Happy New Year!

For a healthy, happy, hopeful new year…

1) Know God more! Make Him a priority in your life by reading His Word. When you fill your life with His Truth, there is little room for all the lies the world throws at you. You will always have God’s truth to counteract every wrong-thinking worldly view. Hold that truth, because in that truth, there is life! (Follow the pattern of true teachings that you heard from me in faith and love, which are in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13 NCV)

2) Be REAL! Stop the pretending. Leave that mask off, and let people know who you really are. That’s the ‘you’ that God created you to be. If He wanted you to be like everyone else, He would have made you just like them. But He made you YOU! So BE YOU! (Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 1 Timothy 4:4)

3) Love bigger! Everywhere people look, they will see negativity, anger, and judgment. You were made to be different. When people look at you and see only critical, selfish, or mean, they will want to run the other way. Show them Jesus instead, and in doing so, invite them to know the joy they can have in Him! (So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. John 13:34)

4) Keep learning, keep growing! Staying right where you are isn’t an option, so you can either go backward or move forward. You were made to grow and learn and make a positive difference in this world. So be intentional about challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone. Invite others to church, start a Bible study, be the person who is known for stopping gossip or reaching out to those who simply need a friend. Don’t let this year go by without doing something extraordinary in your faith and through it, influencing the lives of others. (What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. James 2:14,17)

You are loved!