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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 7, NUMBER 11, MARCH 18, 2007 A FRESH START This is one of my favorite times of the year. Winter seems to have left us. The days are brighter and warmer. We are just a few days away from hearing the crack of the bat and the cry, “Play ball!” Our Reds have not been too successful in the last five years but the great thing is that their past performances have nothing to do with this brand new season. Just like springtime itself, every team starts anew once again. It doesn’t matter if the team won 120 games last year or a total of 120 games in the last five years. Every team gets a fresh start. Every individual player also has a fresh start. I have seen players who have hit .300 for most of their career put it all together and contend for a batting title. I have seen pitchers who battled injuries their whole career finally get healthy and help push their team into pennant contention. Thanks be to God that He gave all of us a fresh start! We were deserving of a spiritual death - an eternity of suffering in a lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 19:20). Our sins caused His only Son to suffer and die. Yet because our Father loves us so much, we were given the opportunity to have a fresh start, on one condition -- that we become a disciple of His Son and remain faithful to Him. Acts 2:21, “And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Romans 8:1, “For now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Have you ever longed for a fresh start in your life? The spiritual fresh start that you can obtain by becoming a Christian is unlike any other. Become a Christian this very day. Did you get that fresh start as a Christian and at some time in your life fell back into the ways of the world? God has given you yet another opportunity for a fresh start. If you are sorrowful for your sins, confess them before Him, and drive those sins out of your life. He will give you a fresh start. Acts 2:19, “Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away…” Acts 8:24, “Therefore, repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” 1 Corinthians 5:7, “Clean out the old leaven, so that you may be a new lump…” Even the faithful Christian should look at each day as an opportunity for a fresh start. It is another day that we can strive to be more like our King and Savior Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:3,5, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” No one on this planet (including an eternally optimistic fan like me) knows how successful our Reds will be in this brand new season. However, we all know what God, through His mercy and grace, will give us if once we get a fresh start we remain on the straight and narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). That path leads to heaven where God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and all the saved saints of all time will be together for an eternity. I hope we will all be reunited together there at the feet of Jesus Christ. Eric Saylor No Title, Just A Thought Or Two The years continue to melt away, The brown is being replaced with gray. What was once thirty-two has grown a lot, Come to think of it, so has the bald spot. The things of this life don’t mean what they used to. You can work every minute of your life and there is still so much to do. Even if we live to be one hundred and three, What is that in view of eternity? God’s promise becomes more real with each passing day. Our lives are but vapors that vanish away. But heaven awaits; I know this is true. Jesus has prepared it for me and for you.” Greg Litmer “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3)
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