A new year is a time for new beginnings and a fresh start. Many people set resolutions and goals for the coming year and it is an opportunity to dedicate ourselves to something that will improve our lives, bring better health, closer relationships, and a deeper walk with God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”

Jesus has given us the opportunity to have a new beginning and the start of a new year is a good time to reflect on this. The term “born again” is often used with a hint of scorn when being used to describe Christians, but it is the key to new life in Christ. We are inherently sinful as human beings and the only way to shake off our old self is to be completely re-born, not physically, but spiritually.

I recently wiped the hard disk on our computer. It was a few years old and getting very slow. There were thousands of files clogging up the system, and unnecessary programmes slowing down the performance. Having been open to outside influence for several years from third party software and Internet downloads, the computer became corrupted and useless. I restored the factory settings and it now works like a new computer. However, if I don’t maintain the system and install anti virus software, it will soon become corrupted and unresponsive.

In the same way, we need to be wiped clean and allow God to restore us. The sins of the past are removed, the corruption that seeps into our lives from the world is dealt with, and we are free to function as God intended – for his Glory! This needs to be a continual process as we seek to become more Christlike, dying to our old selves and being transformed. We need to install Gods word into our minds and let it penetrate our hearts, to protect us from the influence of sin in our lives.

At the start of the year, pray for renewing and be committed to this on a daily basis. We are saved once and for all time, but to avoid being overloaded and corrupted by sin, we need to be renewed on a daily basis. If you only have one New Years resolution, make it to spend more time with God and in His Word.