Are You Embracing the New Life Jesus Came to Bring You?
January 11, 2023
Are You Embracing the New Life Jesus Came to Bring You?
By Brooke Holt
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42:9
As we embark upon a new year, what do you want to do differently? What goals fell by the wayside that you would like to resurrect? What valuable lessons did you learn through the failures and successes of 2022? Most importantly, what do you want to be made new in 2023?
One of the great joys of a new year is it marks a logical place for fresh start. The Lord understands how desperately we long for these new beginnings. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, he speaks of what is to come, what he can make new. With him, we are free to begin again at any time as often as we need.
The prophet Isaiah foretold what God would do for his people. Judgment would come through the Assyrian army, followed by years in exile, and then the God's promised redemption and restoration. With that redemption and restoration came the assurance the old would be gone and the new would come. For people who had endured the judgment of the Lord through conquest and exile, new sounded amazing! They placed their hope in God and waited for these new events.
As he always does, the Lord brought a new start to the Israelites, returning them to their land and restoring their lives. Returning to their land was glorious to them. Even more glorious was the new thing God did in sending his Son. With the birth of Jesus, God was not just in the temple but walking among his people. God did a new thing through Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection tearing in two the veil that separated sinful human beings and a holy God. Through his forgiveness and the rebirth that comes as one turns to the Lord, God continues to work in new ways and bring fresh beginnings. Throughout each day, the Holy Spirit will refresh and renew us if we allow his holy and sanctifying work in our lives.
The Lord delights in declaring new and good things for your life and bringing them to pass. May you open your eyes open to see and open your heart to receive all the new things God has for you in 2023!
Reflection:
Are you ready for God’s new thing in your life? Are you ready to turn from the old practices, the things that hindered you from experiencing God’s best plan for your life, and embrace the new life that Jesus came to bring you? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Recommended Resource:
Let's face it, the Christian life is hard. Relationships take work. Christians forget. Sometimes it is tempting to go back to the days when God was not the center of our lives - to backslide. We are all faced with tremendous pressures to drift away from intimacy with Jesus and the community of the Church. However, the Lord invites us to pay attention, to move forward, to draw near, and to live lives of worship. Draw Near: Hebrews on Christian Worship is a small group Bible study on the Book of Hebrews intended to lead participants into a deeper intimacy with the living God in the context of New Testament worship. Draw nearer to God in authentic worship today!
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