“What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
I love the reality of a New Year beginning. It is the time when one year has finished and put in the books. You can close the door on the old year and swing wide the door of the New Year and the clean slate that it represents. The fears and failures of the old year make way to the hopes and dreams of the New Year. I truly love the New Year coming and all the opportunities and possibilities it brings. I hope that you are able to look at the New Year with hope and promise.
The start of a New Year always reminds me of the words The Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the church at Corinth. He told them that everything that Christ had done for them means that they have a new beginning. They are absolutely not the same anymore. Their new life has begun. What an awesome reality in our faith life. When we receive God’s gift of grace by placing faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of our life, we are made new. The old is gone, G-O-N-E, and we are made new.
I have shared that this Scripture absolutely is what happened to me. I was made new. It wasn’t just that some of my behaviors changed, I changed. I was a new person with a new outlook and a new heart. My new life meant that I saw people differently and treated people differently. I was able to see people the way Jesus saw them. That new life has been growing and evolving and maturing for over 30 years now. What a life it has been.
I believe that when we place our faith in Jesus Christ that we are made new, or at least renewed, daily. It is a choice we make every single day to follow Jesus. When we confess our sins and follow Jesus fully, our sins are forgiven and we are made new. It is not necessary to our salvation to have a conversion experience over and over again. However, we can be made new by the confessing of our sins daily. God is faithful to forgive our sins when we confess them. This is a constant renewal and restoration process. New life comes and we are able to live in the new life Christ gives us.
In the New Year as you make your resolutions I want to encourage you to commit to daily renewal time. Commit to every morning confessing the sins of the previous day, recommitting your life to Christ, and living for Christ fully. I believe that if we will all do this every day we will experience the hope and promise of new life every day. We will be new people living fully for Christ 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Let’s see what that does to our life, our family, our church, and our community. Let the new begin every day in the New Year.
This Sunday we will have ONE service at 10:00AM. Susan Lewis will deliver the message Why Our Resolutions Never Stick from Colossians 3:1-17. I can’t wait to hear what Sue has to say about this and I hope you will be there too. I wish you all a blessed New Year. This is an exciting time of new beginnings at St. Andrew’s. I can’t wait to see you in church!