I hope you had a great start to the year. As we continue to enjoy the freshness that a new year brings, it may be wise to remind ourselves that we can feel fresh every single day! As Jeremiah wrote: “The mercies of God are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23). It may also be wise to remind ourselves that *we* are made new too. Paul wrote: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17).

How are we made new? Well, we have a new beginning, which is a clean slate. We have a new relationship with God when we are brought back into his family. We have a new identity, which is being a child of God. We have a new destiny that takes us to heaven. We have a new position seated in the heavenly realms with Christ. We have a new power enabled by the Holy Spirit. And we have a new purpose to accomplish great things in the name of Jesus. 

When we are baptized, we become a new creation. However, nobody is perfected instantly. We still carry so much of the “old self” in us. This can be daunting to many of us, especially when we see how worldly we still are. However, if we cooperate with God and take one step at a time, we will get there sooner rather than later. 

The secret is to renew ourselves daily, not yearly. How many of us welcomed the new year as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf? I am sure that many of us reading this will say they did. How many of us will start getting discouraged when we start failing in weeks, if not days? Again, I am sure the numbers will be many. However, let us not be dismayed but look at each day as another opportunity to get things right. 

Let us never forget God is working in us to complete the work he started (see Philippians 1:6). We just need to work hand in hand with him to make it smooth and fast. Too many of us are bothered by what people think of us. The world owes us nothing, and by the same token, we don’t owe the world anything. Let us be concerned by what God thinks of us, knowing that he thinks more highly of us than we think of ourselves. This is because he looks at the best in us, not the worst. And he helps us achieve our potential by encouraging us to keep moving forward despite our failures. 

I hope that one of the resolutions you made this year was to read Scripture because, if we don’t, we risk being ignorant of our new life and delaying God’s grand plan for our lives. A few chapters a day, and you would have read the entire Bible in a year! And you will see the wonderful new creation that is you unveiled before your very eyes. 

May the Spirit be with you.