Humans don't like big menus.

Scientifically, humans are happier when they have shorter menus. Long menus present something called "opportunity paralysis," which agonizes us. "So many choices...what if I make the wrong one."

The old covenant was a system of rules and regulations, written in stone for all to see, in which you had to keep the letter of the law. On the other hand, there was no need to make decisions, as everything was pre-determined. The new covenant is a relationship, in which you need to keep the spirit. We are not bound by context-less precept (rules), but rather principles and action of freedom. Too often we seek to infer new rules, so that we do not have to suffer opportunity paralysis.

Hebrews 8 declares: For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares YHWH: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [ie. RELATIONSHIP] 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ [NOT RULES] for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. [BUT RELATIONSHIP]

But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God. [SPIRIT, NOT LETTER OF THE LAW] (Rom 2)

"But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that in which we were held; so that we serve in newness of the spirit, and not in oldness of the letter." [SPIRIT, NOT LETTER OF THE LAW] (Rom 7:6)

Have you seen people trying to infer the letter of the law where it no longer exists? I've been one of those people. Bondage is easy, but as we grow stronger, freedom enables us to become overwhelming conquerors.

Beating yourself up—that's not like our God!

Ever heard the saying, "Don't beat yourself up over it?" Moving past your past is incredibly important, but people often express to me how hard it is for them to do it. "God can't forgive me for what I've done," is a common sentiment, but consider who our God is.

Our God is the God who forgives "wickedness, rebellion, and sin." (Exodus 34:7). He is God and not man; one who "delights to show mercy" (Micah 7.18). Our God is the Father who runs to the rebellious son and welcomes him back with a feast, music, and dancing. (Luke 15)

Our God is the God of mercy, and He desires that we show mercy to ourselves. "For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:13)

Knocked on your butt? Get back up.

My favorite business professor once said, "The reason I'm successful is because I got back up when I got knocked on my butt." As Christians, we can't let a failure haunt us—it should not define us, but rather inform us of areas we need to work on.

Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times while Jesus was being crucified. Jesus had predicted it, and Peter had denied it, yet when the rooster crowed , Peter realized what he had done and wept bitterly. The ANGUISH of failure is intense!  But it CAN'T haunt us an ruin us. 

In Acts 2, we see Peter giving the first sermon after Jesus’s ascension into heaven–to a crowd of thousands of people when he had previously denied Jesus in front of just a few days earlier. Christians mustn't become discouraged when they fail. They shouldn't wallow in self-pity and give up due to the mishap. Instead, they should pick themselves back up and continue on. As leaders in Christ, for Christ, we will do better next time. 

Organ donation.

Organ donation is an amazing thing, but recipients of organs often need to be in fairly good shape to get them.  Amazingly, God found us in terrible shape but still gave us an organ donation. He says, 

"I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Eze 36:25-26)

We've been given a new heart and a fresh start. If we go back to the same things and lifestyle that made us sick, instead of working to grow stronger, we can risk wasting that new heart. Let's recognize how precious this new heart is and grow stronger every day, taking care of this gracious gift we've been given. 

Breaking Bad. (Habits, that is.)

I once dated a girl who was a lot like I was: neither of us wanted to break some of our bad habits. Have you ever thought of that? "Breaking bad habits." Often the terms we use really carry a lot of meaning. "Fooling around." Yep, it's foolish. "Getting wasted." Yep, it's a waste.

Unfortunately, we often tell ourselves that bad habits don't need to be broken, are too hard to break, or that we're not ready. Jesus, however, points out, "And he who falls on this stone [Jesus/the Word] will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." (Mt 21:44)

We only have two options: break the bad habits or be scattered like dust! Let's start breaking the bad habits today, and put fooling around, getting wasted, and all the junk of the flesh in the past!