Sunday, January 07, 2018

New Year, Fresh Start



I love the New Year!!! There’s just something about a fresh start, a new beginning, a clean slate, that fills me with hope for the endless possibilities that lie before me.

God is all about fresh starts! That’s one of the running themes throughout the Scriptures, that He gives new beginnings to what we thought were tired, worn-out endings! Let me give you an example.

Towards the middle of the Bible we find a book of sadness. It’s filled with so much sorrow that its actual name is “Lamentations,” written by a man who weeps over the condition of the nation of Israel.

Jeremiah knew that the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of its people were consequences of sinful behavior. The people had no one to blame but themselves for having turned their backs on God and having gone after false idols. And now they were reaping the whirlwind. So Jeremiah wept.

And yet, in the midst of this book of sorrow and tears Jeremiah remembers something! And as he reflects on a memory of the character and nature of God, his heart is overjoyed and sustained with hope. Listen to his own words:

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness.” (Lam 3:21-23 KJV)

Did you see it? God’s mercies and compassions are new every morning! Every morning! That means that no matter how much we’ve messed up the day, tomorrow morning He gives us another chance, a fresh start, a new beginning!

Unfortunately, we don’t always see it that way. We often go to bed so tired and bogged down, and when we wake up we just pick up yesterday’s burdens, struggles, guilt and sorrow. The morning feels like just another day.

That’s why the New Year seems like such a big deal! January 1 is not just the first day of a new month, it’s the first day of a new year! We have to learn to write the date differently, laughing at ourselves the first few times we forget and put 17 at the end. Everything about 1/1 reminds us of newness and freshness!

The New Year also brings up a fresh sense of resolution as we pledge to lose weight, get in shape, stop unhealthy habits and start new healthy ones in their place. We feel empowered to start again, even if we really blew it in the weeks of holiday parties, rich food and overindulgence leading up to the first day of January! The New Year means a fresh start!

So how do we apply that to our lives spiritually? How do we live in that fresh start every day? Thankfully the Scriptures give us that step as well.

In Acts 3 Peter speaks to a group of people who only a few weeks earlier were shouting “Crucify Him” concerning Jesus. As he shares the story of the resurrection of Jesus, and the miracles being done in His name, the crowd is grief-stricken. They are hearing how they had participated in the death of this innocent man, the Lamb of God. And like Jeremiah, there may have been some weeping among them as their eyes were opened to their spiritual lostness.

But rather than blame them for what they had done, Peter declares that a fresh start, a new beginning, is available to them! He declares, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” (Acts 3:19 NASB)

“Times of refreshing.” Does that sound like a new start to you? Does it sound like something you need today?

As we enter 2018, don’t bring with you the brokenness, failures and heartaches from last year. Do what Peter said, “Repent and return” and allow the Lord to wipe your sins away! Then you can experience the fresh start God promises!

I hope you have a very happy new year! And I pray you will encounter the God of compassion who gives new mercies and fresh starts every day! Here’s to your Fresh Start in 2018!



This article was written for the Alexandria Town Talk newspaper, and originally appeared at http://www.thetowntalk.com/story/life/2018/01/07/new-year-fresh-start/1007409001/