Friday, January 3, 2020
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
It’s a new year - a clean slate and a clean slate is exciting. I love a clean slate, a blank page, and the beginning of new things. New territory is always an opportunity for God to show up in our lives and do awesome works. Give Him the pen to write your story for 2020.
With new territory we don’t know what to expect, which can be scary. But coming into a new year we always bring a pile of expectations with us, usually ones we put on ourselves. Goals are good as long as we are open to what God is trying to accomplish through us and in our lives. If He is not the main part of our resolutions and goals, we are looking in the wrong direction.
Just like with spring cleaning it’s good to do a personal inventory at the beginning of a year. We need to declutter our hearts and lives with anything that keeps God from having the place He deserves - first place.
Some areas of our lives where we need to do some de-cluttering are:
Social Media - Who do you need to unfollow? Maybe you need to spend less time on social media and more time in His word.
Heart - What is taking God’s place in four life. What are you running to? Where do you go to stop the pain? If it’s not God, it needs to go.
Physical - What do you have too much of? What needs to go and most of all what do you need to stop buying because you are trying to fill a void that only Jesus can fill?
Relationships - Do you have friends that are not Christians that pressure you to cross lines? Or maybe you have friends that are Christians that pressure you and are not a good influence.
Jesus wants to be the first place in our lives. Start 2020 by making room for Him and getting rid of the things in our lives that don't bring us closer to Him. When we give Him first place and get rid of all the stuff that isn't supposed to be there, we can thrive in His plan for our lives.
