Dear Friends,
For the last few years my only New Year’s Resolution has been not to make any. Which has of course has meant I’ve failed in my quest, almost from the moment I’ve spoken!
But what about you? Perhaps you’ve resolved to make progress in your work or schooling, in your health or well-being, or to read more and spend less time on social media. Whatever it is, to make your resolution a reality will take effort and determination. You’ll have to be willing to pay the price and to give up some things in order to gain what you want. Real lasting change, doesn’t come easily.
In the Christian life, change is also a struggle. Perhaps we want to grow in our knowledge of God, or want our characters to be more like Jesus. Perhaps we want our temper to be less volatile, our generosity to increase, our impatience to shrink, or for our courage to speak up for Jesus to multiply.
Those things don’t come easily. But if that’s our resolution, we’re not alone in the fight. God has given us all we need to succeed and to see real change this year.
We’ll find true nourishment in the Word of God, the Bible. Spending time daily in the Bible will feed our souls, reshape our minds and show us the way to live.
We’ll find true fellowship in the church, with God’s people. We can’t win this battle on our own. We all need each other to encourage, correct and spur us on.
And we’ll find true power in God’s presence with us by his Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit, working in us, who helps us to change. It’s the Spirit who brings us to the cross when we fail. It’s the Spirit who reminds us of God’s great promises, who mediates God’s grace, peace and joy to us, who equips us for the fight and who walks along with us.
For us to grow in Christ-likeness we need the Word, the Fellowship and God’s Spirit at work in us. Change will be costly, time consuming, difficult; but a closer walk with Jesus is worth every inconvenience. Are you up for the challenge too?