The Light Of A New Day

March 14th, the light of a new day.

We've made it a couple of months into the new year now,

so I'm gonna have to ask, how are your resolutions holding up?

Still going strong?

Or have you found yourself in some of the same unhealthy patterns

you were hoping to break?

The truth is, we love the idea of a clean slate,

and we often look to external things,

a new location, job, or time of year

to create this feeling of newness in us.

But what happens when we realize we're still flawed?

Do we keep running after the next reason to feel new?

The man will meet today did a lot of running.

Until he encountered the light that truly transformed him.

Paul's here to share with us his true story.

On this unshackled, daily devotional.

Drinking and drugs dominated my high school years,

and I've flunked out of college.

So I went to work, managing one of Dad's parking lots.

I skimmed money every day to support my drinking at night.

I hated myself and wanted to get a fresh start,

and the opportunity came after an accident

that brought a hefty insurance settlement.

I found a new job in a new state,

but the same old me was fired for drinking.

I moved to Boston when my efforts to turn over

a newly failed when I started skimming at my new job.

My cousin and I shared an apartment.

I didn't share her spiritual quest for God,

but I went along with her on several visits to gurus.

Then, in what I can only call a fit of drug-induced insanity,

a friend and I began skydiving.

We spent weekends jumping out of airplanes,

sometimes when we were high on hallucinogenic drugs.

One night, my mind began slipping on the drugs,

and I ran frantically to get away from the evil person me.

I ran toward a light at the airport that I thought was the cross of Jesus,

and I fell on my face crying.

I surrendered Jesus, helped me.

The light turned out to be a lighted wind sock,

but that's where my old life came to an end.

Later that night as I walked the street,

I sat on the steps of a locked church and prayed,

and God's power and love became real to me,

and drugs and theory are in the past now.

Only he can forgive you, only he can give you peace,

and only Jesus Christ can set you free.

Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16 says,

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Friend, finding newness begins at the feet of Jesus each and every day.

There's no reason to run.

Rather, as his children, we can approach him and be cleansed with his forgiveness,

and it is his strength that will help us overcome the sins

and unhealthy practices we so desperately want to break.

Will you receive this truth today?

Unshackled, the longest running audio drama in history

airs on over 3,000 radio stations worldwide.

Real people, real life stories,

stirring dramatic accounts of hopelessness

and the hope that changes everything.

This award-winning program grips the heart with compelling

and relevant stories of transformed lives.

Without Jesus Christ, we are all shackled by sin.

By our wrong choices, disobedience, and selfish motives.

But God is at work, and the power of Christ sets us free of our bondage.

Unshackled daily devotionals are built on true life accounts

and help us ponder the application of Scripture to our lives.

Each devotional tells a dramatic testimony of transformation of a real person

while addressing a relatable issue of the human condition.

Listen to a new devotional every day,

and don't forget to tell your friends about unshackled, daily devotionals.