I love THE NEW YEAR!  It is a time to start over.  New Year's is like a Mulligan in golf, a "do over" if you will.  It is s a time to say goodbye to the failures and mistakes of 2009 and look ahead to a fresh beginning.  Be honest, could you use a fresh start?      

In the Old Testament, God's people had sinned greatly,.  They rejected God from being King, and they chose Saul as their King (a really bad trade there).  The Prophet Samuel let them know how evil and terrible their chose was.  In despair they cried out to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king" (1 Samuel 12:19).  They had messed up BIG TIME, and they knew it.  

Notice the Lord's response through Samuel: "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart."  Yes, it is true they had sinned greatly, but that sin was NOT a fatal error.  They could START OVER ... and so can you!

Give all the broken pieces of your life to Jesus.  Bring Him all the ashes of burned hopes, dreams, and selfish decisions.  He can and will give "beauty for ashes."  He is God of the Mulligans.  Aren't you glad He is?

Love,

Pastor Jeff