“Begin Again!”

“Begin Again!”
“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.” Lamentations 3:40 “And when he came to himself he said, …I will arise and go to myfather… ” Luke 15:17-18
• I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. However, I do make commitments. I see resolutions as things of the flesh; commitments I see as things of conviction. A conviction is based upon the understanding of two things: one’s personal understanding at the moment (he came to himself); the condition that God’s Word assigns to us (turn again to the LORD). I fail, and it would take a world of books for me to write them all down. However, I have a loving God who invites me to start over. In I John 1, we are shown how to begin again. It is not turning over the proverbial “new leaf;” rather, it is the admitting of our present condition (sin is often the culprit), repenting is needed, confessing to God, and asking forgiveness. I don’t know about you, but if there were a carpet between me and God’s throne, you would be able to see the path I have worn on it. There is no sin in admitting to the Lord, “Lord, I have sinned.” God loves to hear honest admissions. Nathan confronted David about his sin, and David said, “I have sinned against the LORD” (II Sam 12:13). David was a better king, and you will be a better Christian in God’s eyes when you confess sin instead of covering it up! BEGIN AGAIN! — G.G.

Prepared by Roger Fulk, from the “Baptist Bread” December 28th, 2019 devotional by author Dr. Guy Goodell, Pastor, Bible Baptist Church, Hudson Falls, NY. With permission from Tim Green, editor Baptist Bread.