A Spiritual Reboot
Study Guide, January 4, 2026
Pastor Clay Olsen
So, how about this? The New Year is a great time for a Spiritual Reboot! Amen to that?!
Right, a ‘Reboot’ is good for many things. Usually, we think of reboots for our computers and phones. A weekly reboot for both has lots of benefits. It clears out your RAM…your what? RAM stands for: Random Access Memory. It’s kind of like your computer’s ‘short term memory.’ A ‘reboot’ clears out unused data and unnecessary information and such that just gets in the way of accessing what you’re after. Rebooting also fixes bugs and glitches and resets connections, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It also improves the machine’s speed, and even helps with your security, plus it extends your battery life. So, yes, it’s a great idea to reboot your computer and your phone about once a week.
But also, as we stated, rebooting our spiritual connections and commitments each New Year has all kinds of great benefits, too. So, let’s explore some of them.
The Apostle John pointed out one of the greatest blessings we have in our relationship with Christ. Notice: “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” 1 Jn. 1:1-4 NASB
For the follower of Christ, the New Year calls out for renewed fellowship with God. Remember James told us that when we draw near to God, He draws near to us! (James 4:8) Even to realize that God wants a growing and deepening fellowship with us is almost beyond our understanding…but, Praise God, it’s not beyond our experience. In our saved relationship with God, our Lord wants us to experience things like – our Assurance of our Salvation. That’s something that John centered his message upon…remember? 1Jn. 5:11-13 – “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” NASB Assurance of our salvation is one of our ‘birthrights.’ And the reason that we can be sure is, as in the words of the song The Solid Rock…because our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!
When you ask Jesus to come into your life and be your Lord and Savior, He enters your spirit and brings His gift of forgiveness to forgive your sins and His gift of His righteousness to credit you with right standing before God. And in one of the greatest verses on Eternal Security in the Bible, the Apostle Paul declares: “…For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Rom. 11:29 NASB Based upon God’s own character and promise, He cannot take back the gift of salvation once He has given it to you. And He has promised to give His gift to each one who comes to Him and asks for His salvation. Amazing Grace for sure! And so, it’s out of our Salvation that we then work and serve and obey and…and, yes, ‘Fellowship’ with our Savior and our God.
And this ‘fellowship’ with Jesus is meant to be refreshing for us, not depressing to us. Sometimes we have glitches in our own RAM…our ‘random access memory’, where we dwell on past failings and flaws, and then instead of ‘refreshing’ it becomes ‘depressing’. Again, one of the pitfalls of our nature is that we tend to know ourselves too well and our God too little! Do not forget, God delights in showing us mercy. His lovingkindness and mercies are new each morning. God knows all about us, yet He loves us just the same.
Sure, we cannot undo the past, but we can do the present better. We can let go of the past and then do the present better. Neither are we prisoners of our past, but for all who have come to Christ, we have been freed from our past and we have liberty in our present and in our future. So, since we all tend to dwell on things…dwell on the good from your past…dwell on the wheat from your past and then sift out the bad from your past like you would chaff from the wheat. Let the winds of God’s forgiveness blow away that ‘lingering guilt’ from your mind and life. Like a reboot of your RAM, choose to dwell on what God says about you now, not what you or others say or have said about you. Rededicate yourself to drawing nearer to your Savior than you ever have before and you will find your Savior drawing nearer to you than you have ever experienced before.
Of course, part of having fellowship with Jesus is declaring your allegiance to Jesus. Sometime ago we suggested a daily pledge of allegiance that went like this: “Dear Lord Jesus, I pledge allegiance to You and to Your coming Kingdom. I surrender my mind to Your Word, my emotions to Your direction, and my will to Your control. For there is one Lord, one Savior, one Body of Christ, and one New Birth which all must receive in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. May others see something of You through me today.”
And as you pledge your daily allegiance to Jesus, it’s like rebooting and resetting your focus and your mindset on both your fellowship with Jesus, and also on your freedom in Jesus. For it’s only as you experience Jesus’ freedom in your life that you experience Jesus’ refreshing in your spirit. Remember John called that ‘a joy that is made complete.’ It’s not something that we can work up by ourselves, or self-manifest. No, it’s a joy that Jesus works out in our heart and mind as we seek something else first. And you know what’s coming now, right?
And we just have to go the King James on this one because it sounds so good! “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Mt. 6:33 KJV That’s so good! So, ‘all ye’, ‘seek ye’ first the kingdom of God! Can you imagine how your 2026 would go if you were to reboot your spirit in such a way that the daily settings in your mind would default to “I will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…today and ever after!” And remember what came next…as for the rest of the things…everything else will fall into its place after that! At least it will all be in its proper place, since none of it will be first place, because Jesus alone is to have first place in every place in our life.’
Consider that not just as a challenge, but as an invitation…an invitation to reorder your life around God and God’s priorities for your life. Consider it as an opportunity to return to first things first…placing Christ at the center of your time, and your talents, and your treasures. Consider it as a doable way to take power steps into becoming the person God created you to be. And that, too, is never too late…when you do it today! To spiritually reboot your life is to let Christ reclaim first place in your life. And in answer to the question of what place Christ came to have in everything in our life the Apostle Paul put it this way: “He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.” Col 1:18 NASB
So, are you ready to set a great goal for 2026? Here ya’ go: “My goal for 2026 is for Jesus to have first place in everything in my life.” Interestingly enough, that’s not only a great goal…it’s actually just called ‘Discipleship.’ 2 Cor. 5:14-15 – “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Remember…the key to a living a successful life is not to determine ‘how’ you are going to live, but to determine ‘Who’ you are going to live your life for. First, determine to live for Christ, and then Christ will direct you on ‘how’ to live. And when you think about it…how can we do any less for our God who gave His all for us?
Plus, remember how rebooting your computer can result in renewed power in its computations? As you reboot your spirit by resetting your spiritual priorities God will renew your power for carrying out the computations of your life…as in power for your communications, power in your connections, and power with your commitments and so on…That’s why the Apostle Paul could say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) And the ‘all things’ are all the things that are involved in seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. What an encouragement to know that whatever God commands us to do He also enables us to do. As we consecrate our lives for God’s purposes God then empowers us to do just that. It’s just that simple, but it’s also just that profound!
How many have seen the many anchors that are placed all around Harkers Island? Right, it’s a great tradition they have out there…placing ‘Anchors’ around the community. And a great thing about an ‘Anchor’ is all the symbolism that it holds…like stability and strength and even peace and hope in the midst of storms. Mike Casile was talking about that last week and that’s what gave me the idea for including the ‘Anchor’ in this study. Thanks Mike!
The Bible uses the ‘Anchor’ to help us understand the hope we have as the anchor of our soul. Notice Heb. 6:17-20 – “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
But then, notice this: Instead of an anchor that reaches down into the sea, the Christian’s anchor reaches up into heaven where Jesus continually intercedes for us (Hebrews 6:20; Romans 8:34). We are anchored to the Holy of Holies.
And according to Hebrews 6:19, the anchor of our souls is our hope of God’s inheritance for us in Christ. So unlike the feelings-based, doubt-infused definition of hope that is common in our world, the Christian’s hope, our hope, is ‘a strong and trustworthy anchor.’ Our hope is solid and secure because it is based on Jesus and the promises of God. Our hope anchors us during the stormy seasons of life. We have been given an anchor for the soul, a lasting hope “both sure and unshakable.” All else is fleeting and changing, but Jesus remains the same. (Hebrews 13:8)1
So we have a New Year of 2026, but we still live in this Old World. And it’s a trouble filled, storm filled world. But again, when the storms of life flood the Christian with fear, worry, or doubt, we can hold onto God’s promises and find stability in our salvation in Christ and our eternal relationship with Him. No matter what happens, God’s promises hold fast…and therefore, so does our ‘hope.’
And although hope doesn’t eliminate all bad things, hope puts all bad things in their place. Hope assures us of better things. Hope assures us that in bad things, this, too, shall pass. Hope declares that the best is always yet to come! Therefore, God’s children don’t have to drift around on the seas of distortions and falsehoods and lies. God wants us to enjoy the peace of being fixed in a secure place. Just as an anchor grounds a ship to protect it from going adrift at sea, so also does our hope in Jesus keep us grounded and secure during the difficult, uncertain, and often painful storms of life.
And with your hope securely fastened to the promises of God’s Word, then rebooting your spirit will also help you redirect your mind. “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Col. 3:1-4 NASB
How about that? We are to regularly check the ‘Settings’ of our mental computer. Make sure that setting that says “Set your mind on the things above’ is turned to ‘ON’. Somehow that setting gets turned ‘Off’ because of all the demands and activities and other things going on in our lives. So we have to guard that particular ‘setting’ in our minds or the ‘temporal’ will crowd out the ‘eternal’ in our attention and our plans. Determine to live in this temporal world with an eternal perspective. Make sure that the things that will last forever are the things you value most. For what truly matters most is what will last beyond calendars and clocks…like your worship of God and your service for others and your prayers for people in need and your witness of the Gospel to others and your growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ and His truths. That’s how you can ‘sync’ your world to God’s world…by valuing most that which has everlasting value!
So here we go…2026…what a great time for ‘A Spiritual Reboot!’
- Gotquestions.org, What does it mean that we have this Anchor for the soul?