A Brand New StartSample

Say Yes and the Journey Begins"

If you are here, it is probably because you have decided to follow Jesus Christ. This is the best decision you can make in your life - Congratulations!

Accepting Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and following Him means you no longer have to live alone or in your own strength; you are "saved". In fact, this series is titled "A Brand New Start" because that's what accepting Jesus and following Him allows us - a brand new start.

The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God made humans in His image and that we enjoyed a perfect relationship with Him. But that perfect relationship with God and our perfect nature in His image was broken when we disobeyed God and chose to follow our own ways instead of following God's ways.

[Read more about this in Genesis, Chapters 1-3]

Sin is anything but God’s best for our lives - and for the lives of others.

We have all lived according to our ways. We have all done wrong and fallen short of God's perfection. But the good news is that God made the way for us to be in perfect relationship with Him again through Jesus Christ. God created you and knows you; in fact, He knows you better than you know yourself! He loves you and wants to be in relationship with you.

The Bible tells us in John 3:16,

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

This verse sums up God's love for humanity. He gave His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who was born and lived a perfect and sinless life. Despite His perfection, He was crucified by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate at the request of the Jewish people for His claim to be God's Son. Jesus was crucified and died, but He rose again three days later. He appeared to the disciples for forty days afterwards, proving that He had defeated the power of death and sin. Jesus told his disciples to go and spread the good news about his salvation that is available to all humanity. He then ascended to heaven, promising to return to earth.

[Read more about this in the gospel of Mark, chapters 15-16]

Salvation is the total forgiveness of our sins, full access to a relationship with God, our Creator, and the hope of eternal life through Jesus' resurrection.

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved that nothing, not even death, can separate us from His love [Romans 8:38-39]. Unlike some religions that tirelessly make rules concerning what we should and shouldn't do, the Bible's message is actually about the greatest love story and rescue mission of all time. It is through our faith in His grace (undeserved favour and love for us) that we are declared to be forgiven and called children of God [Romans 8:14]. In other words, we have been set right and adopted into His family.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." [Ephesians 2:8-10]

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake." [1 Peter 1:18-20]

God wants us to know that before we were even created, He had already provided the means (faith in who He is and what He has done) to keep us from ever thinking that we cannot measure up or be accepted by Him.

Jesus spoke with many people about having access to "A Brand New Start." He called it "being born again". We are all born once as babies, through water and of flesh. But we also need to be born of the Spirit. God is Spirit, so we are born of the Spirit when we accept God as the Lord of our life, follow His ways and allow Him to transform us.

[Read more about this in John 3:1-8]

To be born again is to accept Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life. It is acknowledging that we cannot save ourselves and that Jesus died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sins and enter into a new life with Him.

The Bible tells us in Romans 10:9-10,

"If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

When we are born again, we are set right with God. The Bible tells us in Ezekiel 36:26 that He gives us a new heart and puts a new spirit in us. He makes us new, which is what having a brand-new start is.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 says,

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation."

Even though we are made new by God, sometimes our old patterns of thinking and behaviour make us believe that we are not saved and can't possibly measure up. This can lead to us either running from God or trying to make it up to God through all the good things we think matter. The Bible clearly tells us that we can only receive salvation by faith, not by keeping rules or being 'good'.

We live in a world that is affected by sin and where sickness, broken relationships and injustice exist. So even if we fall into old patterns of sin, we are no longer defined by or bound to who we used to be. We can confidently confess our sins to God [Hebrews 4:16] and allow His Spirit to continue to work within us to make our hearts and minds new until His return.

God made the way for us to be back in perfect relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. This also means our original image reflecting His likeness in the world is restored. How wonderful to think that our salvation experience is the beginning of a journey to recover what has been lost!

REFLECTION:

1. Salvation is a free gift from God. I receive it by faith [Ephesians 2]. Therefore, there is nothing I have to do to gain God's approval or acceptance.
2. Being "born again" is like a spiritual birth where my past has been covered by God's forgiveness, and my future is sealed with God's promise [Ephesians 1:13].
3. Although I will still make mistakes and sometimes get it wrong, I am no longer defined by my old nature. God has given me a new life and declared me righteous [Romans 5:8-11].

IN THE VIDEO:

Mel provides encouragement as you take your first steps on the faith journey.

PRAYER:
Jesus, thank You for a brand new start. Thank You that I don’t have to save myself or carry everything on my own anymore. I believe You died and rose again so that I could be forgiven and made new. Help me walk with You every day — trusting Your grace, leaning on Your strength, and listening for Your voice. I want to follow You, one step at a time. Amen.