Today begins a new year. None of us are clairvoyant enough to know what the new year will bring. The only one who knows this is our heavenly Father. We can only hope and pray that it brings blessings to each of us. As we begin a new year it is time to rid ourselves of negative thinking and bad habits. It is a time to start over. Today, or at least this week, some will start a new diet. They have eaten through the holidays and have put on a few extra pounds that need to go. Others have been waiting on this excuse to begin their diet. Some have been waiting on this new year to give up some habits that are costing them monetarily and physically. Some will quit smoking, others will quit drinking, and there are as many different things as there are those who will try to do better. The great part is that we can begin again. And we can succeed! David was a man described as the man after God’s own heart. After this was said of David something happened that would make us question this. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and as a result she was pregnant. Since she was married something would have to be done. David brings her husband, Uriah, home and when he will not go to his wife he will tell Joab to put him in the thick of the fighting and withdraw from him. This would assure that Uriah would die. David had him murdered. Then David took her as his wife. David sinned. Nathan the prophet confronted David and he repented of his sin and God forgave him. In essence, David began again. He started over. He was forgiven, loved and used by God. Today the same holds true for each one of us. No matter what the sin may be that we have committed, we can be forgiven and begin again. And when we do we do not have to carry around the baggage that sins brings. We can let it go and know that God has forgotten about it. We can be used in His service in a way that we may never have been used before. Don’t let sin deter you from serving God. Understand we must always deal with the consequences of sin. God will not take that away. He will, however, be there to help us each step of the way. Do you need to begin again. If so God is waiting for you. Tell Him your needs and He will supply them for you.