Insight for Living

Guest (Male): Before the calendar flips over to 2026, let's hit pause. Stop our planning, stop our rushing around. Let's look back honestly at the people we've been this year. Today, on Insight for Living, we'll reflect on our thought patterns, our spending habits, our use of time.

You see, Chuck Swindoll believes most of us avoid this kind of honest self-evaluation. We'd rather make shallow resolutions about losing weight or reading more. But what if we made a few intentional choices, not vague promises, that could actually change our behavior and transform us into someone who is more like Christ?

Chuck Swindoll: As we search our hearts today, our Father, we acknowledge that there are many more things we don't know than we do. We confess we don't know the reason we have been put together as we have. We can't explain our moods, and often they are so strong they control our minds, our actions.

What we don't know what tomorrow holds. We don't know what this afternoon will include. We don't know how long we will live. We don't know how we will die. We don't know the whys of life. Why you've chosen—and all of us could finish that sentence in any number of ways.

Why was our loved one taken? Why has my life turned the course it's taken? Why have I known such blessing and favor this year? How could you be so gracious to one so undeserving? And so today, our Father, we include in our time of prayer those whose hearts are heavy, lives are lonely for whatever reason.

Some in the midst of battle, fighting terrorists. Some in places of strategy, planning the war, negotiating with nations. Some are making decisions that will make a difference in the moving of great ships at sea or large numbers of people by air to bring them to places that are dangerous, most of which we cannot even pronounce.

Places we will never be. Some serve you in lonely places, and they are in the midst of your will, but your will for them is not comfortable. It is not safe. They have children they care about whose lives may be in danger. Some are making Christ known in countries where such is not permitted, so their work must be done undercover with great wisdom, with keen strategy, careful planning.

Some hearts are heavy because they've simply begun a season and gone through it without their loved one beside them, and we all know a few we could name. We pray for those who are experiencing their last Christmas with those they love. This causes us to say thank you for our health.

We who are here, encourage those who have lost their health and cannot be here, but would love to be. In the midst of it all, our Father, you are our sovereign God. We admit, though we do not explain it, that you do all things well. What you take or what you give us shows your love so precious.

I pray that you will use this day and these words that will be spoken to bring about a turning point in lives that have been awash and adrift long enough. I pray that you will prick consciences, open minds, prepare the core of hearts where decisions are made for a change that's long overdue.

I pray that you will give various ones the courage, the determination to step into a new way of life as the year turns. Give us an openness and a generosity as we give our gifts today. We do so with gratitude for all you have given us, more than we'll ever be able to repay.

And so we won't try. We will simply give generously and joyfully. And we do so in the name of the one we honor and of whom we sing and preach, even Jesus Christ. Everyone said, Amen.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Insight for Living. To dig deeper into the Bible on your own in the new year, be sure to explore the wide variety of helpful resources available at our online store. Take a few minutes to browse through the options at insight.org/store. And now, let's begin the study that Chuck titled Time to Reflect and to Renew.

Chuck Swindoll: There's nothing more basic to you or to me than our thinking. It's before any action, it's before any word, it's before any decision, there are thoughts. Let's think about your thought life. Philippians 4:8. Look at the end of the verse to start with. Dwell on these things.

These are six things you can check off as we look back over this past year, see how we're doing. Here we go. Verse 8: "Finally, brethren..." The word "brethren" tells us it's written to believers. So you're a believer, you know Christ, you have the Lord as your God, you are in the family. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true.

Let's think back. Are you a person who focuses on what is true? The word means the absence of deception. Have you cultivated habits of deception? Are you a person of truth or not? Whatever is true. The next word is translated "honorable." The word means noble, dignified, even above reproach.

Number three: whatever is right. This word "right" means refusing to compromise one's commitment to the truth. Have you given in to peer pressure over the last 12 months? You have a mind that has begun the habit of yielding to what is expected of you by someone. Pleasing people.

The word is "pure" that's next. Whatever is pure. That is that which keeps the conscience clear. As you look back, have you begun to soften your commitment to purity? Have you begun to flirt? Is your marriage shakier because you are not living up to what you vowed?

Are you in bed with someone who isn't your partner in life, your mate, your husband, your wife? If you are, there's a lack of chastity, a lack of purity. It begins in the mind. Some of you have heard my story. I can still remember years ago, young Marine, shipped to Okinawa, 8,000 miles from home and all the people who knew me, including my dear wife.

We'd hardly been married two years, and here we were separated from each other. There I was in my early 20s, surrounded by 47 other guys in my barracks, most of whom had venereal disease. And it wouldn't be long before others who come to that particular outfit would also have because of the involvement with sexual encounters with prostitutes.

They were there by the thousands on that little island. I can still remember before I dropped the sea bag off my shoulder, I've got to make up my mind. I'm going to move in this direction rather than that one. If I don't, I will fall, I will fail, I will break the bonds of my marriage.

I remember that thinking just like it was day before yesterday. Thankfully, I got involved with a man who mentored me in spiritual things. We were engaged in spiritual involvements and responsibilities. His name is Bob Newkirk, and I used to say to Bob, "You know, Bob, between where I get off of the bus and where your home is located, where we have our study, there's about a half a mile and there are prostitutes all over, and some of them are gorgeous."

I said, "How do I stay pure?" I used the word that's found here. He said, "Oh, let me help you with that." He said, "Learn to run. Just as you find yourself starting to lust, because you will, just start to run. And you cannot lust and run at the same time." And he is right. I'm living proof of that, I can tell you.

So when you run, you're hoping to stay alive when you get up the hill and to be there, but along the way, you look less, you linger less. And I think of it today with the internet. Truth be told, a number of you in this gathering struggle with pornography. In fact, you've lost the battle with it. You are regularly connected to pornography.

Your mind has become, as a result, locked in. It's impure. As you look back over these 12 months, have you begun to degrade in that area? If that is true, what I just made the comment about, you have begun to drift in purity. Looking back, stop, look, listen.

Whatever is—well, lovely is the next word. Lovely sounds like a bit of a feminine word to us. If you are in Australia, it isn't feminine at all. He's a lovely man. I love that expression, referring to what? He's very pleasant. The word means winsome. A synonym would be magnetic.

You want to be around a lovely person. As you look back, do you find that folks want to be around you? Or have you become crotchety, negative, cynical, looking for what's wrong, judgmental? And finally, "of good repute." The word is admirable. The Message translates this "compelling."

Compelling. The point is this: as you train your mind to stay on these six things, good things result. When you do not, the result is a drifting. And in the past 12 months, you may find that you have begun to drift. If you turn a corner today and determine from this day forward, that's my checklist for this new year.

I'm going to set my mind on these things. I'm going to renew my mind with these things. I can promise two results. I promise you. First of all, you will conquer the stigma of cynicism. You will conquer the stigma of cynicism. Don't think that education will help you get over cynicism. It won't.

In fact, the higher you get in education, the more will be your cynical attitude, the more negative. If you wonder what a cynic is, H.L. Mencken put it well: "A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin." Isn't that interesting? Others of you, when you smell flowers, you think of romance, you think of a lovely evening, you think of a friend who has sent you this great bouquet who cares about you.

But a cynic looks for somebody dead. Something wrong here. Let me tell you, living in this culture will make you cynical regardless of your career. Regardless. As you look back, if you want to break with cynicism, these are the six points that will help you.

The second thing I can promise you is the cultivation of several healthy friendships this new year. The cultivation of new friendships. And goodness knows some of you need new friendships. It would be very beneficial for you. So we've looked back and we've thought about our thoughts, our thinking, okay?

Go back a couple of letters. Go back to 2 Corinthians. Now I want to talk about your treasure. I've talked about your thoughts. That's a very personal thing. I invaded a little. I got pretty specific. Now I want to talk about something else that is very private. Known probably only by you, or you and your—if you're married, your married partner, or your CPA.

I want to talk about your treasure. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 9. And when you do, I want you to stop. I want you to look at these verses 6 through 10, then I want you to listen. Verse 6: "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

This was written in an agrarian context. Farmers were everywhere. Country life was common. It's not in our day, we who live in the city, but you know what it's saying. You scatter a little seed, you will get a little crop. You scatter an abundance of seed, you will reap an abundance of a crop.

He's not talking about seed and crops; he's talking about the investment of your treasure. See the next verse? "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly, not under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Look back at the verse. See the next to last word, "cheerful"?

It's our word "hilarious" in the Greek. *Hilarion*. God loves a hilarious giver. So this is not something you're going to do because this is what the preacher says you ought to do. It's not that. You do it and you want to laugh out loud. You do it because your heart is light, because you know God will honor having purposed in your heart.

There's the mind. We purpose in our thinking. What is it we should give? It's not, "Let's see, what have I got? Five dollars? Yeah, drop that in the plate." Don't bother. That's an unbiblical way to conduct your treasure. And if you wonder how you're doing with your treasure, you're about ready to figure up your IRS report.

Take a look. I say to people, don't show me your Bible to tell me how your giving is; show me your checkbook. That tells me more about your walk with Christ as it relates to your treasure. That's where your heart is. That's where your heart is. So purpose in your heart what you should give.

Should it be 10 percent? Well, you have to purpose that. Should it be 12 percent? Should it be 15 percent? Do you really need to keep all of this for yourself? Do you really need that much? You have a bad year, you can't give as much as you gave when you had a great year.

That's understandable. You're purposing in your heart. But the average American will give 2 percent, maybe in a good area 3 percent. If this church gave across the board 10 percent, our entire financial needs would never, ever be lacking. Ever. But you don't.

If you did, I would never need to mention it, though I probably would because it's part of Scripture for those who may not among the group. In fact, he goes on to say: "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance in every good deed."

He quotes from Psalm 112: "As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, his righteousness endures forever." Now, he, that's God, who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food—he's not talking about sowing seed; he's talking about money. He who supplies you with a job, he who gives you your income, he who makes it possible for you to make a living, will provide you with bread for food, will supply and multiply all of that and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Some of you don't like hearing that. I don't care. I really don't care. I couldn't care less. I'm not responsible to you; I'm responsible to the one who wrote this. And I'm simply saying, if you're not giving as you should be giving, you're not knowing the best God can do for you.

That's not manipulative. There's one thing you have to say if you've come to Stonebriar very long: you're never, ever made to feel guilty because of money. How often you've heard me say to those who don't know Christ, don't give. What I want is the benefit that comes your way because you give as you should.

And that's different for every one of us. At the risk of embarrassing her, let me tell you about my sister. I'll hear about this later on, but I'll tell you about her right now. My sister said to me a long time ago, "You know, Bub, I live alone, I don't make a whole lot, and I'm nervous about giving 10 percent. I've heard you talk about that before."

I said, "You know, you ought to really trust the Lord. He'll honor that, Sis. You ought to do that." She says, "You know what? What if I run out?" I said, "I'll tell you what. If you get anywhere near running out, call me." Now, I didn't know what I was going to do when she called me, but I thought it sounded good to say call me and I'll be there for you, okay? Just kidding. I'd help her out.

You know what? She never called me. Except at the end of the year where she said, "I've never seen anything like this. I'm going to up it to 12 percent." Why? Because she purposed in her heart and it wasn't grudgingly or under any compulsion. You didn't even know about this.

And her testimony would be it went on up to 15 and more percent. And she lives alone. Now, I'm aware that there are the people who take this passage and they tell you that if you give God five dollars, by the end of the week, you'll find ten dollars. Nonsense. That's not what this is about.

That's that prosperity gospel heresy. Stay away from that. That's not truth; that's manipulation. That's a guy that wants more money in his church, so he'll tell you that. I know people who give deeply and faithfully, and their year doesn't suddenly become a boom year for them.

Blessings came in other ways. Doesn't mean your salary will necessarily increase. It means you will know the blessings of God in ways you did not ever know before, and the only way you can know it is to participate in it.

Guest (Male): This is Insight for Living, a candid conversation with Chuck Swindoll about making changes for the new year. Chuck titled his message Time to Reflect and to Renew, and we're just midway through this study. Stay with us because you'll hear some personal comments from Chuck coming up in just a moment.

First, did you know that Chuck offers a daily devotional that comes to your inbox every day? If you're looking for spiritual nourishment in the new year, we invite you to take advantage of this free resource. Many of our listeners start their day with this email devotional from Chuck or just before they go to bed at night. To subscribe, go to insight.org/devo. And now, here's Chuck.

Chuck Swindoll: My friend, as you likely know, I'm in the winter season of my life now. At this point, I'm keenly aware that every moment matters. And honestly, that awareness has given me a renewed sense of urgency about Insight for Living. In fact, when I delivered today's message about reflection and renewal, I found myself thinking about James 4, verse 14, that reminds us: "You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away."

That's certainly true for all of us. But here's what drives me forward each day: the privilege of touching lives across North America and around the world with God's transforming truth. And you make that possible. Yes, you. Your partnership with Insight for Living does something I could never accomplish alone.

While I can stand behind a pulpit, it's your faithful support that carries these messages into homes, cars, hospital rooms, and prison cells. Places where people are desperate to become more like Christ but don't know where to start. As we approach our December 31st deadline, I'm asking you to participate by sending a special year-end gift.

Your generosity multiplies my reach exponentially. Together, we're helping people examine their thoughts, their priorities, their use of time, and their influence on others. Essentially helping them prepare for a year of genuine spiritual growth in the new year. Time is short for all of us. So, together, let's make it count. Thanks so much.

Guest (Male): You can respond to Chuck Swindoll right now by calling us at 800-772-8888 or to give online, go to insight.org/donate. Many in our listening family prefer writing a check and sending it in the mail. If that's you, just make sure your letter is postmarked before December 31st.

You can address your envelope to: Insight for Living, Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034. Whether you're a long-time partner or considering your first gift to Insight, we'd love to hear from you before tomorrow. Your support truly matters. Every gift you send will help deliver Chuck's clear Bible teaching to someone searching for answers and hope.

Through your generosity, God's Word reaches people who desperately need its timeless wisdom. You're not just supporting a nonprofit ministry; you are changing lives. Our address again is: Post Office Box 5000, Frisco, Texas 75034. If you're listening on the Insight mobile app, just click on the heart that says donate and follow the simple instructions.

To reach us directly, call 800-772-8888, or you can give your special year-end donation online at insight.org/donate. Are you ready to make positive changes in 2026? I'm Bill Meyer, encouraging you to listen to Chuck Swindoll's compelling message tomorrow on Insight for Living.