A New Year: "A New Heart And New Spirit" by Dr. Hazel A. Claiborn

 A NEW YEAR: “A NEW HEART AND NEW SPIRIT” 

WRITTEN BY:  DR. HAZEL A. CLAIBORN

 

IF YOU ARE READY TO TAKE GREAT STEPS INTO THIS NEW YEAR, LETS FIRST ASK GOD TO SEARCH OUR HEARTS AND REMOVE ANY IDOLS THAT WE MAY HAVE.  I KNOW “IDOLS” IS A SCARY WORD BUT THEY EXIST SOMETIMES IN OUR HEARTS, IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS, & IN OUR DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES THAT CONSUME US!  

THAT’S WHY ITS CRUCIAL THAT WE ASK AND ALLOW GOD TO “SEARCH OUR HEARTS” AND TO REMOVE ANYTHING OR ANY PERSON THAT IS DISTRACTING US FROM THE PURPOSE THAT GOD HAS CALLED US.

I AM CONFIDENT THAT YOU WANT TO LIVE A GENUINE GOD-HONORING LIFE, WHICH MEANS SAYING “GOODBYE” TO HARMFUL WAYS, THOUGHTS, DESIRES, PASSIONS, OR ANYTHING THAT COMPETES WITH GOD AND ANYTHING THAT ABSORBS YOUR HEART AND IMAGINATION MORE THAN GOD! -THESE TYPES OF THINGS ARE BASICALLY “IDOLS”.  

SOME IDOLS ARE NOT EASY TO SEE IN OUR LIVES BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY SEEM GOOD-

1.  FRIENSHIPS/ RELATIONSHIPS- YOU WOULD RATHER SPEND TIME WITH THESE PEOPLE THAN SPEND TIME WITH GOD.

2.  SCHOOL/EDUCATION- YOU MAINTAIN ALL A’S AND NEVER MISS A DAY OF SCHOOL BUT YOU ARE ABSENT FROM THE SANCTUARY AND WILL NOT PICK UP YOUR BIBLE TO STUDY!

 3.  SOCIAL MEDIA- MORE FOCUSED ON WHO’S FOLLOWING YOU, THAT YOU HAVE STOPPED FOLLOWING GOD. 

4.  ACCEPTANCE- YOU ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FAITH FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS

OUR HEARTS CAN DECEIVE US THAT WE ARE OKAY, WHEN WE ARE NOT.  

OUR SINFUL NATURE AND OUR HEARTS ARE NOT EASILY SHAKEN, JEREMIAH STATES THAT OUR HEARTS ARE DESPERATEDLY WICKED.  WE SHOULD PRAY DAILY PSALMS 51:10 ASK GOD TO CREATE IN YOU A CLEAN HEART AND RENEW A RIGHT SPIRIT WITHIN YOU!

WE CAN CHANGE OUR MINDSET AND OUR OUTLOOK ON LIFE BUT OUR HEARTS ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE WITHOUT GOD! GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS, AND ONLY WHEN WE ALLOW GOD TO SEARCH AND CLEAN OUR HEARTS, THEN HE WILL ALIGN OUR HEARTS WITH HIM, THEN WE WILL BEGIN TO SEE THE SPIRITUAL GROWTH WE DESIRE.

I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR THIS NEW YEAR, IF YOUR HEART IS NOT IN THE RIGHT PLACE RIGHT NOW, IT CAN GET THERE! GOD PROMISED IN EZEKIEL 36:26 “AND I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU. I WILL TAKE OUT YOUR STONY, STUBBORN HEART AND GIVE YOU A TENDER, RESPONSIVE HEART”- IN JESUS NAME. AMEN