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Life Lessons January 2025

By Doug Harrell

Mitchell CountyDoug and Barbara Harrell Mitchell County

As I am writing Life Lessons for January 2025, I am watching the snow fall a few days before Christmas.  The last two days I have had a crew here replacing the roof on our house that was severely damaged during the recent hurricane.  As this work progresses, I am thinking about a new beginning and a new year on the horizon. This past year has been one of the most blessed, and also most stressed, in my memory.  The disasters that we have experienced this past year have shaken many of us deeply, on the other hand, blessings have been so abundant from people all over the nation.

I am reminded of the old adage, your windshield is much bigger than your rearview mirror for a reason.  What is in front of you is much more important than what is behind you.  Learning to be forward and planning for the future is certainly more important than either basking in your past glories or fretting about your past screw-ups.  Another old saying rings mighty true here, the definition of stupidity is continuing to do the same thing day after day and expecting a different result.  This is certainly true of our day-to-day lives and our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

So many times we let our past mistakes and screw-ups color our minds and cloud our relationship with our Lord.  The beginning of the New Year is a great time to reflect on the past, but to also make plans for the things that we want to change in our lives.  As I alluded to earlier, if we are going to change, we must change our actions.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:18-19 KJV

We have all made New Year’s resolutions, or at least have considered making them.  We have not stuck with doing the right things long enough for change to become a reality.  We tend to go back to doing the same old things the same old way and stay in the same old rut we have been in for however long.  Do you really want to continue doing that?  Ask yourself, are you truly happy with you?  Do you have things that you wish were different about yourself?  Do you truly want a closer relationship with your Lord, with your mate, your family, and your friends?  If the answer to any of these is yes, then I suggest that you start with the relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  So many times in the Bible we see scripture referring to a new birth, a new beginning putting off the old and putting on the new.

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV

As we all look at our lives I am positive that there is not a single one of us that does not see areas that need improvement, that we don’t see things that we know deep down that God does not approve of. These things tend to cloud our relationship with the Lord. They make seeing the road ahead not as clear as we might like.  It reminds me of running into patches of dense fog on the highway, we have trouble seeing the lines on the road, I think sin in our lives obscures the road that Jesus would have us follow.  Learning and being willing to put off the old man and put on the new man is not always a simple act, it can be very trying.  Learning to accept Jesus and His righteousness is the first step in making a real change in our lives.

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:11-13 KJV

As you seek to build a better and more meaningful relationship with Jesus, understand that any relationship takes time, focus, and effort.  Going to church a couple of hours per week is never going to develop an intimate relationship with the Lord.  You must put a priority on building and strengthening the relationship.  Even Jesus put spending time with the Father at the top of important things. After He was baptized by John, He spent 40 days in the wilderness building a closer relationship that forged the pathway for His ministry.  You find scripture that shows where He arose a great time before day to go into the wilderness to pray.  Maybe we need to go into the wilderness and get to a place where we don’t fall asleep as soon as we seek to spend time with Him.  Maybe we need to inconvenience ourselves if need be to truly seek the Lord and beg for His mercy, grace, and guidance in our lives.

As you prepare for a New Year, prepare for a new beginning, take off the old man and put on the new man in Christ Jesus.  Make the commitment and the effort to commit to becoming a new forever follower of Jesus in actions as well as words.

May each of you have a blessed and happy New Year!

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Doug Harrell is a lifelong resident of Mitchell County, Owner of Harrell Hill Farms, a member of Pine Branch Baptist Church and former publisher of Blue Ridge Christian News. You can find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/doug.harrell.77

You can read more good Christian News from Doug Harrell HERE

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