New Beginnings In Christ

With spring we associate new beginnings. This is especially true in my own life. It's funny how God can close one door, then open another. 

 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ² And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. ³ Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. ⁴ Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. ⁵ Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.⁶ Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. ⁸ The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ⁹  The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you.¹¹ And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. ¹³ And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them," -Deuteronomy 28:1-13

New beginnings, or starting over, if you will, is a constant throughout the Bible. Sometimes we miss just how redemptive our God is. See, He likes making things new, He wants to wipe away our tears.

 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” -Revelation 21:4

 We've all fallen short of God's standards. However, there is hope in the Cross. We can't say God is redemptive, and not point to the Cross as the ultimate example. At the Cross, we sinners, can come, and be cleansed and washed clean of our iniquity. Not only that, but through the blood shed on Calvary we receive a destiny that is literally out of this world, through Jesus Christ we have all the riches in glory. Hallelujah!
God is just, and we do have consequences for the mistakes we make. Yet, there is hope. See, even though sometimes we screw up, and we suffer terribly because of it, we have God. 
All we have to do is trust in Jesus.
I know I've grown up in church, I heard all the stories, sang all the songs. Yet, each of us has to come to a point where we say "I'm really insignificant and messed up. I need God. I need Jesus, because I can't do any of this on my own."
That's where it all starts.
Each day is a new beginning, and is an opportunity to turn from our fallen sin filled culture, and be transformed and renewed by the God who made the mountains and still knows how many hairs are on our heads.
So with this new season ahead of us, let us be reminded that our God is doing a new thing; not only in the weather department, but let Him make a new heart within you.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," -1 Peter 1:3

Let Jesus consume your heart and life. 
You can start again, today.




Happy First Day of Spring. :)