Happy New Year everyone. I know that a tradition that most people tend to do on New Year is to make a New Year’s resolution. This is where most people will challenge themselves to get healthy or to go after that promotion. Personally, I was never able to stick to my resolutions. One year, however, I was inspired by Joyce Meyers to not choose a resolution, but to choose one thing, one word, and work on that. For example, one year I dubbed it the year of confidence. I took that year and worked on my confidence and it worked.

            This year, I have dubbed it the year of new beginnings. Every day that God gives me is a new beginning. I want to take that blessing and use it for His purpose. God tells us to love, forgive, to follow Him, to obey, to trust, and to be like Jesus. I want to do what I can to further His kingdom, not because I think that it will get me what I want or that it will get me into heaven. No. I want to do all these things because of the love I have for Him. It’s a love that transcends all others and I just want others to know Him so that they may experience it too.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” – Romans 1:16

            I encourage you all to take this year to start anew. Don’t be afraid that He will reject you because of the things you’ve done in the past. Take everything – your guilt, your shame, your fears, your burdens, your hopelessness – to Him. By repenting of your sins and believing that He is your Lord and Savior, He will wash it all away. You will be made a new person and He will be with you to guide you on the right path.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

            Don’t be afraid that you will lose His love if you mess up. As we see in the parable of the Prodigal Son, even when we mess up, if we come to Him in true repentance, fully knowing what we’ve done, He will open His arms to you and show you what true love is. Unlike people, God’s love is unconditional. It does not mean we can go on sinning and be ok with God. Those who live a sinful life and say that it’s ok because God forgives them are not following the true God. When we truly follow God, we don’t take sin so lightly. Sin keeps us from having a close relationship with Him. However, as I have said, if we come to Him in true repentance, He will forgive us.

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” – Acts 3:19-21

            Take this year that God has given you to become a new you. He can transform you into something beautiful and you will see His wondrous work all around you. Forgive those who have hurt you. Cut out that sin that keeps dragging you down. Love your neighbor and love yourself. Even if you can’t see it, God has a purpose for your life. Accept Jesus into your life and everything that I’ve said for the past months will be yours too. Begin this year with Jesus.

“Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17