La Vida Nueva

I think it is probably a gross understatement to say that I like Mexican food. That is like saying that little girls like Hannah Montana and little boys like Spiderman. I eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant at least once a week. Bueno!

But even more than I like Mexican food, I like variety. I really grow tired of the same old thing every day. If variety is indeed the spice of life, then please pepper my life with lots of jalapeno. I have a short attention span and things quickly get mundane. I think many of you are feeling my pain here. It doesn’t matter if it’s a house, a movie, music or even Mexican food; the same thing over and over gets boring in a hurry.

Yet so many people resist change with every fiber of their being. Their routine is the same day after day. They get up at the same time every day, take a shower the same way, with the same soap, drive the same way to work, see the same people, eat the same food, and return to the same house to rest and begin the same routine again the next day. Routines eventually become ruts.

God is a God of consistency, He doesn’t change, but God is NOT a God of ruts. In fact He speaks often of newness.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. – Psalm 40:3

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:18-19

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! – 2 Corinthians 5:17

With that in mind let me suggest some “new” things you can do in 2008 to reinvigorate your spiritual life – pour some new wine into some new wineskins, as Jesus would say.

1. Use a different translation for your Bible reading this year. Buy a new Bible in a new translation ans use that for your Bible readings and at church.
   
   
2. Sit in a different place in church. In fact, sit in a different place each week. You will really mess with what’s left of your preacher’s mind, and you will be surprised at the new perspectives you get of the worship service.
   
   
3. Visit a different church, preferably one of a different denomination than yours. See how other people do things.
   
   
4. Memorize a Bible verse each week. With a cadre of Bible verses in your head, you will be equipped to fill the mental voids – waiting in line, stuck in traffic, on hold on the telephone – with powerful meditation material.
   

Whatever you do, don’t do the same things you did last year, even if they worked. Give God a chance to do something new in your life in 2008.