Starting anew with a clean slate

By Bruce Boyer New Year’s Day is here. For many people, January 1 is when many people make resolutions about things in their lives that they know need changing. Typically, resolutions are goals for the new year and have often been tried before without sustained success. We do our best, but we are human. It is easy to retreat to our old selves at the first sign of adversity. Change is not turning over a new leaf, but turning toward a new life. Turning toward a new life is a much deeper approach than merely treating the symptoms, such as cutting out sweets or excesses in our lives. A deeper approach requires more than will power. We need God to help us with the commitment to change. The Bible tells us He can make us a new creation. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17, HCSB).  Then, when you encounter challenges and roadblocks, you can draw upon God’s strength to overcome them. The Bible tells us, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings...