New Beginnings
Everyone
needs...
a new beginning. We all need a fresh sheet of
paper from time to time. A clean slate. A way to start over again. I’ll
bet, if you thought about it for a minute, you could think of times when you
wished that you could have a chance to start over. Maybe in the area of
finances. Wouldn’t it be nice to start with the stuff you have, but no
debt? Some turn to bankruptcy because they find themselves way over
their head with debt. I see it all the time in relationships. Marriages
can get so complicated - so encumbered by problems, that both parties decide
it’s time for a new start. The way out is called divorce, but when a
marriage breaks up, it is usually accompanied with heartache and
heartbreak. There are a lot of other reasons why people may want to start
over: decisions that ended with unexpected problems, opportunities lost,
years wasted, or now that we have learned more, we wish we could go back and
live with the wisdom that we presently possess. Yep, everyone I know
wouldn’t mind a do-over,
a chance at a new beginning.
God recognized man’s need for
Anew beginnings.
Several times in the bible, God promises that He can give us a fresh start.
Why Do We Need A Fresh Start?
The Bible informs us that we’ve all messed up. Everyone, without exception, has broken God’s laws. The Bible calls this sin, and says for everyone has sinned; we all fall short
of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:23, NLT) Sin really complicates life. Just
read the newspaper, and you will read the accounts of sin and its
consequences. Sin violates God’s moral laws, and because of God’s nature to
be just, these violations must be reckoned with. If they are not, God can
no longer be referred to as just.
Lawbreakers? The Ten Commandment Test
I’ve met a
lot of people who will say hey, I’m not such a bad person. They often
follow that up by saying something like I’ve never murdered anyone. Is
that the standard of being a pretty good person? Or they will say,
AI
keep the Ten Commandments. Now, that is a good standard. Not
many people would argue that the Ten Commandments are fundamentally good
standards of human conduct. So, let’s use them as a standard of being a
good person, and take the Ten
Commandment Test.
Really, if
we are quite frank with ourselves, we would have to admit that we have
not only broken one or two of the Ten Commandments, but we’ve broken
them all in one way or another. The bible tells us that even if we did
only break one, we are guilty of breaking the law, and therefore deserve
a penalty (James 2:10, NKJV)
The Bad News And The Good News
The bad news
is we have broken God’s laws - not just one, but all of them. Not just once,
but many times. The bad news is we are guilty, and God is
just. He cannot just let it go and still be just. If God is truly good, and
fair, and just, then He must assess a penalty to our offenses.
The bad news
gets worse! The only adequate penalty is total separation. In eternity, God
has this perfect place called heaven, and in order to keep it perfect, He
must keep out everyone and everything that is bad. The bad news is that the
penalty for sin is death
(Romans 6:23, NKJV), and by death God means hell.
(Rev 20:14-15, NKJV)
But there is
good news. This inescapable penalty has been paid! God’s justice is
satisfied because Jesus, God’s Son, paid the penalty by His death on the
cross. The good news is that even though we are guilty of breaking God’s
law, we can have Jesus’ death applied to our penalty and get out of going to
hell. The good news is that we can get a new beginning with God by being
born again. (John 3:3, NKJV) This happens when we
confess that we are guilty (1 John 1:9, NKJV),
believe in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross
(John 3:15-17, NKJV),
and allow Jesus to come into our heart (Rev 3:20, NKJV).
God knows we need a new beginning - a do-over - and He has provided that we
get that opportunity.
2
Corinthians 5:17
says, Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is
a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new.
Have you
experienced this New Beginning? If you haven’t, but you would like to, you
can talk to God and ask Him to forgive your sins. Tell Him that you believe
in Jesus, and that you want a new start.
Pray a prayer like that,
and then get connected to a church that can help you grow spiritually.
Of course, we
invite you to grow with us at New Stanton Assembly of God. If you are not
local, I would recommend that you find an Assembly of God church in your
community.
Click Here for the Assemblies of God Church Directory.
Dear Lord,
I realize that
I have sinned - I’ve done things that I knew were wrong, but did them
anyway. I am truly sorry, and ask for your forgiveness. I ask that you come
into my heart and life, and make me to be the person that you want me to
be. I believe that Jesus is your Son, and that He died for me, and I accept
what He did on the cross as payment for my penalty. Lord with your help, I
will live for you for the rest of my life.
In Jesus’ name
I pray, A-men.
