“But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit,” Romans 7:6 (NLT).

Some dread moving from one home to another far away. We moved every three or four years when Keith was in the Air Force. Packing up belongings and searching for houses in regions and different countries that we weren’t familiar with became adventures. We adapted to different lifestyles and cultures. In the process, our ways of thinking and living changed.

Leaving the old life to live a new life became the standard. Change in almost everything.

Do you like change?

We moved to a 700-year-old town, Dardago, Italy. Straddling the modern in the workplace and the ancient in the culture and way of life, we lived a new way.

When we become Christians, we leave the old life and are born into a new life, John 3:7, life eternal. This is eternal life, that we know God and His Son, Jesus, John 17:3.

With new life, comes a new way of living. The Holy Spirit lives within each person who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, God’s righteousness, and the coming judgment, John 16:8. In the Christian, the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, teaches, guides, comforts, helps, and much more.

As we present our bodies as living sacrifices, allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our minds and our thinking, we live more completely in the new way of living in the Spirit.

As we leave 2020, we have an opportunity to begin anew in 2021. We can choose to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us, so that we are living more completely in the way of the Spirit.

With the beginning of a new year, many people create resolutions to improve themselves. They resolve to lose weight, eat better, and much more.

I plan to embrace gratitude in all circumstances in a more intentional way. I’m not physically moving, but I’m discarding the disappointments of 2020 and packing up boxes and boxes of thanksgiving, rejoicing, and gratitude to take with me into 2021.

Father of Lights, You are the Light that shines in the darkness. Thank You for the new way of living in the Spirit. Empower us to embrace this new life quickly. We want to honor You in this way of life. Bless these dear readers, and fill them to overflowing with gratitude and rejoicing. Amen.

Tell us how you will embrace 2021 in a new way.

Want smiles in 2021? Sign-up for The Promise Walk Newsletter, and you’ll get a link to a 7-day devotion, “The Gratitude-Powered Walk.”

Happy New Year!