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Sometimes you have to start over

Posted on July 21, 2011

Starting Over

By Clay Campbell

 

Luke 19

8 “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

So, Zacchaeus decided to start over. Jesus gave him another chance.

Zacchaeus even promised to give back four times anything he stole from someone. Wow! He decided to start over.

Wilma Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American athlete from Clarksville, Tennessee. Rudolph was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and competed in two Olympic Games, in 1956 and in 1960. In the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games event.

"Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday." -Wilma Rudolph

Sometimes you gotta start over.

We start over lots of times in life because of a divorce, a bankruptcy, or we have to move to another town.

My wife does a lot of knitting sometimes something goes wrong and she gets disgusted. I say, “What’s wrong?" She says, “Oh I miss counted”, or she will say this or that happened - and she starts unraveling the whole thing into a great big pile. She’ll sigh and say, “Now I gotta start all over.”

The manager of a baseball, or football team the first day of spring training can be heard saying, “Team, we are starting over with the basics!”

Anyone lost his/her job, gotten fired, or laid off?

How about someone that got promoted in to a new job that required different kinds of job skills and requirements?

Anybody gained a few pounds? Who hasn't said, “Gee whiz, starting in the morning I am gonna start getting this weight off. I'm going to “start over” on my diet.”??

We have all either experienced these or we are close to someone who has - right?

There are six areas of your life where you may have to start over -faith, family, relationships, finances, health, or in our minds.

We can start over in the spiritual part of our lives.

The best news I ever heard was thirty years ago when a man put his arm around my shoulders and said, “God is in the business of letting people start over.”

Do you need to start over in the spiritual area of your life? Have you wandered far away from God? Jesus is calling you back and giving you the opportunity to start over.

Have you tried to do it all yourself? Have you been prideful and said, “I can do this on my own? I don’t need Gods help or anyone else either?

God is waiting patiently for you to say, “OK God, I can’t do it on my own – can I just start over?” God will grant that request. He let Jonah start over. He let The Children of Israel start over on the other side of the Red Sea. Zacchaeus started over, Peter started over, Lazarus got a unique chance to start over. The ten lepers all got a new chance to start over. The woman that was caught in adultery – the men of the city wanted to throw stones at her and kill her. Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” One by one they dropped their rocks and went away. Jesus said, “Where are your accusers?” She said, “They have all gone.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more”

Wasn’t that a great way to say, “Now go, and start over. I don’t hold anything against you. Go, and sin no more.” Jesus is saying the same thing to us today.

Clay Campbell

MEN WHO WIN

Board Member

 

P.S. --- Men Who Win is all about helping men.   On August 12th & 13th we will be conducting our “Men Who Win Advance.”  (An advance because men who win could never retreat.)  This event will be held at the place commonly known as “The Hill” (www.lifeonthehill.org) in Hardin, Kentucky.  It will be real men who have been in the trenches sharing about methods not just for survival but how to win. 

 

Would you like to join us?  It is only a $50 donation.  If you are interested, we would love to have you join us for either or both events, call Jim Lewis today at 270-519-0309. 


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