A New Start

Guest writer Nick Stead:
theprayerplace

The months of January and February are a time of contrasts here in the UK. Two days ago, bright winter
sunshine lifted my spirit as I began the new day. Today, billows of grey cloud float past above my
neighbours’ even darker grey, slate roofs. Last autumn’s leaves, dusty and dry, still blow along the roads
and into our gardens. Yet new life is already evident as fresh green shoots poke through the dark earth:
snowdrops, crocuses, even daffodils are making their way out of hibernation, wrestling free from winter’s
grasp to bring colour into our dormant world once again.

Spring, when it comes, is the season of new life, a fresh start for the natural world, bringing renewed hope
of warmer, brighter days ahead. New beginnings and second chances are built into the world we live in. We
have a Creator who made today the day when we can begin again – it’s never too late…

For some of us, when we look inside, we find emotional hurts, failures, regrets, our conscience reminding
us about our negative actions – these things weigh us down; particularly so when there seems to be no way
out, no way to find freedom, forgiveness and healing.

Two thousand years ago, this world was a world without hope. Yet someone came along, who brought light into the darkness, hope instead of despair, love instead of condemnation. His name was and is Jesus. Crowds flocked to see and hear Him, travelling hundreds of miles to experience His love and compassion. He reminded them of their importance to God:
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”1.
Indeed because of His love for us, Jesus came to this earth not just to teach and to heal, but to pay the price
for all our wrongdoing, taking our place on a Roman cross that we might know His forgiveness and new life,
a new beginning on offer to us all. As the ancient scriptures say: “Anyone who belongs to Jesus is a new
person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.” 2.

Jesus is just as concerned for you and me in the Twenty-First Century, as He was for those who longed for a
touch of His love all those years ago. He wants to heal those hurts, bring release from past regrets and help
each one of us to start afresh, knowing we are loved, forgiven and accepted by our gracious Creator. His ear
is always open. Today is a new day, and it begins when you talk to Jesus.

References from the Bible: 1) Luke 12:6-7 (NIV); 2) 2 Cor. 5:17 (CEV).