In need of a fresh start?
Welcome to 2022! What happened to 2021 or for that matter, 2020? What COVID-19 and associated restrictions didn’t eat, isolation did.
Do you feel the need for a fresh start? Do you need to make a break with the past? Are you questioning some of the priorities in this life that you have been working so hard to achieve? Do you have questions regarding what is important in life? We have a finite amount of time on this earth. Time spent is gone and never to be recovered. How should I spend that time and what is truly meaningful? If you are experiencing some of these questions occurring to you then consider a fresh start.
If you’re not already a follower of Jesus, then consider visiting several church congregations in the community. Look for a congregation where the Bible is taught accurately and where you’re welcomed. The relationships you form at a particular church are very important to your long-term spiritual health. Look for churches where you have opportunities to get integrated into small groups of some kind. Small groups are a great way to start experiencing community. It is important that we find a place to serve using the gifts, talents, experience, and learning to help others. It is in the context of community that Jesus shapes us and we really learn to live out the commandments to love God and love others. Look for preachers and teachers who will challenge you to grow as a human being and are growing themselves. Being a true follower of Jesus means that we are on a journey of personal growth along with everybody else. Loving others as ourselves is a lot easier to say than do. Loving God means He will challenge us with true spirituality, forgiveness, and mercy and turning away from selfishness, pride/ego, and self-righteousness.
If you are a follower of Jesus and feel like your spiritual life has become drab and routine, then consider doing things you have never done. If you want to see God do new things you have to go to places you have never been whether these be physical places or spiritual places. Do you attend a regular prayer meeting? Have you read any books on prayer? How fervent are you in prayer? Are they merely memorized prayers that you pray almost automatically without thinking much about what you are praying? Have you ever fasted? How intimate is your dialogue with the almighty, omniscient, and omnipresent being of God? Are there things you’re trying to hide from Him? We’re as sick as our secrets. Incidentally the divorce rate of couples who pray together daily is less than 3% according to the last figures I had from Focus on the Family.
Regular Bible reading is also very important. Think of it as getting frequent anti-virus/anti-malware updates to the central processor of your mind and heart. No frequent updates? You’re vulnerable just like your computer. Consider choosing a chapter in the Bible that really resonates with you and read it every day in addition to whatever regular Bible reading you do. Meditate on what the passage really says before jumping to what does this passage mean. Immerse yourself into the Word. Memorize that chapter. Make it your first thing in the morning upon getting up and the last thing at night.
The modern evangelical or Protestant church can certainly use a fresh start. We must ask ourselves collectively are we getting done what we have been asked to do? Are we really fulfilling the great commission of Matthew 28? Are we producing disciples capable of making disciples? How are we doing with the great commandment of John 13 and 15, Romans 12, 1 Thessalonians 3, and 1 John 4? It is by His love for one another that everyone will know we are truly followers of Jesus.
I know that renewal and fresh starts are necessary for me. How about you?
Bud McConnaughey serves on the staff of North Summit Church, 201 N. Division, Sandpoint. If you want to know more about Jesus Christ and His hope, contact us northsummit.com. We’ll be glad to help you or refer you to numerous local congregations and pastors in Bonner County.