Another year has passed us by and the new year is here! It’s a new year and time for new and exciting things. These 7 verses will help you kick off the new year in a powerful way.
Every year millions of people watch the ball drop in times square with excitement and anticipation. The new year can be an opportunity for new beginnings or maybe even renewal.
We often hear everyone we know talking about their resolutions for the new year. Though many start the new year with exciting goals in mind, very few are still on track by the end of the first month.
So what does it take to really do something new? Something unexpected? Some spectacular and awesome?
If we want to really see true newness and change in our lives this year, it takes starting with the only one who can make something out of absolutely nothing. The one who is making all things new. And that is Jesus Christ.
These 7 verses will help you enter into the new year with a new focus and commitment to a powerful abundant life in Jesus Christ!
7 Awesome Bible Verses for the New Year
1. Live in Christ – 2 Corinthians 5: 17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
I absolutely love this piece scripture. Every time I see it I am just filled with an overwhelming excitement and joy. So often life weighs us down and we forget that we are no longer enslaved to the world. The old is gone the new is here!
I chose this scripture to be first because this is where newness begins, with being in Christ. It is through him that we can begin a new fruitful and abundant life.
It’s important that we remember this coming into the new year, no matter what resolutions we have to change our habits or physical activity, all goodness, joy, contentment, and completeness flows from one source, the true spring of living water, Jesus Christ.
2. Praise God – 1 Peter 1:3
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
This new year as we embark on true life change, we should get ourselves into a truly humble position and start off the year with a spirit of praise.
Too often we are so quick to try to throw out the past and move onto the new year with the hope that this year will be better. The problem with this mindset is we often focus too much on the failures and not enough on the victories.
It is important that we start the new year by praising God for all the amazing victories he has delivered us in 2017. If you’re having a hard time coming up with said victories, a good place to start is by praising him for the ultimate victory that you have received in Christ.
One of the greatest things you can do in faith is praise God not only for the victories we have received in Jesus name but also for all the victories we are about to receive and will receive in the future.
With this mindset, we can really dive into 2018 excited and ready to glorify God to the fullest in this new year.
3. Be New – Ephesians 4:22-24
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
The first scripture we looked at encouraged us to realize that we truly are a new creation. This one encourages us to not only realize that we are new but to keep ourselves from slipping back into the old.
We all live in a fallen world, until the end when Jesus comes and makes all things new. For now, we have to live in Him and not conform to our old lives. This can be difficult to do when we are told to live in a way that contradicts the way everyone around us is living.
This scripture tells us that it’s not enough to just say we are done with our old lives but we need to put them off and put on the new life. Life is about action, not words. It’s not enough to tell yourself you’re done with the old but you have to take action and be done with it.
For some of us, this means removing ourselves, even if its only for a short time, from situations that encourage us to put on our old selves. It may be hard to remove ourselves from these situations altogether. But if we are determined to see real life change it sometimes takes drastic measures… if your right-hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away.
The new is here it’s time to step into this newness and be transformed into the beautiful creation you were intended to be.
4. Give Control To God – Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Above all coming into the new year, we need to let go and give it all up to God. He is the only one who knows all things and what is best for us.
It can be hard in some situations to really let go of control. But this is one of the most crucial aspects of our relationship with Jesus Christ.
Not only does he know the plans he has for us and not only are those plans good, but scripture says the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
The least God can do is greater than the most we can do! We need to keep this in mind this year because it’s easy for us to start gaining momentum when we are living in Christ and just as quickly start to think that we deserve any of the credit.
This takes us back to remember to give God the glory. Above all this reminds us who is really sitting on the throne and who deserves all of the credit.
God knows all things and he is for you, this year show him you believe that by letting go and laying all you have at his feet.
5. Live For The Moment – James 4:13-15
“Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”
With a new year on the rise, it’s easy to start looking ahead and planning for the future. We need to remember that no time is guaranteed to us. Every breath we take is a gift from our heavenly father and should be treated in such a way.
One of the greatest resolutions we can make coming into the new year is to be conscious of every moment and to use each moment to glorify God. For most of us when we think of glorifying God we think of religious things. But we can glorify God through everything we do when we intentionally do it with Him in mind.
If we honestly give every moment up to God and focus on glorifying him it will keep us from stumbling and lead us to produce good fruit. Let’s make this year the year where we all truly decided to be living sacrifices, surrendering our every thought, move and care to our faithful creator.
6. Allow Growth – Hebrews 12:10-11
“They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
This new year should not only be a year of glorifying God with all we do, but also a year of growth in Him.
Discipline is a necessary aspect of the growth process. The scripture above speaks of how our heavenly Father disciplines us as spiritual children, just as how earthly fathers disciplined us when we were physically children.
This year, every time we face trials of many kinds, we need to rejoice and stay focused on the outcome not the pain of the process. We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him. So as we face moments of God’s discipline this year, focus on the strength you will have when you persevere.
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because having stood the test that person will receive the crown of life the Lord has promised to those who love him.
This brings me to the seventh scripture for the new year. Above all this year we need to stay focused on that crown and the promise of eternal life!
7. Be Heaven Minded – Revelation 21:5
“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty, I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.”
This new year as we focus on newness in Christ Jesus, we should always have our eyes fixed on the ultimate newness. When we fix our eyes on heaven and the glories to be revealed, it helps keep us strong as we endure trials and allows us to make each moment impactful for the kingdom.
Jesus said, “ I am making everything new!” This statement is not only exciting, as we look forward to a new heaven and a new earth, but also encourages us to not hold on to any earthly thing.
We need to remember that nothing here lasts forever, everything is going away. Though this thought may bring sadness to some, it should most of all encourage us to not be pulled into the desires of the world.
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. Victory is ours through Jesus Christ. Through his blood on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we are set free from the corruption of the world and are children of God.
This year let us focus on being His children and fix our eyes on the inheritance he has prepared for us. What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him!
With 2017 in the rearview it’s time for us to lay it to rest, not forgetting the pain but growing from it and praising God for every moment. As we move into the new year it’s time to allow God to breathe new life into dead places and give us a renewed steadfast spirit.
This year will be the year where we see real life change, not only in ourselves but in the people around us because this will be the year we decide to give it all up to the only one who is making all things new, Jesus Christ!
Also, check out our church’s most recent sermon below! For more sermons check out our church website: weareredefined.com!
Comments 4
Thank you for sharing this Beautiful appt my friend just shared it with us. We are always looking for encouragement to connect us to the Lord.
Thank You for posting; Always on the lookout for Excellent Biblical Direction,
Thank you for sharing these powerful scripture verses. Just what I needed for the New Year. Blessings.
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement and strength, May the almighty bless us all as we enter in year 2023 with Grace.God Bless