THE GOD OF NEW BEGINNINGS

Many look back over the past year and come to the conclusion they need to make some changes in how they live their lives. For some, it is guilt. For others, it is because of missed opportunities. For still others, it is because they want something better. Whatever the reason, most are pleased that the previous year is over, and that they have the chance to make this year better. New beginnings give us hope that our lot in life will improve, our relationships will improve, and even that we ourselves will improve. Hope springs eternal.

The Bible has much to say about "beginning." "In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen 1:1; cp. Jn. 1:1-3), and at the end of "His work-week, the Bible says, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Gen. 1:31).

Following the fall of Adam, the flood of Noah, and the bondage of Israel in Egypt, God instructed His people to celebrate their miraculous release from Egypt with the Feast of Passover in the month of Nissan, the beginning of their calendar. It was the death of someone else's son that provide for their new beginning. For the Christian, Jesus is our Passover sacrifice (1 Cor. 5:7). For us, the someone else is God (Jn. 3:16).

When we understand that God is to be reverenced (feared in the KJV), we begin to become wise (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). Knowledge, by itself, "puffeth up" (1 Cor. 8:1), but God-given wisdom glorifies Him (Job 38:36; Dan. 2:23; 1 Cor. 12:8; Jam. 1:5).

We are told that Jesus began His ministry with works which revealed His identity. John 2:11 says, "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him. These were the beginning of what would eventually become the Church; His disciples believed, and as a result, they "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6). This is also seen in Acts 11:15, "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning" (cp. Acts 2:1-4).

But not only is Jesus the "Beginning," He is also the "Ending." Three times, He is described as such in the Book of Revelation (1:8; 21:6; 22:13). In those same verses, He used the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet to describe Himself (Alpha and Omega); Jesus obviously wanted us to understand that the One who began it all with the Creation, was the same One who would be here until the end (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 Pet. 4:5-7).

So this year, as you and I "start over," let us remember to allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives. If we do, next year we will not need "New Year's Resolutions," nor will we need a new beginning! Praise God!