When I was in high school I discovered a band called Five Iron Frenzy.  I loved their sound.  They are a Ska Band, which means that they are a punk band with a horn section.  I was hooked the minute I heard the first song.  My friend Dustin and I would drive in his overly large 1979 Jeep Cherokee blaring their songs at full volume.  I would use his dashboard as a drum set and he would be playing one handed  “air bass”.

One song that became the unofficial anthem of most of our high school career was the song “Every New Day”.  This song was known as Five Iron’s closing song and it always brought the house down.  Not just because it has a really catchy melody, or that the band is really good, or that fact that the lead singer has a super unique voice; but because through all the punk sounds, horn leads, and craziness that is Five Iron Frenzy this song is a worship song.

The middle section of the song talks about man struggling with all sorts of things: himself, machine, the world, burdens…It is a part in the song that explains so much of what can go wrong in life when our focus is on the wrong things.  “Every New Day” became my anthem in high school, not just because it was a fun song, but because it was a reminder of the grace of God in my life when I would screw up. 

Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again.
Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever.
Freedom means love without condition,
Without a beginning or an end.
Here’s my heart let it be forever Yours.
Only You can make every new day seem so new.

If you, like me, continue to make mistakes I hope that you can find rest in every new day that the Lord brings us.  Each day is a new opportunity to come before God – humble, thankful, and grateful that we have a clean slate to start again.  

Every day we can choose to rely of God for strength to resist temptations.
Every day we can receive God’s love and show it to others.
Every day we can choose to be encouraging instead of offensive, especially online.
Every day we can receive God’s grace and extend that grace to those who have wronged us.
Every day we can choose to cherish our spouse and families instead of becoming annoyed.

We can make every day new by choosing to come to Jesus and freely receiving His presence.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,  for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23(NIV)

          – Ethan

How have you seen the Lord make every day new in your life?

What is one thing you can do today to show love to others, or yourself?

What is one negative thing you can eliminate from your daily routine?