A new year and a new beginning in Christ

Here we are at the beginning of a new year. We look ahead, anticipating plans we have made or are in the process of making. We understand there may be difficult days ahead. We may even be wondering what we should invest our time and energy in as we step into a year of opportunity.

One thing we know for sure is that we should be busy doing what is best for ourselves and for those around us. The Bible tells us to love the Lord with all that is in us, and to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. The best way we can please God is to have a new heart and a new objective in Jesus Christ.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

If you are not fully sure your sins have been forgiven, you have the opportunity right now to be cleansed from sin and have a brand-new start in Christ. You simply need complete faith that Jesus died on the cross for all sin and ask Him to be your Savior.

Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

If you trust Christ, you can become that new creation.

If you are already saved, the new year is an opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission by telling others about the power of Christ to make them new. If you are saved but far from the Lord, take this opportunity to start fresh by praying as David prayed in Psalm 51:10, 12-13: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.”

May each of us take the new year as an opportunity to start fresh, serving the Lord with all our hearts.

David Powell Carrollton Baptist Temple