““Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." - Revelation 22:12-14

The year my son and I began to follow the San Francisco 49ers they lost their season opener to the Philadelphia Eagles with a score of 40-8. We both wondered if this was a team worth following. That same year the 49ers went to the Super Bowl and steamrolled over the San Diego Chargers 49-26, becoming the first team to win a record five Super Bowls. You see the beginning doesn't always determine the final outcome.

As we open our Bibles and begin with the first three chapters of Genesis, we find Adam and Eve prohibited from eating of the tree of life and escorted through the Garden gates. Their sin brought about the fall of all mankind and eternal separation from God. History tells the sad tale of continued rebellion and godless living throughout the ages. Would there be any hope for ever returning to the Garden and the tree of life? The last page of our Bibles gives a resounding YES!  "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city." You see the beginning doesn't always determine the final outcome.

Did this past year start with a cascade of failures? Do you feel that there will be nothing "new" about the New Year? Well, you can end this year successfully by coming to the Lord for a new beginning. Jesus is one beginning that will always determine the final outcome because...  He is the "Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End."