When you think about the new year, what comes to mind? For most people, there is at least some element of looking back over the previous year and determining to make a fresh start during the new one.
In fact, the month of January gets its name from the Roman God Janus who was thought to be the god of transitions. He is pictured with two faces, one facing toward the past and one toward the future.
Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution? How did that work out for you? I know very few people who have ever managed to follow through for very long on a resolution. I know I certainly haven’t. However, the idea of a fresh start is very appealing.
All of us have things in our lives that we either want to start doing or stop doing. But the fact is that resolve, or sheer human willpower will seldom get the job done. We really need a new beginning.
There’s only one way to get a truly fresh start— receiving Jesus Christ into our life. When we make Him our Lord, He forgives all our sins, and we truly have a clean slate and a fresh start.
The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that anyone who is in Christ Jesus has become a new creature. Old things are passed away and all things have become new. Verse 21 of the same chapter says that Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ.
This is such an amazing exchange that it almost seems too good to be true. But when we turn our lives over to Jesus, we get not only a new year but a new life. Through His strength, we will begin to change on the inside.
We can’t really change ourselves. A change in behavior is very hard to maintain through willpower. But when God changes our heart, we’ll begin seeing changes in our attitudes and behaviors in many areas of our lives—without even working at it. We’ll become more like Him.
The key is staying connected with Him, through reading His Word, and then doing what He says.
If you would like to learn more about this new life in Christ, come and visit us at Charis Christian Church, 4811 E. Julep St., Suite 101, Mesa.