Fresh Start Effect

Hello friends and thanks for joining me for today's Our Daily Bread devotional. I'm Sheridan Voisey and I've titled today's encouragement, The Fresh Start Effect. When Bryony turned 30, she was sad to still be in a sales job she'd never liked.

She decided it was time to stop procrastinating and find a new career. For David, New Year's Eve had him looking in the mirror vowing this would be the year he lost weight. And for James, it was watching another month pass without his angry outbursts decreasing.

Next month, he promised himself, he would try harder. If you've ever vowed to change at the start of a new month, new year or a major birthday, you're not alone. Researchers even have a name for it, The Fresh Start Effect. They suggest that at calendar points like these, we're more prone to assess our lives and try putting our failures behind us to start over. Wanting to be better people, we long for a fresh start. Faith in Jesus speaks powerfully to this longing, offering a vision of what our best selves can be and calling us to leave our past selves behind. It offers this change not by decisions and vows alone, but by divine power. When we believe in Jesus, we become new people and God's Spirit works in us to make us whole. Receiving salvation in Jesus is the ultimate fresh start and it doesn't need to wait for a special calendar date.

Your new life can start right now. Today's scripture reading is from Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 to 10. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived, but now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these.

Anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. If you've never given your life to Jesus and are ready for the ultimate fresh start, why not pray this prayer with me? Lord Jesus, I want the new life you promised to give. Forgive me for trying to live my life as if you didn't exist and as if I was in charge. Thank you for dying for my sins. Thank you for rising again.

I hand ownership of my life to you right now. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me to be the person that you've made me to be. Thank you for my fresh start. In your name I pray. Amen. And for those of us who have been Christians for a while, perhaps we can pray together like this. Lord, we are grateful for the fresh starts that you give us every day, to be forgiven of sin, to grow more into Christ-likeness every day. We give up our plans today to follow yours. Give us the fresh starts we need. In Jesus' name we pray it. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.