A “New Year” Begins With A New YOU!
By: Cheryll D. Cooks, Minister

We so looked forward to the last quarter of the year.  We celebrate the bounty that is Thanksgiving, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and the coming of a New Year!  After all the turkey is gone and the last CHRISTmas gift opened, we wait with baited breath for New Year’s Eve, anticipating the stroke of midnight; we blow horns, kiss a loved one, and sing “Auld Lang Syne.”

Most of us look to the “New Year” with great expectancy because with every “New Year” comes new opportunity.  For most people, new opportunity begins with the proclamation of a NEW RESOLUTION.  We write it down, shout it from the roof top, paint a picture of it, post it on the refrigerator, and in extreme cases have it tattooed on some random body part to prove that we are going to get this new thing done starting January 1!

. . . 11:59 December 31st . . . Ahhh, the stroke of midnight, the calendar has inevitably changed and January 1st is now upon us. . .
We are now 6 ~ count ‘em 6 whole weeks into the “New Year” and there’s little trace of the new resolution.  What started out so BIG now seems so very small; 6 more weeks pass and now there’s no trace of the new resolution at all.  We start out so excited about something new and end up settling for something old.  Why is that?!  Simply put ~ the calendar can change but the “New Year” won’t start until there’s a “New You!”

We try to take our old mind set, habits, anger, unforgiveness, and other hindering emotions into a new year expecting things to be different – not so.  St. Luke 5:37-39 reminds us that we cannot put New wine into Old wine bottles because of what is referred to as the fermentation process.  During this process, there is a massive amount of heat generated causing the liquid to expand.  If the Old container was never properly prepared to receive the new wine then the old container will burst!  Without proper preparation and/or new tools, mixing the old with the new will never work.

If we want a “New Year,” we have to properly prepare ourselves which includes leaving the old year with a New Mind-set.  Holding on to past hurts, unforgiveness, hatred, or contempt leaves no room for you to grasp hold to anything else.  Holding on to these things will cause you to be an old container trying to live in the New Year.  Hanging onto to old mind-sets and old unprofitable things will eventually cause you to burst.  There won’t be any room to contain the new exciting things and opportunities that God has provided for you.

If you haven’t already done so, release the negative or unprofitable feelings and things (hurts, anger, unforgiveness) that you are holding on to from the past!  In addition, release the people that caused them.  Releasing that old stuff those and those people doesn’t release them from the wrong they’ve done but it will release you from them!  It will not change your past, but it can enlarge your future.  It will allow you, position you, and prepare you ~ the New You to receive the New Thing in your New Year.  Are you ready to receive?  If you want, truly want a “New Year,” you must first start with a “New You!”

Be Blessed!