Fresh Start

by Charmain Hibberd
Marketing Assistant (Writer), CBN Europe
Featured Articles
We all make mistakes. We all need forgiveness. We all, at times, need a fresh start.
New Day, New Mercy
There is a bright yellow divider in my diary that helps me to keep my place each day.
At the very top is written – ‘fresh start’.
Whenever I pick up my diary, flip to the next new day and reposition the divider, I’m reminded of the fact that it is a new day and I get the opportunity at a fresh start.
The bible puts it this way:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
(Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT, emphasis added)
I don’t know about you, but the fact that the Lord’s mercy, forgiveness and second chances begin anew every single day fills me with so much hope and gratitude.
I make mistakes daily but, no matter how badly I have gotten it wrong the day before, I can rest my head at night knowing that tomorrow is a new day and that the Lord does not hold my wrongdoing over my head.
Foundational Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the foundations of the Gospel message. The fact that we don’t have to earn our way into the Kingdom of Heaven or perform our way into His presence is an offer that is too good to refuse!
You cannot fail badly enough to prevent God from loving you and accepting you.
There is no sin deep enough that God cannot reach down and pull you out of it, setting your feet back on solid ground.
The grace and forgiveness of God are available through the sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ. All sin was hurled upon Him at the cross and dealt with once and for all.
Jesus walked through the darkest valleys and experienced human pain so that He could empathise with us in ours. The bible says:
‘He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.’
(Isaiah 53:3 NLT)
The Purpose In His Pain
Friends, the whole reason that Jesus walked the path that He did was so that you and I, upon accepting His sacrifice, His death and His resurrection, can know full forgiveness.
This forgiveness was bought and paid for at a high cost. God loved this world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
All we need to do is humble ourselves enough to admit that we make mistakes and are not perfect and that we need someone to do what we cannot – take away our sin.
An Invitation
If you don’t know Jesus and want to know Him and His forgiveness, please feel free to say this simple prayer:
Father God,
I am not perfect. I make mistakes daily and need your forgiveness. I acknowledge that I have lived a life apart from you and I want that to change.
I believe that your Son, Jesus, died on the cross so that I can be forgiven for all I have done wrong. I believe that He rose again and is now with you in Heaven.
I confess that Jesus is Lord and I pray that you will help me to follow Him for the rest of my days.
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and would like someone to share your new faith with, please do not hesitate to call us here at CBN Europe on 0300 561 0700. We would love to hear from you.
If you are not ready to pray this prayer but would like someone to pray for you, again, please reach out to us.
God bless you.
