"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" ( 2 Cor 5:17)

There are many places world over where once you commit a certain offence you are marked for the rest of your life. Committing a felony like bulgarly, worse a sex related one, you then enter a register which potential employers can always check on when you submit in your application. The moment they discover that you have ever committed a listed crime then ends the conversation.

When Christ came he was not for those who had led a clean life and were condemned forever. As a matter of fact it was often the discarded and despised that he welcomed. When Jesus met and embraced Zacharius, the tax collector, people were shocked, "All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner" ( Luke 19:7). But to the astonished crowds, "Jesus's answer was, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" ( vv 10).

Society may reject one for good. However, there is a comfort that our Lord and Savoir is in the business of welcoming those who need a second chance. Today, whatever might be weighing on you, know that once you come to Jesus you are totally forgiven and can start happily afresh.

Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, I start the year with confidence, knowing my past is forgiven and with you I begin totally redeemed and saved, for your glory, this I pray in Jesus' name.