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July 21st, 2022
Scripture
Devotion
The average American will tell you that their favorite season is summer. They love the bright sun, the green grass and the long warm evenings. Equally divided are the people whose favorite time of year is either spring or autumn. Spring brings a host of new buds on the trees, fragrant flowers, and gentle afternoon showers. Autumn ushers in crisp, cool mornings, golden leaves, and hot apple cider. Few are those who proclaim winter as the best time of the year. I think they have a secret that the rest of us may be missing.
January exists as a new beginning, a fresh chance to do things right this time, and a way of signifying the inauguration of a clean slate. We have all had our share of victories through the last year. Unfortunately, in our humanness, we have also made many mistakes. Some of our mistakes have caused problems beyond our ability to fix and will cause negative consequences for many years to come. Now what?
Thank Heaven for Jesus! John 3:17 tells us that “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Jesus offers us a fresh beginning, a new hope, an abundant life. 2021 will not be 2020. No one is doomed to repeat the same mistakes! Seize this chance to let the Holy Spirit control your actions, your thoughts and your future. At this point, all of 2021 is available. January offers the best opportunity all year to make the required personal changes to “get it right this time.”
Bountiful are the stories of people who are insatiably drawn to success through material wealth, celebrity status, or athletic achievement. Often, the battles which are fought to claim such success are riddled with agonizing stress and family neglect. Perhaps the course that we have charted for ourselves isn’t the course that was designed for us at all. If we are truly following God’s will for our lives, then maybe things wouldn’t be quite so difficult.
Now is your chance: make a commitment to let Jesus guide your life. Today, humble yourself before the Lord and earnestly seek His forgiveness for previous sins, then forget about them! Today, change your lifestyle to completely omit the sins that prevent you from fully walking with the Lord. Today, abandon the desires that you were never meant to have. Become a January person, and let yesterday’s failures dissolve with the past! Let Jesus cover your mistakes and shape your future. Let Him be King and watch how much better your life will flow.
Thank God for new beginnings. Thank God for January.
By Steven Hicks, Bible League International staff, Alabama, U.S.
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