A Fresh Start

Starting over.
It's the second chance we didn't think we'd have. It's a wave of relief that washes over our past mistakes. It is a gift from God we don't deserve.
   In the book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah looks back at the destruction of Jerusalem. God promised that his people would face punishment for their sinful choices, and he was true to his word. Their city had been ravaged, and they were not living in exile. The temple was completely destroyed.
   In the midst of Jeremiah's lament, however, he remembers the mercy of God. Were it not for God's mercy, every one of God's people would have perished. The judgment on them was painful, but God would not leave them ruined. Eventually, after they acknowledged their disobedience and confessed their sin, God would forgive and restore them. He would allow them to start over once more. And he does the same for us.
   Maybe you have experienced the discipline of God in your own life. You have suffered painful consequences for sinful choices you have made. Perhaps you feel that God has left you there. If so, remember that although God is just, he is also full of mercy. His compassions never fail. He promises to forgive us when we come to him and confess what we have done or not done. No matter how you have offended God. you can have hope because of his great mercy. You can always have a fresh start with him because his compassions are "new every morning."
   Take some time to thank God for the specific ways he has acted mercifully toward you. Thank him for forgiving your sin. Express gratitude to him for actively restoring you. You may even want to sing or pray the words to the hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness":
"Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!"
-Women's Devotional Bible

{Jeremiah 3:12-13}

12 Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says:

“O Israel, my faithless people,

come home to me again,

for I am merciful.

I will not be angry with you forever.

13 Only acknowledge your guilt.

Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God

and committed adultery against him

by worshiping idols under every green tree.

Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

{Zechariah 10:6}

“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel;

I will restore them because of my compassion.

It will be as though I had never rejected them,

for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.

{Luke 15:3-24}

3 So Jesus told them this story: 

4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?

5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.

6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 

7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’

10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.

12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living.

14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs.

16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!

18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,

19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet.

23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,

24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.