New Day, New Year, and New Beginnings - 31 Days of Fresh StartsSample

An Exchange for Change...

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…
Romans 12:2 NLT

If we long for something new in our lives yet continually rehearse old ways of thinking, old lies our enemy, the devil, has delivered to us, or old voices from our past, we will find that walking in newness almost never happens. It’s time to have the words in our minds transformed by the Living Word Himself—Jesus (John 1:14). It’s time to repent.

Now, in my many, ahem, years of living—not saying I’m old but definitely seasoned—I have found that in my faith walk, it is a whole lot easier to turn directly to Jesus than trying harder to turn away from old thoughts, behaviors, and life patterns. We come to Him not because we have our act together but because we don’t. We’re seeking His newness in our lives, whether it’s a mere fraction or the whole kit-and-caboodle.

Jesus—the Living Word—almost always has a new word to speak to us currently. And if we remember the gospel accounts of His life correctly when He speaks—healing, freedom, deliverance, and life take place.

The quickest, surest, and most profound way we encounter the transformation of our thoughts is by experiencing Christ through His Written Word—the Bible. When we open its pages for ourselves—not depending on others to do this for us—we invite the life breath of His Holy Spirit, who wrote it, to literally breathe His oxygen into us. Then, our patterns of thinking begin to change. That’s what this living Book can do (Hebrews 4:12). Even just one verse at a time.

Couple God’s Word with His felt presence—also through the Holy Spirit—and discover the genuine repentance we spoke of yesterday. Yes, it is possible. The old is passing away, and His newness is replacing it.