Hi, I am Ken Dykes,
It is January again. We often think of a new beginning in January. In fact, God has given us a new beginning every day of our life because the Bible says God’s grace is renewed every morning.
My friend queued up to hear those words, they were very upset to hear just new beginnings because they had queued up for hours and hours. Another Bible verse, Matthew 9 16 to 17, states no one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. Jesus said this at a wedding, so it was a new beginning for that new married couple.

In the second Bible verse Jesus tells us God might want us to go a different direction in our life. God needs to change our minds to go a different way, or to put it another way, it is like putting new wine into old wineskins because the old wineskin would not have enough room to fit in the new wine along with the old. It is the same, with our minds, God wants to clean out our minds to make room for the new stuff God wants us to do in our minds. Have you noticed who is doing the work here. it is not us.
Happy new year from Ken and Jen
So what is a new beginning? Well every time we start another part of our life, such as a new job, or getting married or something like that, that is a new beginning.
New beginnings can happen at anytime on any given day. For example, One day I woke up in a bad mood, because we were married and I was waiting to move in with my wonderful wife to start married life together. We had been waiting for three years. I was living in that residential home, and Jen was living seven miles away in a one bedroom flat. But we needed two bedrooms because I need a 24 hours support package. I was sat in my room at that residential home when I heard the pay phone. I tried to listen but the footsteps went away from my bedroom and I went back to feeling fed up with just waiting. Then I heard the phone again, but this time the footsteps came towards my bedroom and with each footstep the person made, my mood was changing until they were standing outside, my bedroom door. I had a big smile on my face as the person came to get me to answer the phone. when the person held the receiver to my ear, I could not hear what Jen was saying but she got her message across. Jen had a two bedroom flat. Jen, and I have cerebral palsy. So our heads move all the time. so it is very difficult to hold a telephone receiver, for us. So, from nowhere, Jen and I had another new beginning, or at least the beginning of one, then we could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
You see, you cannot tell when God is going to move for you. all I know is God’s timing is perfect. So, if you are feeling down and fed up, you might be in for a new beginning. A word of warning, not many new beginnings just happen over night. It could take quite a number of years from the start of the new beginning until you are living in the new beginning. I am thinking about Joseph in the Bible. He stayed in a jail for about two years after he told two men about the meaning of their dreams. This was the start of his new beginning. But he had to wait a bit longer to live in the new beginning. So at the start of this new year watch out for your new beginning.
Happy New Year.