The “One-A-Week Challenge” Week 4
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
Once again this week we find something about the old and the new. In this fourth week of a new year I want you to remember — “That was then … THIS is now!”
The marvelous grace and mercy of God is sufficient to reach all who believe – from the best person to the worst person, we are akin in that all are separated from God by sin. The good news is that God sent His Son, His ONLY Son, Jesus, into the world to be the sacrifice for our sins. The substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross (Jesus became your sin) and His glorious resurrection from the grave is the transformational power of grace.
God is not in the business of reforming us. Reformation is making something different from the same material. God is in the business of transforming us. He makes us a NEW creation!
If you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you are NEW. The old is gone, but what does that mean? The old values, plans, ideas, loves, desires, beliefs, practices, tendencies, loyalties, ambitions, drive, determination and the like are gone. Because Jesus is reigning in our lives we want what He wants. We do what He does. We think like He thinks. We live like He lives.
This does not imply that we always get it right. We will fall back and drift away too often, but the abiding presence of Jesus in our lives draws us back into proper perspective as we are conformed to the image of Christ.
You do not have to live in the past. Jesus empowers us to be continually growing in His knowledge and grace. You are a NEW CREATION!