The savvy, knowledgeable experts

of our American advertising industry understand the impact of key words

in generating sales.

Can you guess their favorite

word used most often in advertising campaigns? It's not sale. The

single, most powerful word used to get consumer's attention is the little

word new.

How many times have we heard

about a product being "new and improved?" That phrase

gets our attention, doesn't it? We like the sound of something new. We

feel a sense of hope that this year will bring new opportunities and new

blessings.

The beginning of a new year

is a good time to take stock of our lives and to take inventory of where

we are at this age and stage of our lives. How are we doing? What kind

of progress are we making personally, professionally, spiritually and

physically? To what do we need to give more attention? What spiritual

goals do we need to set this year?

I like the sense of freshness

that a new year brings. It's as if we've been given a gift of 365 brand

new days to use or to lose. We have been granted 8,760 hours and 525,000

minutes. They fly by one tick at a time, but they do fly. How will we

use them?

A disgruntled man stormed into

the newspaper office and said, "I want to see the guy in charge of

obituaries." The clerk pointed to a rookie reporter and said, "over

there."

The guy went over and said,

"Young man, I want you to know that my name appeared in your obituary

column, and as you can see, I'm as alive as you are. I want you to do

something about this mistake. I want you to print a retraction in tomorrow's

paper."

The young reporter looked at

him and replied, "Sir, we don't print retractions in the obituary

column, but let me tell you what I'll do. I'll put you in tomorrow's birth

column, and you can start all over."

Wouldn't it be great if we

really could start all over?

In a sense, spiritually you

can when you come to God in repentance, confess your sin (admit you blew

it) and ask forgiveness, and then accept God's forgiveness (see I John

1:9). When He forgives, it's as if you receive a clean slate, at least

from God's perspective.

What areas need work in your

life? What resolutions are you making for the new year? Most of us don't

do too well on our resolutions because we're creatures of habit and we

really don't like to change. Change takes too much energy and we just

don't want to pay the price.

I heard about two fishermen

who went fishing in Alaska. The two went out on a frozen lake, cut a hole

in the ice, sat down on a stool, baited their hooks and dropped them into

the frigid water. They did this for three days straight, putting up with

unmerciful wind chills. One fisherman pulled in fish after fish. The other

did not get even a nibble. At the end of the third day, the one turned

to the other who had been so successful and stated, "Here we are

within two feet of each other with the same size hole, using the same

equipment, and exactly the same bait. Yet, you're catching fish and I'm

not. What is the secret?

The successful fisherman said,

as he pulled a worm out of his mouth: "you have to keep the worms

warm!" Here was a man who understood a basic principle in life: to

succeed in any endeavor, you have to be willing to pay the price!

Set your resolutions, make

your plans and put your goals into place, but be sure you're really willing

to expend the energy to make positive change occur in your life. And,

The Rev. Dr. David L. Chancey

is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Ga.