Ron Hutchcraft - The New You

When a new year begins, many people try to take some time to reflect on the past, and resolve that they want to do things differently. This is a season when people are probably more focused on personal change than any other time of the year. This is a great time for reevaluating lifes priorities. All of us are keenly aware of things we need to change in our lives.

We seem to have this intrinsic desire to be better people. So we commit to actions that will improve our health (lose weight, exercise more); our finances (get out of debt, start saving); our work; our education (take a class; learn a language); reduce our stress (limit my commitments; manage my time better); start new relationships, or deepen existing relationships (spouse, children, friends).

Unfortunately, a lot of times something goes wrong in this process for change. In one study of people making resolutions, 52% were confident of achieving their goals. But only 12% achieved their goals. In a 2007 study from the University of Bristol, 78% of the people who made resolutions failed to carry them out.

Future commitments that are general are almost always doomed to fail: Im going to be a better spouse. Im going to be a better Christian. Those words are so general that you just cant measure them; therefore, theyre usually not attainable!

A long time ago I was a guy who had a lot of weight to lose. The fact is, now I weigh a whole lot less than I used to. What I found was that you say, Im going to lose a pound, a pound and a half, or a couple pounds a week.

By setting a specific goal that is measurable, you will know if you succeeded in achieving your goal! Set a specific goal, and you are on your way to a New You!

Daily is a big word in the Bible. In fact, the Bible is all about days. Check out these verses, and see if you notice a theme

Take up your cross daily and follow Him. (Luke 9:23)

your strength will equal your days. Deuteronomy 33:25

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Psalm 23:6

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning Lamentations 3:22-23

We are renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16

God's strength to do life comes in 24-hour deliveries. Our problem is, if we start thinking about the next month, the next year, or the rest of our life, we cannot sustain that. When we look at weeks or months or a year of changed behavior, we'll sink.

Successful personal change comes through making one good day your goal. God will take seven good days and give you a new kind of week. Do thirty of those "new me" days, and you'll have a month.

Take these big commitments and break them down into bite-sized chunks and say, OK, I need to succeed today. For real change, focus everything on being the new you today!

You need to put yourself on the line for the changes you want to make. If you keep your goals to yourself, it's too easy to just silently give up. We all need accountability.

Two are better than one If either of them falls down, one can help the other up Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10; 12

You need to recruit the important people in your life to help you succeed.

Every day you wait to get started, the less likely it is that you will. The first day of changing is often the hardest. Start today.

Leave your failure in today. If you mess up, you might say, Oh, no! I ate two large French fries. There goes my entire plan to lose weight! Whats the use? Dont succumb to the Whats-the-use lie. Get back up again. The Bible says, Though the righteous falls seven times, they rise again (Proverbs 24:16).

Here's where "daily" comes in again. If you blow it, don't let that failure last longer than a day. Just because you had one bad day doesn't mean you have to make it two bad days, 10 bad days, or hundreds of bad days. Get right up. Dont let your failure last more than one day. Tomorrow's a brand new day. Dust yourself off and say, Hallelujah, His mercies are new again this morning!

How can we apply these principles to becoming a more intentional follower of Jesus? If your goal is to be more like Christ this year, what will it require?

Heres a doable plan for really making this year the year of our Lord. Make this the best year youve ever had in your relationship with Jesus.

Its very important that you begin your day with Jesusbefore you hear any other voice, before you open your emails, before you turn on the TV for the news, before you make a phone call, and before you do anything. I have to literally hear Jesus before any of that other stuff comes crashing in or His voice gets drowned out or I dont even take time for it. I make sure to spend time with Jesus right at the beginning of my day.

Set a specific time and place where you'll meet Jesus every day in His Word.

Prayerfully decide what book of the Bible you'll work through in the days ahead.

As you read, ask yourself two questions: What is God saying here? and What am I going to do differently because He said it?

Keep a Jesus Journal. This is perhaps the greatest specific step Ive ever taken to deepen my relationship with Jesus. I keep my journal with my Bible, and update it daily, including my response to what God says to me, and what Im going to do differently today. Tonight, I can look back and say, Did I do it or not? It is amazing what can happen when you specifically apply what you read in the Bible. Dont just read Gods Word. Let Gods Word read you by finding an application. Thats how you grow.

Keep a prayer list of things to praise Him for, things to ask Him for, and answers He's given.

Get up tomorrow morning and start the day with Jesus. Get out your Jesus Journal and write in there what He says to you in His Word and what He wants you to do. Nothing could be more strategic for becoming a new you.

You can make resolutions that change your life, and you can make resolutions that help change the lives of others. One report said that the vast majority of people only make resolutions to do things for themselves, and not to help others.

Unfortunately, what we dont recognize is that people all around us are in mortal, eternal danger. Many times we cant see it, but people around us are desperate for Jesus.

Gods Word reveals to us that every person we come in contact witheveryone we work with, every one of our neighbors, every person we go to school with, every person we recreate with or are in a club withwill spend eternity in one of two places. They can only be forgiven by the Man who died for them. No matter how religious they are, their religion cannot take away their sin. The Bible says they will be separated from God forever if they dont know Him.

Resolve to help change the eternal destination of someone around you. Commit before God the following: Im going to help someone get to know Jesus who doesnt know Him right now.

That starts when you say, Lord, give me an opportunity this week to share my personal hope story. There will be a natural opportunity come up for you to explain the difference Jesus has made in your life. I guarantee you, if you pray that, it is going to happen before the week is over.