By Todd Barrier 

Here we are again: the beginning of a new school year.  

This one is unlike any other we’ve seen in some time. Instead of two months, most have been out of school for five months. Not a lot has gone into trying to remember the things we were taught last year, probably. So in addition to learning new protocols and new ways of doing things because of COVID-19, we might need some extra time re-learning some of the things we have forgotten.  

In other words, we are going to have to hit the books like never before to get back to where we want to be.  

It’s a new beginning for something that used to be old hat for us.  

It’s the same thing in our spiritual lives. These COVID-19 induced absences from worship and Bible study might have caused some of us to forget what we used to be proficient in.  

As we move back to normalcy in the church, we have to approach it the same way as our schoolchildren. 

If we’ve fallen behind, we have to hit the books – His Word – like never before! We face a new beginning for something that used to be old hat.  

In Ephesians 4:22-24, the Bible says to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” 

Our new beginning in this day and age might be putting off old habits, like lack of study, that have become the norm for us during this time of isolation from our spiritual family.  

The good news is, if we have forgotten some things, through Him, we can be renewed and be more likeminded with God through studying His Word like our lives depend on it – because they do!  

Are you ready for a new beginning in Christ?