As you look back on this last year, can you say it was a year when you progressed spiritually? Was it a year when you found yourself becoming a bit more like Jesus Christ? Or was there some kind of a breakdown? It's a good time to make a change.
Right now, people are making their New Year's resolutions. Some are going to swear off alcohol or smoking or television or overeating. Others are going to try to change wicked habits like gossip or worry or losing their temper. Others are going to try to start new habits like getting in shape physically. We can develop disciplines in our lives that will build us up spiritually. This year can be an opportunity for a fresh start for us all.
As the years go by, we realize how far we still have to go. We realize how much there is to learn. How we are just beginning to scratch the surface. So much of our lives need to change. We need to be renewed and transformed and revived over and over again. We all have a natural tendency to go the wrong way. A tendency to go astray.
It is no coincidence that the Bible compares us to sheep, saying that we all like sheep have gone astray and we have turned every one to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). We need to realize something about ourselves. Realize this combustible nature we have inside of us. Realize that we all have the potential to fall.
This could be a year of spiritual calamity if you stop moving forward. But on the other hand, it could be your greatest year yet if you make a commitment to walk with Christ like never before.
