Wisdom for living: Happy New You!

By Tope Banso
“Happy New Year” is the normal greeting at this season of the year. I’m glad you made it to a new year. Happy New Year! But in reality every year has the same number of days, weeks and months except a leap year.
I believe what you need to make a difference in any New Year is a New You. A year won’t be necessarily different for you from previous years unless there is a New You.
This New Year is another opportunity that God has given you. You can change your lifestyle; you can do things in ways different from the ways you did them in the past; you can avoid repeating the mistakes you made in the past; you can succeed where you failed in previous years. Your story at the end of this New Year can be positively different.
I want to share with you some of the things you must do to create a New You this New Year. If you’re not born again, I invite you to give your life to Jesus Christ by kindly saying this prayer from your heart now: “0 Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I’m a sinner and I can’t save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent and confess my sins. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour and surrender my life to him today. I invite Jesus into my heart today. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you Jesus for saving me and making me a child of God.”
I believe you’ve said this prayer from your heart, deeply meaning it. Congratulations! You’ll need to get yourself a copy of the Bible to read frequently, asking the Holy Spitir to teach and guide you as you read; join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church in your area where you’ll be taught how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree planted by the river side and grow like the cedar of Lebanon.
How to create a New You
1. Forget the past (Isaiah 43:19; Philippians 3:13-14). If you’ve sinned, genuinely repent by turning completely away from it, ask for and receive God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9-10; Proverbs 28:13; Jeremiah 31:34, Psalm 103:12).
2. Walk with God. He created you for Himself (Colossians 1:16; Romans 11:36; John 3:3; Mark 8:36; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
3. Develop your faith. The just shall live by faith – his faith (Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 14:23; Hebrews 11:6; 2 Corinthians 5:7).
4. Stop bad habits. “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NKJV).
5. Focus on your opportunities; don’t concentrate on your opposition (1 Corinthians 16:9; Ecclesiastes 11:4).
6. Rejoice always (Philippians 4:4; Nehemiah 8:10b; Habakkuk 3:17-19; Job 14:7-9).
7. Operate Bible-based financial principles. These include diligence and honesty in your area of business and expertise, tithing, giving offerings, paying your vows, being generous to others, saving, investing and wise spending (Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:8-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Ecclesiastes 11:1; Proverbs 11:24; Ecclesiastes 5:4; Deuteronomy 12:17; Hebrews 13:16; Galatians 6:7; Proverbs 11:24-25; Acts 20:35).
8. Walk in love (Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14; Matthew 5:44; Proverbs 18:19).
Conclusion: As you act on the word you’ve just read, may the New Year take you closer to the realization of God’s purpose for your life. Happy New Year! Happy New You!
This is wisdom for living, and it’s worth sharing.
(For the full version of this message and more inspiring messages, visit: www.cedarministry.org)
T. O. Banso
Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
cedarministryng@gmail.com
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