A Fresh Start

     So, officially this is my last week as a 29 year old...INTERESTING...lol...In just seven days, my twenty-something year old status will be changed to the big 3 0. It is a new stage in my life!  However, I want to share with you some thoughts that have troubled me and how the Grace of God continuously empowers me to overcome.

     Entering this new phase of life has brought certain questions to mind which has caused me to dwell on the past. I would think about the decisions that I made, the mistakes, the waste of time, the regrets, the gains, the loses, the nonsense, etc.  I would compare myself to others in my age bracket and tell myself, wow, I am so behind. Have you ever felt like that?

      It is interesting to note  that in the process of reminiscing on the wrong decisions made and regretting the time wasted, you end up wasting even more time because now you are in this state of paralysis. Condemnation grabs a hold of your heart and a heaviness seems to come over you. You want to move, you want to expand, yet you are in this sluggish state and it seems so hard to "snap" out of it.  It feels like there is no hope for you, you missed out on life's best opportunity and now it is too late.   I am speaking of myself, but I know I am not the only one that has gone through this.

HOWEVER, I HAVE GREAT NEWS, THERE IS GREAT HOPE AND IT IS IN JESUS!!!

Check this verse out:

ROMANS 8:28   And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

What does this mean?  It means that because I am HIS, ALL things in my life are worked out for my good.   The bad decisions, the mistakes, the waste of time, and even the heartaches are all worked out for me because I love Him and He has given me His purpose to live out.  God has a way to take our mess and make it into His masterpiece!  And check this out, when Jesus died for me on the cross, He paid for ALL of my sins! This means that my PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE sins have been FORGIVEN by Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. He has given me a FRESH START and now by His Grace I am who I am. I don't have to compare myself to others or much less believe what the world or the devil can say about me.  I am FORGIVEN, LOVED, ACCEPTED and RIGHT ON TIME. Jesus has worked it ALL out for me!!

SO, 30 is not a bad thing. It is the start of the best in my life! Friend, if you identify yourself with this know that Jesus is your hope! It does not matter wether you are 15, 27, or 87, you are not too late!! Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, say goodbye to the past, and begin to move forward!

PHILLIPIANS 3:13

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead..

START FRESH TODAY!