It is time again to start the new year with optimism, hope and resolutions. Some of us do not want to make promises because we ourselves abandon them. It is time to be serious with our commitments, with the help of God we can keep our promises.

This New Year let me offer some suggestions of a way to significantly change our life.

My first suggestion is taken from Romans 6:2, “…do not let sin control the way you live, do not give in to lustful desires … “. We are no longer slaves to sin.

Commit to turn your back on your transgressions. We were once slaves to sin but now we are set free, so live a life free from sin. Jesus broke the power of sin, the Holy Spirit can give us the power to resist sin. We don’t have to go into the new year with the same old sin.

The slaves after the American civil war had been set free, but many decided to stay with their former master to continue to do what they were told. They were set free but they chose to live as slaves. Some of us are still living a slave mentality when in fact we are no longer slaves by virtue of Christ death on the cross for our sins.

My second suggestion is taken from Philippians 3:13,14 “ …forgetting the things that are behind… press on toward the goal …”

Commit to forget your Past Failures. God is telling us not to live our life imprisoned by our past. The past is gone and the new has come. All of us have failed in some way in our lives over the last year. Many failures are painful memories of failed relationship, wrong decisions, what was said and did. God says that we must not allow ourselves to be bogged down by our past failures, we should not dwell on our past so that it stops us moving forward into the future that God has for us.

Lastly, my third suggestion is taken from Colossians 3:13-“Bear with each other and forgive each other, whatever grievances you may have against one another forgive as Christ forgave you.”

God says commit yourself to give up your grudge. What is a grudge? It is a deep resentment that we nurture in our heart against someone. A grudge is unforgiving spirit, unforgiving attitude, and unforgiving actions. Grudges are dangerous because it is destructive. It can destroy marriages, break up families, ruin friendships and split churches. They are not only destructive but self-destructive, too. If you keep harboring a grudge then it will eventually destroy you, physically, certainly emotional and spiritually.

Make a positive confession to yourself, “I am going to forget my past failures, to live a life free from the bondage of sin and live a forgiving life”.