New Year – New Beginnings

By Scott Cernek, HARVEST HILLS CHURCH

 What does the new year mean to you? First of all, it usually means that it’s time for the NFL playoffs. This year I am still on a high from the Cubs winning the World Series so I haven’t really gotten into the NFL season like years past. It looks like the Cowboys and the Patriots might be the teams to beat in their respective conferences. The new year also means that the days are starting to get longer again. One of my farmer brothers reminded me the other day of an old saying that goes like this, “when the days get longer, the cold gets stronger.”

The Farmer’s Almanac seems to agree, saying that the third week of January is traditionally the coldest week of the year. We have had a pretty mild winter and so if winter does show up again, we’ll be alright. One good thing about the new year is that February is just around the corner and that brings us just a few weeks from the start of spring and a brand new baseball season. There are few things in sports as sweet as the sound of a baseball bat making solid contact with the ball. We used to call it the “crack of the bat,” but now since we don’t use wooden bats in high school we have to say “solid contact” instead of “the crack of the bat”. When I was in high school we still used wooden bats, so I can attest that there is nothing that sounds or feels as powerful as the crack of the bat. “Crack of the bat” is very similar to the “splash” of a three-pointer ripping through the net or the pop of the shoulder pads when a player makes a great hit in a football game. Another great sound is the thump of the fist hitting the volleyball on a great spike. I’m sure there are more great sounds in sports, but those are some of my favorite.

Another great thing about the new year is that we are reminded that we can have a fresh start in life. Maybe we need a fresh start on our exercise program, or a fresh start on eating better foods, or a fresh start on being more punctual or putting some money in savings. It can also mean getting a fresh start in my daily Bible reading or prayer time.

The marvelous thing about a fresh start at New Years is that it reminds us that our God wants us to know that Jesus gives us the opportunity to start over each and every day. This is so great because as a human being, I tend to goof up a lot, and I need to know that if I confess my sin sincerely, Jesus will forgive me and give me another chance. He knows if I am sincere or not. If I’m not sincere then it becomes abuse of God’s grace. Jesus doesn’t allow us to cheapen His sacrifice by abusing his grace. But if we are sincerely trying to live for Him, He is quick to give us second, third and maybe ten thousand second chances because He knows we are trying to follow Him and not just abusing His grace.

Hey it’s a new year, and it might be time for you to start over in your faith. The Lord is waiting to help you get back on track spiritually so you can grow in grace and knowledge of God’s salvation. It’s going to be a great year because we serve such a great God.

Until next week, God’s blessing to you all.