A New Year, So What? | AS BOLD AS LIONS DEVOTIONAL | January 2, 2023

A New Year, So What? | AS BOLD AS LIONS DEVOTIONAL | January 2, 2023

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

As a new calendar begins, there can be a lot of pressure to do something different with our lives. Make resolutions. Make improvements. Lose weight. Cut out bad habits. Replace negative or harmful routines with good ones. Do, do, do. Sometimes all of this pressure feels emotionally driven and out of a place of being self-focused, rather than God-focused. The culture can push a “be the best version of you” mantra which may sound good in theory. But what’s the definition of good, especially when it is apart from Christ?

I’m not against resolutions and trying to better ourselves. And a new year is a perfect time to take an inventory and evaluate our lives. But one thing we must always come back to is this: what am I put on this Earth to do? What is it that Christ has for me? Paul makes it clear in Ephesians: we are created in Christ for good works; we are to walk in them. Those good works are exemplified and displayed through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus on display in the Gospels is the life we are to emulate. So what if it’s a new year? Well, it’s only important if we are making Christ the focus of these next 12 months.

Question for today: What are the things I tend to focus on around the new year that pale in comparison to what Christ is asking of me?

Pray: Lord we put a lot of emphasis on making ourselves better just because the culture says we should. But our standard is You Jesus and we ask that you would help us reflect You more each day.

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