spiritual sweatpants” (you know, the ones with the mystery stain and the elastic waistband that’s almost shot) feeling more than comfortablein your sins 😱…
I suppose that’s fine if you’ve got no where to go and no one to see…🫣
But let me remind you of this… just as one day the pandemic waned and I actually had to put on real pants to go out in public again…one day, we will have an appointment with God as well…and the last thing we want to do is show up looking less than presentable.
************************************
God calls us to be imitators of Him, and the only way to do that is through spiritual diet and exercise.
Maybe you aren’t glossing over what the Bible says. Maybe you are feeding on every thing God’s all-you-can-eat buffet has to offer…that’s good and I commend you.
But that’s also a lot of calories to consume in one sitting.
So, we can’t just settle for a sedentary lifestyle…we also need to walk…with God.
James 1:22 puts it like this…”Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.”
Or to use a more familiar phrase…Just Do It.
It may be Nike’s slogan, but it applies to our walk with Jesus Christ as well.
What good are all those calories if we don’t put them to good use? Calories were meant to sustain our energy as we expend it!
In I Corinthians 9:27 (NLT), the apostle Paul says, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”
Indulgence and complacency feel good in the moment, but the effects of their habitual practice are far-reaching…you know what they say, a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips. 😉
When it comes to what God’s Word says on a subject, don’t go “shopping around” for a better fit…instead make the effort to allow God to mold you to fit what His Word says…
…because after all, when we find ourselves getting too big for our britches, it not because He’s changed — it’s because we have.
