By Kelly Carr

The new year has different connotations for us all. Maybe you relish the concept that it’s brand-new and therefore has brand-new potential—you love making goals and lists and plans for January through December. Maybe you’re so busy with each day’s work that you barely notice 2017 has arrived—today is the same as yesterday with tasks to get done, so keep moving. Maybe you have fun seeing whatever comes your way—this is the start of an unknown adventure.

Whatever your take on the new year, remember God is in the business of new things:

• “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

• “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isaiah 43:19).

Fresh starts are comforting. We all have a disappointment, an error, or a sinful choice we’d like to erase. With God, we don’t have to wait until 2018 rolls around before we get a fresh start again. (That’s good news because I’ve already messed up in a few ways on January 1.)

Perhaps you’ve heard this all so many times, you’re skimming this paragraph by now. But perhaps today you have a need to hear this reassurance once more:

Don’t forget that God loves you and is ready to give you a fresh start. He knows you are far from him in your sin, and he has already provided a way for you to be brought near to him again. Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection make it possible for your sin to be removed. When you call upon his forgiveness and grace, God looks upon you as brand-new.

Special note: We’d like to introduce our new Home Life monthly columnist, Brian Jennings. Brian is a husband, dad, minister, and writer who has crafted the book Lead Your Family. We are excited for him to respond to our Home Life questions and share a biblical perspective for families of all types.