New Year, New You

"New year. New you." 2019 is going to be your year. It's the year you'll finally begin working on your goals. It's the year you'll finally start feeling accomplished. Maybe your goal is just to get through another year. It's a fresh start.

Do we really have to wait until January 1st to start over? The truth is, we get a fresh start every day. And, we need that restart. Every day, we fail to do what we're supposed to. Every day, we don't keep God's law perfectly. Every day, we sin.

God gives us a fresh start. It comes from forgiveness. It comes from your baptism. We just had a baptism on December 30th, and we'll have another one this month. In fact, on January 13th, we will celebrate Jesus' baptism. In the baptism liturgy we say these words together: "Baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever."

Your baptism doesn't just take away the sins you committed before you were baptized. It washes away all your sins. It does this through the work of Jesus. He says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16).

When you wash your face in the morning as you get ready for the day, or, at night, when you're getting ready for bed, remember what God has done for you. He's washed away your sins. He's given you a fresh start. He's renewed you to walk in thankfulness to him, today, tomorrow, and all year long.