Bill Rice Ranch - First Light Devotionals  

Genesis 35:2  "Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments:"

 

A Fresh Start

 

What is the first word you think of when you see the word "Kodak"?  You think of film, correct?  I suppose you could say the Kodak owns the word film.  The problem is, no one owns film anymore!  Kodak was an iconic American company, but the thing for which it is famous is now, for the most part, obsolete in our world.  To grow in a new day, the thing which would hold a person or company back must be laid aside.  Ironically, for Kodak to move ahead in a new era, they had to abandon the film business.

 

In short, each day is a fresh start to a wise person.  You cannot serve God today and serve the world at the same time.  You must lose the one to gain the other.  What you choose determines what you lose.  A wise person proactively decides what to gain, and thereby what to lose.  Don't lose by default and gain by accident!

 

Bad things are sometimes easier to discard than good things.  The hardest things for you to give up are probably the things that are good and are your strengths.  You have to get rid of the old in order to gain the new!

 

On the way to Bethel, Jacob and his family put on new clothes and put away their idols.  Jacob got a new name, Israel, when he got to Bethel.  If he was going to follow God's leading in the future, he had to abandon his baggage from the past.  He needed a fresh start.

 

Thank God we serve a God of fresh starts!  Failure doesn't have to be fatal.  If you "blew it" yesterday, ask God for forgiveness and start fresh today.  Consider this a fresh start from God Almighty and make the most of it!


 

 

 

Prayer Requests:

- Ranch Regional Family Conference in Lubbock, TX, this weekend

 

 

 

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