I’ve never really been one for New Year’s resolutions. Granted, I think there is something honorable about creating goals and determining aspirations for the future. However, my resolutions would traditionally be quite lofty, and every year, I’d start off strong but things would fizzle out somewhere in the middle.
I realized that I was trying to start all these new things, without letting God deal with some of my old patterns and mindsets.
In Matthew 9:16-1, Jesus addresses John the Baptist’s disciples. He says,
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
In Jesus' time, people used animal skins to store liquids. Fermented drinks like wine expanded, and since an old wineskin would already be stretched to its limit, the new wine would rip the old skins at the seams. However, when new wine was poured into new wineskins, as the wine expanded, the new skins would stretch to accommodate it.
Many didn’t understand the new things Jesus was teaching, because they were still holding onto their old ways of thinking and behaving. I’ve decided that rather than try to figure out what novel thing I should start after the midnight countdown, I’m going to ask God to show me what old things I need to leave behind.
Would you join me this new year (and every year for that matter) as we make our primary resolution to allow God to renew our minds? God has many new things He desires for us to do, but first we need to give Him the old ones.
Ready?! 10, 9, 8, 7…
Shani McKenzie is a True Girl Lead Teacher! She loves to share Jesus and make people laugh. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and three splendiferous children. You may find her co-hosting True Girl Bible Studies!
True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you've got to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
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