Feeling Broke and Broken? Christ Can Reset You.

Speaker A00:00:00

When you think about a new year, what do you feel first? The pressure to change, the weight of those goals, the hope that this year might finally be different. Yes, goals matter. Habits matter.Planning matters. But, friend, the most important reset of all is the one Jesus gives. My. Hey, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where we learn to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission is simple.To help you break that cycle of financial shame, build steady habits rooted in faith, and become the kind of believer who handles money with clarity, with confidence, and with spiritual purpose. Yesterday we talked about creating vision, seeing the future God may be calling you toward. But today isn't about goals. Today is about grace.Because a fresh year is wonderful, but a fresh life in Christ is transformational. A listener wrote me recently and said this, Ralph, I want to start fresh this year, but I've made so many financial mistakes.Can Christ really give me a clean slate? I want to answer that quickly. Yes, he can. And maybe you've whispered a version of that, too, in your own mind.You want to reset, but part of you worries your past disqualifies your future. Yes, Maybe you've overspent. Maybe you've ignored those problems. Maybe you've made decisions you're not proud of. Hey, guess what? I have, too.And maybe deep down, you quietly fear that you can't change no matter what happens. Friend, listen to me. You are not your past, you are not your mistakes, and Christ is not done with you.Research shows that people who believe change is possible are far more likely to build new habits and break old patterns. And faith, real living faith is one of the strongest forces that fuels that hope, that fuels that direction. And. And honestly, it fuels that renewal.And science confirms what Scripture has told us for thousands of years. Hope does change outcomes.And for decades, as an accountant, as a coach, as a fellow follower of Christ, I've seen this one truth over and over again.When someone truly believes they are forgiven and they truly believe they can start again, their financial life begins to heal faster and deeper than they could have ever imagined. Because the issue isn't just money. It's the heart. And Christ heals the heart.A woman in our community, and I'll call her Denise, once told me she felt disqualified from financial peace because of her past. She said this to me. It was heartbreaking. She said, ralph, I've messed up too many times. I don't even deserve a reset.But then one Sunday morning, she was reading Scripture, and she Felt God whispered, you are new. Just so quiet. He said, you are new. And she grabbed ahold of that. She wrote it down, she prayed about it.But more than all those things, she believed it. And she told me later, she said, ralph, once I accepted I was new in Christ, I finally had the courage to rebuild my life.Not because her income changed, but because her identity changed. So let me ask you, what if you believe that Christ really has made you new, what would that change? Would it change the way you see your finances?Would it change the way you see your future? Hey. Would it change the way you see yourself? So let me reaffirm this right now. In Christ, you are truly new. Not partially new. Not cosmetically new.Not on the outside. Try and harder next time. New. Completely new. Completely new spiritually, Completely new emotionally. And yes, completely new financially.Your past has no authority over your future. Those old habits don't define you. That shame does not sentence you. Those mistakes that you've made do not imprison you.Christ has already written a new beginning over your life. And when you have that faith, it empowers financial freedom. See, financial peace isn't just math. It's a mindset.And when you believe, and you truly believe that you are forgiven, when you believe you're loved, when you believe you're restored, and when you believe you're guided, you make different decisions, you make wiser decisions, you make spirit led decisions. And faith is the foundation of long term financial health. But a lot of people don't get this, and I want to end with this.Renewal happens one step at a time. You don't need to fix everything today. You don't need to hurry, you don't need to overwhelm yourself. You're welcome with Christ.He's patient, he's gentle. He's leading you forward, step by step. Listen to this truth in Second Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17.Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. We can take heart in that because that includes your heart.It includes your identity, it includes your habits, it includes your future. And yes, it includes your finances too. The old is gone, the new is here. Just let that truth settle deep in your spirit today, Lord.Thank you for making us new in Christ. Thank you for grace that covers our past and hope that fills our future. And today we just surrender our finances, Lord.We surrender our goals and we surrender our entire lives into your hands. Help us walk in freedom this year. Help us trust your renewal and help us rest in your love and we ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Here's today's step.I want you to pray over your finances and surrender 2026 to Christ. Just ask him to guide your steps, to renew your heart and to lead you into a freedom that he promises each of us.And I love what a member of our community wrote me recently, said Ralph. What surprised me most is how much the group helps me spiritually and emotionally, not just financially.It's the first place where I feel safe talking about money without feeling judged. Friend, you don't have to walk this alone either. Come join us. It's free, it's warm and it's welcoming.Go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com join that's financiallyconfidentchristian.com Join because we walk this journey together. Remember this friend, your story is not defined by last year or last month or even yesterday. Christ has made you new, so walk in that truth.Rest in that grace and trust that God is building something beautiful in you. Go out there today and be a financially confident Christian. You can do this. Christ has renewed you. Stay financially savvy and God bless you.You have a great day today.