Fresh Start
New year, new term, the morning after, the week after the breakup. Whatever brought you here, this plan takes it seriously without making a fuss. It assumes you don't need convincing that something needs to change. You need to know whether it's possible and where to start.
The order matters. It begins with saying the thing honestly, because a fresh start built on pretending won't hold. Then mercy, which the Bible describes as new every morning. Then two men, Zacchaeus and Peter, who got a second go and what they did with it. The last three days are Paul on what a new life actually consists of, and a psalm to end on.
One caution: this plan is about starting again with God. If you also need to repair something with a person, the Forgiveness plan is the companion to this one.
The schedule
Tap a passage to open that book. Read in any translation you like; the app shows each day in Gen Z beside the original.
| Day | Read | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David asks to be washed, then asks for a new heart, and admits God doesn't want a sacrifice, he wants a broken spirit. Isaiah: 'let's reason together', and scarlet becomes snow. | David asks to be washed, then asks for a new heart, and admits God doesn't want a sacrifice, he wants a broken spirit. Isaiah: 'let's reason together', and scarlet becomes snow. |
| 2 | 'New every morning' comes from a man who has just spent twenty verses in misery. Isaiah's 'don't remember the former things' is spoken to exiles about God's next act, not about pretending the past didn't happen. | 'New every morning' comes from a man who has just spent twenty verses in misery. Isaiah's 'don't remember the former things' is spoken to exiles about God's next act, not about pretending the past didn't happen. |
| 3 | Zacchaeus isn't asked to fix anything before Jesus comes to his house; he offers it afterwards. Peter denied Jesus three times by a fire, and is asked 'do you love me' three times by another one. | Zacchaeus isn't asked to fix anything before Jesus comes to his house; he offers it afterwards. Peter denied Jesus three times by a fire, and is asked 'do you love me' three times by another one. |
| 4 | Ezekiel is promising exiled Israel a heart of flesh in place of stone; Paul says in Christ the old has passed and everything's become new. Read them together as promise and result. | Ezekiel is promising exiled Israel a heart of flesh in place of stone; Paul says in Christ the old has passed and everything's become new. Read them together as promise and result. |
| 5 | Romans: you don't clean yourself up to start; you died and were raised, so act like it. Ephesians makes it concrete: truth, anger that doesn't stay overnight, work, words that build. | Romans: you don't clean yourself up to start; you died and were raised, so act like it. Ephesians makes it concrete: truth, anger that doesn't stay overnight, work, words that build. |
| 6 | Paul says he hasn't arrived and isn't perfect, then 'forgetting what is behind, I press on'. Hebrews calls it a race with a crowd watching and weight you're allowed to put down. | Paul says he hasn't arrived and isn't perfect, then 'forgetting what is behind, I press on'. Hebrews calls it a race with a crowd watching and weight you're allowed to put down. |
| 7 | 'As far as the east is from the west.' The psalm says God 'remembers that we are dust' and it's a reason for compassion, not contempt. Micah: sins thrown into the depths of the sea. | 'As far as the east is from the west.' The psalm says God 'remembers that we are dust' and it's a reason for compassion, not contempt. Micah: sins thrown into the depths of the sea. |