New year, new outlook

Newness.

Just the word brings light hearted images. I think of dark green grass, baby chicks, freshly fallen snow. Some of you think of January first. Tomorrow is New Year's Day and with that will be many resolutions, hope for a better year, or sadness at the passing of a good year, the end of something and the beginning of something new. I once read that with the first of the year comes a "false sense of being renewed." I think there is some truth to that. However, the fact that we instinctively long to be renewed begs the question-why? Romans 8:18-23 gives great insight:

"What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us."

You see, our spirit instinctively know we were designed for a world better than this-a world free of suffering, pain, mistakes and death. We are constantly looking for relief of these things we were not intended to encounter. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, the result is all of this pain we weren't initially designed for. So our spirit is made hopeful at the thought of a second chance, of renewal, of a clean slate. We all want to start over and try to get it right a second time. But January first isn't what will make the difference. Has it before? What were the hopes of January 1, 2011 and the days afterward? No, we need something more than our weak will and a new calendar year.

We need somebody to rescue us.

That's why Jesus came in the first place. When we long for renewal it is a reminder that we need Jesus because only He can truly cleanse us and give us a second chance and the power to succeed at it.

If you haven't accepted Jesus as the one who came to rescue you from your sin, all you have to do is confess to Him that you are in a mess and can't get out of that cycle of making a mess without Him. When you confess your sin, He will be faithful to forgive your sin and He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness-or will wash you of anything that separates you from God. From that point, you need to start reading the Bible. If you don't have a Bible, get one. The best translation is NIV (New International Version). If you can't afford one, for the time being you can use www.biblegateway.com You also need to be in a Bible based church. To find one in your area, here is a good place to start: You can learn more about Assemblies of God churches and where to find them.

For those who have made these steps and are believers, Paul continues in Romans 8:23-28 by saying "We believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children,[j] including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

We long for that day when things will be made right. As believers we have the help of the Holy Spirit to get us through times of discouragement and times when we fail and are failed. We also have the Holy Spirit to intercede on our behalf in order to have breakthroughs. We comfort ourselves with Romans 8:28 so often because the truth of it speaks to the part of us that knows there is more than what is here, there is more than all these things that don't make sense.

For renewal, rely on Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. Encourage yourself with what the Bible says instead of going by what you feel. Remember, we are pilgrims just passing through. This earth is not our final stop. That's why we long for the ideal, for the perfect things. One day, all things will become clear and we will reach heaven. Begin this new year realizing that the change of the year won't be the answer to your problems, but if you trust and follow Jesus closely, this year will be great nonetheless.