Fresh Start

Embedded in the Jewish calendar of the Old Testament is the ultimate “reset button.” Every fiftieth year, after a perfect set of seven “seventh years,” the ram’s horn was to sound and everything was to start afresh. (See Leviticus 25.)  In the “Year of Jubilee,” as it was called, all debts were cancelled, all contracts reworked, all property titles were cleared, and every working arrangement was to be renegotiated from scratch. There were mandatory family reunions, divinely sanctioned feasts, and extended vacations required for everyone. It was a time of contemplation, rest and new beginnings. While we may never find such a holiday on the date book of our modern avaricious culture, it is a refreshing biblical concept to contemplate. God is certainly a God of fresh starts. He is in favor of the periodic restart. In his generosity, he loves to grant us the grace to hit the “erase button” and start drawing a brand new picture. So if you feel like your life is hopelessly tangled up, or you think you’ve made a colossal mess of things, then call out to the God of the Jubilee, take a day off, and ask our gracious God for a brand new start. You might be surprised at how willing God is to say, “Let’s start over.”

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Real Pleasure

As the people of this world perpetually chase after good feelings by doing whatever their selfish impulses dictate, God has called his children to take hold of profound joy and lasting gratification by cultivating a deepening relationship with their Maker. Sin is deceptive and in the end Satan always discards his heroes, but God’s servants have his unending love and his grace-filled presence as their ultimate reward. This is real pleasure and lasting contentment. King David addressed God after surveying the hedonistic and rebellious culture of his day, and with an optimistic call to the faithful wrote: “But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12). God is good. Knowing him is cause for celebration.

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Suffering and God's Plan

So often we are surprised that God “would allow” suffering, pain and death. But actually, these unpleasant realities are the promised outworking of God’s response to sin in Genesis 3. Our Creator has clearly and consistently maintained that the wages of sin is death – and all the painful corruption that goes with it. The absence of suffering and pain in a sinful world would be a legitimate cause to question the truthfulness and faithfulness of God. However, that doesn’t make it feel any better, not to mention that it leaves millions of people bristling at a God who doesn’t relieve their pains. Before you join in, remember that God’s sentence of death on humanity’s sin is a disguised opportunity for his grace. If Adam and his descendants didn’t decay and die, they would be forever separated and banished from God’s perfect fellowship and his perfect gifts. Barring the first couple from the Tree of Life was, as it turns out, an incredible act of grace. A holy God cannot engage in perfect union with fallen creatures. But in God’s plan our eventual physical death allows for a new start. God sent his Son to purchase for us the ultimate “new start” wherein we could be spiritually and, one day, physically remade without reference to sin and its affects. Because of death, and all it’s ugly and painful implications, those of us who cling to God’s redeeming grace will finally be released from the just consequences of sin and enjoy a new reality, basking in the perfection only briefly experienced in the Garden.

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Time for Prayer

Few would disagree that life is busy and cluttered with activity. Even so, it is imperative that we follow the pattern set for us by Christ, regularly shutting out everything to quietly spend time in communion and fellowship with God. This was the habit of Jesus’ life. Luke tells us that he “often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Lk.5:16). While that may seem unrealistic with our hectic schedules, it is important to remember the many things and the multitudes of people who were always trying to force their way into Christ’s schedule. It is also helpful to realize that Jesus had to work hard to make these solitary encounters happen. He didn’t just happen to “have the time,” Jesus “made the time” as they say. For example, Mark records that “very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mk.1:35). Matthew tells us that at other times he needed to stay up late into the night to find any quiet time to pray (Mt.14:23-25). I know it is hard, and I know we like our sleep, but alone time with God is the most important investment we can make in the next twenty-four hours.

For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/