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We are a week into the new year… seven days of January are already on the calendar. Did you make resolutions? Set goals?
I don’t know about you, but whenever I set a new goal or make a decision to change, I start out with great enthusiasm. This is it I’m sure… I won’t give up, the change is going to happen! Rah rah, go team me!
And every time, life gets in the way of my grand plans. The unexpected happens, or I find that the challenge was harder than I anticipated. I waver, I lose confidence.
I rely so heavily on God’s Word for encouragement and guidance, and embarking on new things is no different. Have you had any challenges on your road to new beginnings this year? Take heart, and take some time to meditate on what God has to say about it.
I have put together a few scriptures to remind all of us, including me, of what God means by new beginnings. Print them out and spend some time meditating on them. Let’s embrace His Word and His version of new life! Trust me, it beats all the diets and exercise plans any of us can dream up!
Do you have a favorite amongst these verses? Did we miss a scripture that would fit?
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I have often struggled with the passages in the Bible that talk about God making us into NEW creations; verses that tell us that God is doing a NEW thing. I often wonder to myself, why isn’t He doing something new in me? I want to be a new person in Christ! New beginnings. New creations. Our God is a God of all things new.
And then God gently reminds me that if I am to trust Him, I am to take Him at His Word. His Word tells us that each of us are new creations in Him. If we are Christ followers, He is making us new. God’s timing may not be ours, it may not happen as quickly as we would like. God isn’t a magic genie who snaps his fingers and makes us into a new creation in 24 hours. And truly, we wouldn’t want Him to be.
20 Verses for New Beginnings
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘“The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24). Here we see the beauty of a new day. A new morning. New mercies awaiting us. We see that they are new every morning… thus acknowledging that we are on this journey and it’s not a one time fix all. Today is a new day! Let’s be grateful!
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). We see in this passage that while Jesus was here on earth, even He was doing a new thing! He was teaching believers a new way of living, a new commandment, a new covenant: to love as we have been loved.
SEE ALSO: The God of Do-Overs
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:18-19). God tells us, even in the Old Testament, that He is doing a new thing. A new thing is a good thing. He is making a WAY for us in the wilderness, He is giving us streams of living water in times we are in the wastelands.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). There it is! Right on the pages of God’s Word we are told that we are being made new. We can choose to believe it and walk in that truth, or we can deny the power of God and His power to change even the deadest of hearts into hearts softened with love. He is making all things new, He is bringing the dead back to life!
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From day one on this earth God was a creator God. He creates. He is the ultimate creative Being. He is always in the business of making us new and giving us new beginnings.
“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him” (Psalm 40:3). The Psalms are full of praise and singing NEW songs to God! When you find yourself in a scary new place, sing a new song of praise to our God! Praise is our weapon against the enemy and fear.
SEE ALSO: How God is Making You New
“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God” (Isaiah 62:1-3). Have you noticed how often God gave new names to the characters in the Old Testament? I think just like He gave new names in those days, He brings new seasons into our lives as well. Maybe your new name is Strength, Fearless, or Grateful. Walk in the beauty of His new work in your heart!
“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). Sometimes we just need to let go of the past and embrace the new season. Just like God does.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah’” (Jeremiah 31:31). The new covenant was given to us through the blood of Jesus. This is our hope. Newness is our inheritance. Jesus is the truest gift of newness in our lives. Newness of heart. Newness of eternity. From death to life.
“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19). We are given a new spirit as children of God. He turns our hearts from stone to flesh. New beginnings. New mercies. Newness of life forevermore.
SEE ALSO: How God Can Make You Whole Again
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule—to the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14-16). What matters? How you messed up yesterday doesn’t matter. Your mistakes of tomorrow don’t matter. You are a new creation in Christ. That is what counts.
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). This is what we do with this new life in Christ: we put off the old ways and we allow God to make us over in our new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:9-11). It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, who you’ve been or what others think. Christ is all and in all. We are putting off the old self and putting on the new self. We are being renewed in Christ daily!
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13). None of us knows the day or the moment that Jesus is coming back for His beloved bride. But, we do know that this world will not be as we know it any longer. We ought to live holy and godly lives as we wait for His coming. And while that day will bring about destruction, God will keep His promise and we will then know a new heaven and a new earth!
“Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Psalm 98:1-3). Sing to the Lord a new song! Why? Because He has done marvelous things. He is so worthy of our praise. We already have the victory through Christ. Praise Him for all the wonderful things He has done!
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!” (Ezekiel 18:30-32). A new heart and a new spirit means a new beginning for us. Why not turn toward Christ and let Him make you into a new creation? That newness brings LIFE.
“Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:27-29). His very body, His blood, gives us new life. This newness of life and fresh beginnings isn’t anything we can muster up on our own. Christ is our only hope of new life! And He scarified His very life for us to have that new life in Him.
“And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love” (2 John 1:5-6). Want a fresh start? Want a new beginning? Start loving. That is the new command that Jesus came to bring us. Walk in love.
“And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). In heaven it will be one new song after another. Why not join in the chorus of new songs to praise our Father while still here on earth? Sing to Him a new song! A song of praise no matter your circumstance. Can you even imagine the praise that will fill our mouths and hearts when we meet Him face to face?
“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:1-3). Do you ever think about heaven? About that new heaven and earth? About praising God forever and ever? No more tears. No more death. The victory is ours!
Candace Crabtree is just a broken mama thankful for grace and new mercies every morning. She and her husband live in East Tennessee where they homeschool their 3 kids. Candace also enjoys teaching piano, coffee, good books and blogging at His Mercy Is New. On her blog she shares encouragement for weary women from God’s Word along with resources for learning to pray the Scriptures.
Publication date: October 17, 2016
www.crosswalk.com
Last year for New Beginnings I wanted to do something that we could carry on through the year. Something that would help the girls as they study there scriptures and personal progress.
Through the years I have come to realize that Satan had different ways for attacking our youth. It is very apparent how he attacks boys- But for girls it is quite different. He attacks them personally. He attacks there self esteem, their spirit. He enters their thoughts and uses others to bring them down.
So this year our emphasis will be on the Good Women in their lives. How they influence them; the example they set and what Value they represent.
The inspiration for this idea? These amazing posters of Women in the scriptures and the value they represent.
They are beautiful in person. I absolutely love them. We purchased the 11×17 poster version of these and put them in a mat to cover up the who’s your hero text on the bottom.
For the invitation I made a “Ancient” Scripture Magazine cover.
Each detail on the invite has a bit of what this night will be about.
We printed our programs on parchment paper and rolled them into scrolls that were available in baskets as the girls and parents walked in.
Our values will be presented by 8 young women with a scripture reference and a story reference for the woman representing the value.
{Values talks}
With each value having a female role model we asked 9 girls to study the woman they would talk about and share what makes her possess that value. Each girl was given 3 minutes to share. My girls did an an amazing job and I think they learned a little about the values they should seek to possess.
Our program ended with a talk about women in the scriptures and women of the latter days. And how these women can be amazing examples of the values we live by daily.
During my talk I challenges the girls, that as they read the scriptures, write down any references to women they read about in the scriptures. And answer the questions about that woman:
What value do they represent?
What can I do to represent that value?
Who else do I know that exemplifies this value in my life today?
For our take home we provided the girls a journal and pen with a similar front to invite, with a few changes.
I purchased the notebooks and pens from the dollar section at Target and added my printable to the front.
Our night came to an end with a choice of desserts and visiting.
(Visited 1,355 times, 2 visits today)
freetimefrolics.com
I have often struggled with the passages in the Bible that talk about God making us into NEW creations; verses that tell us that God is doing a NEW thing. I often wonder to myself, why isn’t He doing something new in me? I want to be a new person in Christ! New beginnings. New creations. Our God is a God of all things new.
And then God gently reminds me that if I am to trust Him, I am to take Him at His Word. His Word tells us that each of us are new creations in Him. If we are Christ followers, He is making us new. God’s timing may not be ours, it may not happen as quickly as we would like. God isn’t a magic genie who snaps his fingers and makes us into a new creation in 24 hours. And truly, we wouldn’t want Him to be.
Here are 10 Verses for New Beginnings:
www.ibelieve.com
