My dear friend, Susie, encourages her Bible Study group with a regular Monday devotion.  She has given me permission to share her devotion with you.

A Fresh Start

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone and the new is here!

It is always good to be reminded that with Christ we get a fresh start.  For me, when I think of a fresh start I think about weight loss.  I often think about starting again to eat right and exercise. One of the problems is that I say I will start tomorrow.  On the weekend I will always start on Monday. After all, I have to have time to eat all the bad stuff and get rid of it. (That would be funny if it weren’t true.) Anyway, this scripture reminds me that I don’t have to wait for a fresh start because with the Lord we get a fresh start right now, right this second.  There are times when we don’t want a fresh start right now because we enjoy that sin that we are doing.  We know we shouldn’t do it, but we want to.  It is refreshing to know that if we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness God will forgive us and we can start again.  With most people, we are maybe given more than one chance to start fresh, but the “do overs” are limited. When we became believers, we were all given the opportunity to start fresh.  God loves us so much that we are given that same opportunity every time we mess up. Just think how freeing that is. I hope we all remember that we don’t have to wait to get a fresh start. God gives us the chance to have that at any moment of the day or night. I am so glad he does.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for loving us so much that we can have more than one fresh start. Help us to remember that when we need it.  Amen.