Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. —Psalm 139:23-24

“Age-related muscle loss, called sarcopenia, is a natural part of aging. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3% to 5% per decade.” —Harvard Health Publishing

This time of year, we’re inundated with marketers who promise the possibility of a “new year, new

.”

We long for the possibility that next year, things could be

.

If you achieve everything on your list, will you really be any different?

No amount of

will bring lasting happiness.

do you want to be in 2024?

Instead of “new year, new you,” perhaps we should aim for “new year,

you.”

True You

Christian spiritual teachers refer to the masks we try to wear as our

self.

“Your false self is your role, title, and personal image that is largely a creation of your own mind and attachments.” —Richard Rohr

To become who God created us to be, we have to

of our false selves. (Matthew 16:25-26)

Our true self is the identity given to us by God at our

. (Psalm 139:13)

Our

work is becoming our true selves, the people God created us to be.

A New Beginning

Beginning in the 1700s, Methodists would

their covenant with God to start each new year.

John Wesley outlined

steps for covenant renewal.

1. Confide in God: We becoming

of where we are and what we need, and then offering that to God. (Psalm 139:23-24)

“Be sure you are clear in these matters; see that you don’t lie to God.” —John Wesley

2. Compose Your Spirit: We remember our

in the world and before God. (Romans 12:3)

“No one is too good to take out the trash.” —Acts 2 Staff Axiom

3. Claim the Covenant: We say

to God’s “yes” to us in Jesus.

“We trust that God is faithful enough and strong enough to carry us into the future.” —Rev. Magrey deVega

4. Choose Faithfulness: Renew your promise every

to be faithful.

5. Get to Work: We make

a keystone habit to nurture a life with God.

“Therefore there is only one problem on which all my existence, my peace and my happiness depend: to discover myself in discovering God. If I find Him I will find myself and if I find my true self I will find Him.” —Thomas Merton

Action Steps

Set aside time to reflect on the ways you pursue your false self.

Renew your covenant with God by praying the Wesley Covenant Prayer each day this week.

I am no longer my own by yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you,
exalted for you or brought low for you.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

“My additional notes:

”.