We are halfway through the alphabet as we continue to look at things we need to do in order to draw closer to God. This week, the letter we are focusing on is the letter “N”. The word I want to talk about is the word “new”. I can’t think of anything more exciting than to have something that is new. I don’t mean something that has been owned by someone else and repaired, but something that is totally new. I’m talking about a new car with only 5-10 miles on it. A new phone that has never been used. A new home that has been built with just your own ideas to put it together. These things are totally brand new.

As Christians, if we are going to grow closer in our relationship with God, we need to understand the concept of our relationship with God as being something that is new. The words of 2 Corinthians 5:17 say it best. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” In The Message, we read these words: “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons (begins to grow)! Look at it!” No matter which version of this verse you like, the meaning is the same. When we accept Christ as our Savior, and ask Him to come and live in our hearts, our lives are new. Or, as The Message reads, we have a fresh start.

We are approaching one of my favorite seasons of the year, autumn and fall. The sweltering heat is about to become a thing of the past and the cooler, more refreshing temperatures will roll in. To me, it will feel like a fresh start. I will have more energy and will just feel better. I can hardly wait for this to happen. I can put the summer behind me.

For Christians, having a relationship with God means we can also have a fresh start. We can put the past behind us. We can put those sins that have entangled us and kept us from walking with Christ behind us because Christ has forgiven us. We can have a fresh start with Christ. We can have a new start with Christ. The problem is we have trouble putting things behind us. We want to keep things a part of us, even when they bring us down. Forgiveness is a great way to think about new. When we go to bed at night and ask God to forgive us of our sins for that day, the next day we can wake up with a new relationship and a new start. Remember, there is nothing more exciting than having something that is new, especially when it comes to our relationship with God. It should be new every morning. Until next week…

Peace and Blessings…

Johnny