Does the New Year Bring Anything New...

So does it?  Will 2020 really bring anything new to your life?  We celebrate New Year’s as if we are going to move forward into a new dimension of reality.  Often times though not much really changes.  People think that it is a fresh start and we emphasize it by stating we are forgetting the past year and make resolutions for a better year ahead.

Think about a bad driver purchasing a new car expecting to become a good driver by having that new car.  What has changed?  The driver that ran stop lights, sped, and cut people off in traffic in the old car is the exact same driver in the new car.  The new car is not going to make the bad driver a good driver just because the bad driver is in a new car.  Unless the bad driver decides to have a transformation of the mind, the new car feel will quickly wear off and the bad driving will continue.

As 2020 approaches, the same type of thing will happen to many people thinking the New Year will change everything within itself.  However, that will not be the case if they do not change the way they think.  Unless they change how they see life and how they see circumstances, they will continue having the same results in spite of the calendar change.  The question is, “Do you need a transformation in your thinking?”

The Bible, in Romans 12:2 (NLT), reads, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  There comes a point that we stop saying we will start or stop something on Monday.  Stop saying the New Year will change everything and bring me better luck.  There is nothing magical about a change of the date on the calendar whether it is the day, the month, the year, or the next decade.

If you want real and lasting change to occur in your life, then take charge of it today!  Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  How should you go about that?  Here are a few questions for you to ponder over the up coming days to ask yourself.  I will be pondering further these questions myself as I look to continue allowing God to change the way I think.

1.    Are you growing in your relationship with God?

a.    Do you weekly worship God at a Bible believing church?  

b.    Do you daily read/study/meditate on the Bible?

2.    What are you doing that draws you closer to God?

3.    What are you doing that pushes you farther away from God?

4.    Are you on mission for the Lord with your passion?

5.    What is your life verse?  What is your verse for 2020?

6.    Do you understand He has a purpose and a plan for your life?

7.    What do you want to achieve in 2020?

In Christ Alone and continuing in prayer, 

Chad

Do I Lack Faith?

Over the last year and a half I have walked through the darkest valley of my life with my daughter Katelyn’s inoperable brain tumor.  The greatness of so many people who have gone above and beyond during this time is overwhelming and we are oh so grateful.  

During this time, however, some have questioned my faith and why God would ‘do this’ to Katelyn.  Some have questioned why I haven’t believed enough for Katelyn to be healed.  People assume because she is not healed, that we obviously lack faith.  People still tell me today that God will heal Katelyn 100%; I just need ‘more faith!’  I have prayed and I know God is able!  It is not lack of faith!  Sometimes the miracle happens, most of the time it does not!  In both, the question of faith will always arise.

I know during the hardest moments of our lives that our faith is not ‘strengthened’ instantaneously; our faith is ‘released!’  I know during the hardest moments of our lives that our character is not instantaneously ‘built;’ our character is ‘revealed.’  AFTER, and only AFTER, some time has passed, then our faith will be strengthened and our character will be built; IF you allow it.  That faith strengthening and character building is preparation for the next circumstance of your life that you don’t yet see coming!

IF you are going through a difficult situation (financial, health, job, family, tragedy) that hasn’t gotten better, then know these four things: 1. God did not do this to you!  2. Have no fear if your circumstance does not change.  It does not prove you lack faith and it definitely does not prove that God does not love you!  3. When you realize that God is all you have, then you will realize that God is all you have ever needed! 4. Listen!  Slow down each day and listen for the whispers of God in your life!

Romans 8:35; 37–39 (NLT): Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... No, despite all these things,   overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Christ Alone and continuing in prayer,

Chad