NEW BEGINNINGS

                At this time of the year, we often think of new beginnings. Although, technically, the year begins on January 1, in reality, for most people, it begins on Labor Day. Labor Day marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. For families with young children, it means that the daily chaos of summer is over and the children are moving back into the ordered life of academics. For those who serve in the church, it means that the level of activity will escalate. University students will return, bringing renewed vitality to Sunday morning. The relative quiet of our building during the summer will be transformed back into a bustle of activity. Even those who do not have children at home sense the shift in the tide as fall approaches.

                God designed our world with a certain rhythm of renewal. Those of us who live in the upper Midwest are keenly aware of the rhythm of the changing seasons. Unconsciously we resonate with this natural rhythm of the world around us. We have come to expect new beginnings. It is often what gets us through a long winter.

                God is the author new beginnings. Not just the new beginnings in the natural world, but new beginnings in the spiritual world as well. These new beginnings range from monumental to mundane. Each in its own way enhances the rhythm of life.

                The most important new beginning is coming to faith in Christ. We are born into this world on the wrong side of the tracks. Sin is our natural bent and we are carried along in a direction that leads us away from God. The Bible makes it clear that we are all in the same boat spiritually. …for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,… Romans 3:23 (NIV) But God has offered us a new beginning in Christ. When we put our faith in Him, we become a new person, change direction and head toward God. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

                Our transformation into new creations in Christ is not the end of our new beginnings. As we stumble along this new path, trying to find our way, we often make mistakes. We fall back into old sinful patterns, or make choices that we know displease God. It is like becoming distracted while you are driving and running your car into a ditch. At those times, God comes along with His spiritual tow truck and pulls us back onto the road. The Holy Spirit makes us aware of our blunder. Then God holds out His hand and restores us to fellowship with Him. He gives us a new beginning in our walk with Christ. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV) What a relief to know that our failures are not fatal or final.

                As we journey along the road of life, we are faced with many challenges. These obstacles test our faith, tax our resources and drain our energy. Often at the end of a day, we slump into bed thinking, I cannot go on. Then the morning comes, and with it new energy. The source of that energy is the grace of God. Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV) He gives us the grace we need each day to face the challenges before us. Like the manna in the wilderness, we cannot store up God’s grace for tomorrow. We must trust Him to provide what we need one day at a time.

                The more that we learn to trust Christ, the more we experience the power of His grace. If you have ever ridden on a tandem bike, you can understand how this works. The person in the front controls the bike. The person in the back must trust the person in the front and follow his movements. If the person in the back fails to lean when the front person leans, it throws the bike off balance. So it is with us and Christ.

                The Apostle Paul must have struggled with this, because God put a situation into his life that forced the issue. To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV) Paul had to learn to completely trust Christ, especially in the difficult times. So do we.

                As we continue our journey through life, we will never come to the end of the new beginnings that God has for us. God is in the process of conforming us to the image of Christ. He won’t stop until the process is complete.