Currently, Apple is running a commercial calling the second Friday in January “quitters day”. The whole premise is that many people quit their new years’ resolutions by mid-January because they don’t have the help of the Apple Watch. By taking advantage of the watch’s technology, you will be able to “quit quitting”.
There are countless plans we begin in January. Diet plans, workout plans, reading plans and countless apps and gadgets that will help us to stay accountable. We are told that by merely repeating a behavior for 30 days will create a new habit and by doing so we can successfully change ourselves.
But how many years have we tried the new plan, the new gadget or the new idea only to find ourselves weeks or months later living life the same old way? Maybe we hung on for many months and maybe we did see some change but by the end of December we are once again setting goals and resolutions in hope of changing our behaviors and finding a better way to live.
That is the wonderful thing about the calendar turning to a new year. Billboards, commercials, email advertisements, social media and the like are all talking about fresh possibilities, change and new beginnings. The world is ready to put the old year with its failed accomplishments, tragedies, and sorrows, aside and look with anticipation towards a new year of good times.
When I was younger, I believed the advertisements and the hype of setting new years resolutions. I thrive on setting goals and checking off boxes so it worked well with my personality. Over the years, I have learned new
skills and achieved new milestones by following through on new years’ resolutions. However, those were usually ones based on physical activities that I could measure and see. Run a marathon, eat more vegetables, learn to knit.
As I am now much older, I realize that most of the time the goals that I achieved were ones that simply required willpower and tenacity. Few, if any, required me to change a core belief or value in order to achieve the desired goal. I merely needed to change my behaviors and habits.
Our lives reflect what we believe. We can not act in a way contrary to our hearts and conscience for very long. Sure, there are times that we can put on a “good show”, “go through the motions”, “grit our teeth and bear it” or simply “white knuckle through it”. However, those types of seasons are only temporary and at some point our actions will betray the true beliefs of our heart. Many in medicine and science hold the theory that behavior modification by itself can never truly work to change a person. We see a similar idea in Scripture as well. For example, this verse in Matthew that uses a metaphor to explain that our inside thoughts/beliefs will flow out in our actions.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matt 7:18-20)
Even so, it is apparent that many do believe that behavior modification will bring about change because everywhere you look culture is calling on us to change. Countless books, blog posts, phone apps and websites are geared to giving you steps and plans that will create new habits and a new you. We can also find this concept of change in Scripture. Verses like these call us to become a new person and transform our
thinking.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)
…to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in
true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:22-24)
So which is it? Either behavior modification works or it doesn’t work. At face value it seems like it can’t possibly be both. But when we actually examine our lives we see that both are actually true. How many of us started reading through the Bible last year only to stop in Leviticus or Numbers? We checked the boxes each day and did the readings but at some point the words got boring and hard to understand. Then one missed day became a week and then a month.
How come striving and repetition can sometimes lead to permanent change and other times only lead to failure? If we look to Scripture to answer that question, I believe we can easily see the answer by looking at the words of Jesus:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”(John 15:5)
So often in my life, my new years goals had more to do with earthly accomplishments and dreams. I would set the goal and then ask God to bless my efforts. Last year however was probably one of the first times I can truly remember changing that rhythm. As I set out at the beginning of 2024, I pledged that I would seek God in a deeper way than ever before. I wanted to truly study the attributes of God and get to know Him based solely on the Words of Scripture. The later half of the year, I did a study called Behold and Believe which focused on the “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John.
As John 15 continues, Jesus gives us the key to understanding how to live a life of wholeness and contentment. After all, isn’t that the purpose of setting new years resolutions? We are striving for a better version of ourselves where we feel content in who we are and how we appear to the world. But Jesus tells us a completely opposite way of achieving our true self. Unlike the world’s focus of self reliant striving and performance in order to better ourselves, Jesus teaches us that it is solely dependent on our relationship with
Him. By changing our focus and the truths that we believe about God, He will transform our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me … If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. (John 15: 4, 7-11)
One of the things I love about digging into the Bible is how we can read the same words countless times only to see new meaning or new application each time we read them. I think I had always equated the concept of abiding in Christ as something I needed to do or a mindset that I needed to achieve. Like many of my past new years’ resolutions, it was a task I should add to my to do list. However, as I worked through the study on these verses, I began to question my perspective and understanding of what it really mans to abide in Christ.
Abiding simply means to remain or to dwell. He calls me to rest in Him, find peace in Him and build my life upon Him as I follow in obedience. He promises that when I relinquish control of my life and surrender my life in obedience to Him, He will transform me into a new person (2Cor 5:17). Through the power of the Holy Spirit, not through any effort I can muster, He will create in me a new heart and I will be made new (Ezk 36:26-27). It is when I release control and stop trying to transform my own heart to love better and do better that I allow the Holy Spirit to truly take over and effect change within my heart. A heart molded by God’s love and character will naturally produce new behaviors.
When I abide in the Triune Godhead, I no longer have to worry about whether or not I have the motivation or the power to accomplish my goals. Because it is not my power or my motivation that will carry me onward toward the prize of a life full of the joy of Christ. As John 15:7 tells us, "when you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.” This verse can easily be taken out of context
but when interpreted correctly, it should fill us with great hope because it assures us that God will do all the work. It is like a child sitting on his fathers lap on a riding lawnmower. The machine and the father are doing all the work but the little child gets to enjoy the fruits of the labor. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are available for each of us to abide in. Moment by moment they will transform both our beliefs as well as our attitudes and actions.
I pray that as you begin thinking through what changes you would like to make this year that you spend some time asking God to direct your thoughts. Don’t stop with surface level goals like diet and exercise, but ask God to help you truly abide and surrender to Him each and every moment of 2025.
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