NEW BEGINNING

NEW BEGINNING (Isaiah 43:19)

With a heart full of gratitude to the gracious God, I warmly welcome you to the month of June, the last month of the second quarter of the year. The faithfulness of God is ever constant, while His love for us is deep and unwavering. He is mindful of us; He cares about every step we take, and His mercy is ahead of us to take away every form of judgment. This God is awesome, and He has graciously brought us into the sixth month of the year. The theme for the month is NEW BEGINNING. Our anchor scripture for the month is Isaiah 43:19, which says, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

It is important to remind ourselves of what a new beginning means so that we will not miss out on the accompanying blessings. A new beginning is a time to introduce a new direction into the course of your life. A new beginning presents an opportunity for you to correct past wrongs and mistakes. A new beginning also gives you room for expansion, while it is also an indication that you are not alone, because both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 confirm the presence of the almighty God at the beginning of a new thing. To this end, let us key into all the opportunities presented to us by a new beginning so that we can move ourselves and the church to the next level of glorious relationship with God.

A new beginning is a time to introduce a new direction into the course of your life. A new beginning presents an opportunity for you to correct past wrongs and mistakes. A new beginning also gives you room for expansion, while it is also an indication that you are not alone, because both Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 confirm the presence of the almighty God at the beginning of a new thing.

Furthermore, a new beginning signifies a new step, which must be taken in a right direction. The Bible says God orders the steps of the righteous in a right way (Psalm 37:23). The implication of this is that if you want to take the right step in a new beginning, it must be ordered by God. Furthermore, for your steps to be ordered by God, you must be righteous. The underlying meaning of this is that being filled with unrighteousness may prevent you from moving towards the right direction, even though God might have offered us a new beginning. This calls for a serious self-examination of our lives. Who declares you righteous? Is it God, another man or yourself? Remember that our self-righteousness is like a filthy rag before God (Isaiah 64:6). Let us carefully and cautiously live a life that will make God declare us righteous as He did to Job. It is only on these grounds that we can give God free course to order our steps aright as we start a new beginning both for ourselves and the church of God.

Today is the beginning of a new day, the beginning of a new month, and the beginning of new things in our lives. Noah and his household experienced a new beginning after the flood, and their lives never remained the same. Abraham also had an experience of a new beginning after being called by the almighty God, and that marked the beginning of his being called the father of nations today. The Israelites were launched into a new beginning after being set free from Egyptian bondage, and on their path to the Promised Land. The new always replaces the old with a new agenda, and as God opens a new chapter in our lives today, may He cause all the old things to give way to a new experience of God in a new way in our lives in Jesus’ name.

No doubt, it is really a new beginning for the church and all the members of RCCG Mount Zion parish after the 18th anniversary celebrations. Meanwhile, as we start a new beginning, we must take time to ponder on the admonition of our Lord Jesus Christ in Mathew 9:17 that we cannot put old wine in a new wineskin so that double loss of the wine and the wineskin can be prevented. Many of our old ways of doing things and the way we take our relationship with God will not fit into the new beginning. Are there any little and seemingly harmless sins we want to bring into the new beginning? This type of act is not acceptable to God. Purity, holiness and righteousness are required for all of us to enjoy the benefits of the new beginning. It is impossible for us to harbour iniquities in our midst and still expect a flourishing new beginning. Let all of us regard and respect God’s standards in all ramifications, and we will see the glory of God in a new dimension. Once more, happy new month.