by Steve Higginbotham
It may seem hard to believe, but we are about to pass from the year 2019 to the year 2020, and do you know what that means?
It means we get a “fresh start,” a “new beginning,” a “second chance,” a “clean slate,” and a “blank page upon which to be written.”
Well, at least that’s what I hear. But if I may, I would like to challenge you to rethink those comments and similar comments. The flipping of a calendar from December to January doesn’t give anyone a “fresh start,” or a “blank page.” Only the blood of Jesus can do that. The passing of time or the flipping of a calendar doesn’t erase our past mistakes, doesn’t gives us a fresh start, and doesn’t clear our record. Those things are only accomplished through repentance.
Don’t get me wrong, the first of January certainly holds the possibilities of a “new beginning,” but no differently than any other day or month of the year. Friends, if you were waiting for the end of the year to erase your past mistakes and to give you a fresh start by making some noble and grand resolutions, may I suggest to you that it doesn’t work that way. The fresh start that we all need does not come through resolutions but through repentance.
Resolutions are wonderful. However, they do not erase our past mistakes. That requires repentance. All that resolutions without repentance will do for us is make us betterbehaved sinners.
Do you want a “blank page,” a “clean slate,” or a “fresh start?” Then, don’t confuse your resolution with repentance, humble yourself before God, seek the forgiveness he offers, and you’ll find it — no matter what day of the year it is.