A Fresh Start

"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance."
—Psalm 65:11

As we come to the beginning of a new year and the ending of an old one, we often wish we could turn over a new leaf or have a fresh start. No doubt about it, there have been certain things we have said or done in this past year that we have come to regret.

Within Limits

Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

— 2 Corinthians 12:8–9

 

When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, a sign is effectively hung around your neck that says, "Under new management." You now belong to Jesus Christ, and He does not operate on a timeshare program. Isn't that nice to know? He doesn't say, "Okay, now I have Greg for six months, and the devil can have him for the next six months." That is not what happens. When we put our faith in Christ, He comes in and is the sole resident in our hearts and lives.

Bad for Business?

The whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

— Matthew 8:34

 

You would think that after the miracle of casting out demons from two men who had violently oppressed them, the people in the area would have said, "Jesus, You are the man! We love what you did! Now we can go back to the cemetery and pay our respects to our loved ones and put flowers on their graves. We wouldn't even go near there before. These guys were scary. Thank you, Lord, for coming to our community." But that is not what happened. Instead, they wanted Him to go away. Why? It was because Jesus was bad for business.