A few weeks ago, I was doing some work on a project and slipped as I was getting into the truck. I smacked my elbow and shoulder into the door, hit my knees on the metal running board and got all twisted up trying to stop from hitting the ground too hard. I should have just went straight down but, no, I had to try to save myself. One the way home, I kept berating myself for such a dumb mistake and then there was the constant reminder every time I put my elbow on the arm rest or knelt down. There are still moments when I think “if I had only watched my step, this would not have happened” or “if I could go back and do it again, I would not have had those items in my arms and I could have caught myself”. How many things are there in your life that you wish you could get a mulligan for? I would still have all my teeth because I would not have been in the situations where I could lose them. My choice of occupation would have been far different had I listened to my Grandma when I was a child. I would still be in my then new Cavalier rather than the ol’ busted car I replaced it with after the accident. After these incidents and accidents, there was a moment when the thought “if I could just get a do-over, things would be so much better.”
So many people will, on New Year’s Eve, make a promise to do better, to resolve to be nicer to others, get in better shape, to turn over a new leaf, a new beginning. Now, there is nothing wrong with making New Year Resolutions but let’s face it, many do get broken before the month of January even closes out. There is, however, something we can resolve to do that would have a long-lasting even eternal affect on our lives. A week before New Year’s Day, we celebrate the birth of the Great Redeemer, the Savior of us all.
For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:12-14
This is the promise of a new beginning with an eternal consequence, and I mean that in the most positive way. When we make the conscious decision to acknowledge our brokenness, to believe the power of Christ and to confess our sins to Him, that is the moment of a wonderful new beginning. A friend of mine only came into the church when there was a lunch going on and never came in for the service. He later told me that he did not feel clean enough to be in the service and we helped him to realize that this faith family wanted only to love on him and include him in the family. At some point in time, something clicked for him and he realized that his place was with the family and from that moment he rarely missed a service until the day of his passing to glory. His new start was not by the hand of man but the power of the Spirit in his life. He is with our Savour and one day we will be reunited but until that day, I, for one, celebrate new beginnings and new opportunities.
This Sunday, January 1, will celebrate New Starts. We would love for you to join us either in person or online Sunday at 10:30 AM MST.
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We look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”
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