Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17
I was asked to submit an article for the New Year and instantly I knew what I wanted to write about – the miracle of “new”.
Take a moment and consider how special new things are to you. Think about the look, feel and sound of a new baby. How about the excitement of starting a new job? What about the experience of adjusting to a new home or the touch, smell and sparkle of a new car? They even have the audacity to sell a fragrance called, “new car”. I tried it in an older car we owned and it smelled nothing like the aroma I experienced when we purchased a new car a couple of years ago. There’s nothing like new!
My wife and I have had the honor and privilege of coaching and advising several couples. We often laugh and receive tremendous joy when we see those persons experiencing the newness of love. We’ll say to ourselves that we pray they can bottle and preserve those feelings, looks and smiles to show them ten years down the road.
Do you remember the new and exciting feeling you experienced when you first gave your heart to Jesus? Do you recall that new feeling? Remember how you could not wait to get to church and testify? You couldn’t wait to worship and you wanted everyone to get saved.
The apostle Paul wrote “new” things in the aforementioned text. He begins by declaring that our spirit man is housed in an earthly body. However, one day we will be blessed with a heavenly body not made with human hands. He further states that although we would rather be in our new heavenly bodies, we have to wait until death occurs. Because of these promises of God, we look forward to a new life with the Lord. Then Paul makes a profound statement: he says if we are in Christ, we are new creatures; old things have passed away and look – all things are become as new!
In a couple of days, should the Lord tarry and spare my life, I will have the opportunity to experience a brand new year: 2015! I look forward to experiencing new things in the Lord. My wife and I have already discussed plans for the New Year. There were a few projects we started in 2014 that we did not finish – we’ll tackle those again in 2015. Perhaps you failed at something or had an unpleasant experience last year – 2015 is your opportunity to make it better or turn over a new leaf. Who better to speak to this than the apostle Paul?
The first time we see Paul, his name is Saul and people are laying their coats at his feet as they pick up stones to kill Stephen. Later when we hear from Saul, he is on his was to Damascus to hunt down and arrest the people of God with authorization from the “church”. However he has an encounter with Jesus that forever changes his life (have you had that meeting with Jesus yet? Do you remember it?). For those of you who know of Paul’s life, you must agree that Jesus made him brand new. I can share a similar testimony.
For me 2014 was a tremendous year; I was blessed to accomplish many things that I set out to do at the beginning of the year. The Lord blessed our local church family and I witnessed tremendous growth in the people of God. More important to me was a special deliverance I received during our Autumn Revival. I had been carrying a great burden on my shoulders for an extended period of time and on the Friday night of the revival, God delivered me! Since then I have felt a freedom and newness in God that has been overwhelming.
My friends, this is how life in Christ is supposed to be. Jesus came to break up the monotony of life. He came to add excitement and joy to our lives. He came to create in us new hearts. He came to free us from those old ways of thinking and living. I believe the people of God can be freed from habits and addictions and the old way of existing. Jesus said it best, “I came that you might have life and life more abundantly.” The abundant way of living begins the very hour we accept Him as Savior and allow Him to make us brand new!
On behalf of my wife, my family and the entire Holiness Tabernacle Church family – Happy New Year and we bless you in the name of the Lord!