A Fresh Start: A Month of Devotions for the New Year

In the new year, we often want to make a fresh start. Many people make New Year's resolutions to be more intentional about their relationship with God—committing to spend more time in his word and prayer. They want to start new habits, so they join prayer groups, start Bible reading plans, and set lofty goals for quiet time and personal devotions. But like a lot of people with New Year’s resolutions, they lose steam after a few weeks in spite of their good intentions. So, how can we start fresh in the new year and grow closer to God without getting caught in the New Year’s resolution trap?

What if we committed to spend just one month focused on new beginnings? We at Today invite you delve into our free, month long devotional series “All Things Made New,” written by Rev. Joel Vande Werken. This 31-day roadmap provides a doable pathway toward establishing regular personal devotions, and creating space for faith renewal. The series explores how God renews our lives through the work of Jesus Christ by examining the full sweep of the biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. While our hopes and resolutions for a new year often collide with the reality of sin and brokenness in this world, these devotions are a reminder that we serve a God who makes “all things new” for all who have faith and hope in Jesus.

Each day’s devotion includes a scripture reading, a reflection from the author, and a prompt for prayer. This classic devotional structure lets you set your own pace: either by taking a few minutes of devotional time each day or setting aside a more extended time in the word and prayer. This New Year, it’s possible to get a fresh beginning and press into God, his word, and presence without putting too much pressure on yourself to fulfill a major resolution or unattainable goal. No amount of Bible reading or prayer will ever earn God’s love. He loves us simply because he is good. Yet, if you ask God for the grace to persevere, he will draw you near to him in your devotions; and as you schedule your devotion time to fit the rhythm of your life, and emphasize substance over how-much or how-long, you might find you’ve formed that lasting new habit after all.

Download “All Things Made New”

See our other resources on getting closer to God this New Year