We’ve just stepped over the threshold of a new year. Just last night the second hand clicked past midnight and 2016 became 2017. It is time for a fresh start, a new day, a clean slate…Who are we kidding? The only difference between 2016 and 2017 is one second on a clock. When we woke up on January 1st the same things that dogged us on Wednesday were waiting for us on Thursday. It is doubtful that the bill collectors were thinking a new year means a clean slate for those they called as 2016 slipped into 2017. Nor did the judges in our land declare all defendants not guilty, giving them a fresh start. If you went to bed on December 31st with a bad cold the chances were good you woke up in the same condition the next morning.

The introduction of this lesson has all the ingredients for making a good batch of despair. Is there any way we can go into the Bible and turn this one around? If these first thoughts are the recipe for discouragement, is there anything we can find in God’s Word that might give us the makings for a good new year? Though the answer to that question should be obvious for Christians let’s not simply presume that the message of a new beginning is found in the Bible; let’s see what God has to say on the subject.

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelation 21:5) Of course this has to do with a new beginning after time ends and God makes a new Heaven and Earth for His people to live in. But this must not be the only time that God starts over. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) So if there is a time in the future for new beginnings, are there times in the present for the same?

Here in lies the answer to that question:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10)

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.” (1 Peter 1:3-6)

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new Heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)

All these verses have a common thread that runs through them. They all speak of newness. Within them is the making of a fresh start, a new day, a clean slate…a New Year. The key ingredient is Jesus Christ. A new start is not contingent on a calendar or clock but on a heart changed by and through Jesus. Seeking first His kingdom, trusting Him with all your heart, being made a new creation through His death, His mercy, and the living hope that He gives through the His resurrection, it is in these that a new start is found.

So do you desire this New Year to begin with and be filled by all that is new and good? If so, begin with Jesus Christ as both Lord and Savior of your life. He will indeed make all things new in you. And, better still this is what God desires for you. He came to make all people new, any who would accept the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Without the difference that Jesus makes in the life of a person, there is not much a chance, and a chance is all it would be, for January 1 to be any different than December 31. Sadly, it does not matter what year is plugged in after the month and day, whether it is 2017 or beyond, the future without Christ will be the same and worse than the past without Him. But, and here’s the wonderful news, a future with Him will be unimaginably better than a past without. The situations and events may not change but your hope and security will.

The coming of the New Year was not your choice to make; 2017 was coming unless God’s decided against it. But now that you’ve entered this New Year it is your choice on how it will continue. We hope you will Choose wisely, your destiny depends on you making right choices and so many lives depend upon you making right choices.

-Happy New Year!