New Year: New Beginning

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January 1 brings so much hope to a lot of people. We are filled anticipations for a new set of 365 days which we envision to be filled with better memories than the previous year we’ve had. We fill our heads with resolutions which we have enlisted to make ourselves better for the year. No matter how hard we try to restructure our hearts, apart from God and without the working of the Holy Spirit, our hearts will still be the same. Truth be told, the heart of our problem is the problem of the heart!

The Spirit does a work in the hearts of people. The Spirit was sent to “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-11). The Holy Spirit is a gift given to those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 14:16) and is given at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 3:2). The Holy Spirit indwells believers permanently (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).

The Holy Spirit has many functions, roles and activities. The Spirit functions as fruit-producer in our lives. Galatians 5:22-23 speaks of the fruit that the Spirit produces – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. These are not works of our flesh and we are incapable of producing such fruit. It is a product of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.

The Holy Spirit regenerates and renews the believer (Titus 3:5). If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is good to have a plan of action in order to make ourselves better, but we have to remember that we cannot make it apart from Christ.

May we base our hope on the one sure foundation – Jesus. He alone can transform our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

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