Scripture reading: Isaiah 43:16–21

Carpe Diem!

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  (II Corinthians 5:17)

Many years have passed since I was a student in Mrs. Gilbert’s third grade class. However I can still remember my feelings of terror when she would stand before us and say, “OK class, please clear your desks and take out a blank sheet of paper and a #2 pencil.” We were about to be tested. It seemed that my entire future was wrapped up in that blank sheet of paper before me!

Now that I am in my sixth decade of life, I am seldom presented with a blank sheet of paper. Most of the pages of my life have already been filled . . . in ink. As I look over what is written, I find many reasons for joy and gratitude. God has led my life and blessed me in so many ways. However, there are some pages I deeply regret. How I wish I could rewrite them. Oh to be eight years old again and have a blank sheet of paper before me!

Have you ever wished you could live your life again? What would you do differently if you had a blank sheet of paper before you? I have amazing news. This morning God Himself is offering you a fresh start. You can begin again.

Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). One of the characteristics of childhood is that all things are new. Virtually all pages are blank. Life is all about doing things for the first time. When I was eight, that thought terrified me. Now that I’m much, much older it fills my heart with longing.

The first lines of Dante’s The Divine Comedy express a deep desire to find a way to start fresh.

Midway along the journey of our life I woke to find myself in a dark wood, For I had wandered off from the straight path.

Friends, if today you find yourself, like Dante, midway through life and in a dark wood, I have wonderful news for you. In Christ you have been offered a new beginning. You can start fresh. Today. Now. I’m not just talking about the day of your conversion. I’m talking about every day! In Christ, each morning is an invitation to live a new life!

Today is a day you have never lived before! It is God’s gift of grace to you. As you step into this day, picture Jesus Christ Himself standing before you, “Class, I want everyone to clear your desks and take out a blank sheet of paper . . .”

Carpe diem! Seize the day!

One today is worth two tomorrows.
—Benjamin Franklin

point to ponder • Yesterday is gone forever and tomorrow is never here. Today is all that you truly have and it is a gift from God.

prayer focus • Those so troubled by what happened yesterday or worried about what is going to happen tomorrow, that they fail to live today.