Finish it!

Have you watched any of the 'Karate Kid' movies.  If not, the gist is Daniel, the underdog, learns Karate and goes to compete against the bully on the block, who is being trained by the nastiest instructor around (Johny K) whose motto is 'No Mercy'.   Mr Miyagi, Daniel's unassuming teacher, shows Daniel a move against which there is no defence, and despite his opponents underhand tactics, Daniel goes on to win the competition, and the respect of his opponent. 

In one scene, Johny K comes up against Mr Miyagi and picks a fight with him.  Despite being smaller and a lot older, Miyagi bests Johny K. At the end of the fight, has him in a precarious hold, where it looks like he's going to finish him with a swipe of his hand.  However... right at the end it goes like this...






With a tweak of the nose!

What has all this got to do with my blog for New Years Eve?  Well, how we finish something is how we start the next thing.  

If you are leaving 2022 with a bitter heart for example, you will start 2023 on a losing foot.  If you are filled with anger at what 2022 has brought you, you will take that into the next year. If you feel a failure, what you believe will impact your success in 2023. If you are carrying unforgiveness, it will eat away at your and corrupt your next year. 

While new year is not the only time we can do this, it's a great opportunity to let go of the old, and restart with a clean slate. Let go of the anger, the bitterness, or anything that will hold you back in 2023.  It's not too late, and tonight is a great day to begin again. 

Step 1:  Repent..  That means change direction.  Don't do what you were doing. Let go of the stuff you have kept in your heart that shouldn't be there.  Ask God to help you. 

Step 2: Ask the Holy Spirit to replace those things with his love, his peace and joy.

Step 3: Remember that tomorrow is a new day.  God's mercies are new every morning, and it is full of his promises.  Focus on God's word, his love and goodness.  Forget what is past and look towards the future - in Christ it's going to be a good year!

Wishing you all the best for 2023, and praying that the peace of God will encompass you and your household.

Happy New Year.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teabags and Popcorn!

Image
So, I was eating popcorn yesterday and drinking a fruit tea and I started wondering what makes a popcorn pop! (As you do). With a little help from Google, I found out that inside the kernel, the hard shell, there is a little bit of moisture and when it heats up inside, it turns to steam and as you keep heating it up, the pressure from the steam builds and builds until it cracks open the hard exterior and makes a yummy snack. And then I thought about my teabag (I do promise there will be a spiritual application to this, not just information on my food and drink habits).  The label had come off the teabag, so I didn't know exactly what flavour it was, until I poured on the boiling water and tasted it! As promised... the spiritual bit!  We are like teabags and popcorn!  This is a deep spiritual truth!  Really it is!  Read on and I'll explain why! Firstly we are like popcorn because when heated up, whatever we stir up inside us will burst out.  We're also like teabags too.  We
Read more

Take it!

Image
This week I have been thinking about the 10 spies that they sent out to view the promised land.  You probably don't remember the names of 8 of them!   The other two were of course Joshua and Caleb.    In the book of Numbers we see that Moses sent out these 10 men off to spy out the land that God had promised them.  They were to check it out and see what kind of place it was, what kind of people lived there and bring back some produce from the land. Well, if you know the story they brought back some figs, pomegranates and a bunch of grapes so big it had to be carried between two men!   It was a good land (no surprise there, seeing as God had told them it was good).  But when they got back 8 of the spies told the people "Well, it's a good land, but the people that live there included giants and all sorts of people that are really strong' I can imagine that all Israel gasped in horror or shock. Each person murmuring to his neighbour about how awful the situation was. In t
Read more

Looking back

Image
This week I was listening to a message and I was reading the verse in Luke 17:32 which simply says " Remember Lot's wife ."   This is a really interesting statement. When Jesus tells us to consider something or remember something we should pay attention. So what do we know about Lot's wife?  Not a lot really.  But what we do know is that an angel of the Lord took her by the hand to lead her out of the city before God destroyed it.  She was told to run for her life and not look back.  According to Genesis 19, she ran but she turned and look back and as a result, turned to a pillar of salt.  This short verse really spoke to me for a number of reasons.    The Apostle Paul tells us " I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. "  (Phil 3:13 TPT) Since 2020, it's like we have a new category in history BC now stands for BEFORE COVID! People a
Read more