Monday, December 31, 2012

January 1, 2013

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" II Corinthians 5:17
 
Happy 2013! May God bless you with a healthy and joy-filled year!
 
Time marches ahead relentlessly and a new year is upon us! Will you make the New Year new or will you drag the same old pain and problems across the threshhold of time?
 
Speaking of time, the Apostle Paul reaches across the centuries with this solid reminder that only in Christ can all things be made new! So, the New Year cannot be truly new unless you are "in Christ".
 
What needs to be gone in your life? What did you carry in 2012 that you don't need to drag into 2013?

Is there a sinful habit? Is there shame over your past? Is there an unhealthy relationship? Is there a spiritual stronghold? Is there a lack of discipline? Is there discouragement or depression? Is there spiritual apathy? Is there outright rebellion against spiritual truth?
 
The promise is that if you are "in Christ" you can be made new and the old, painful, unproductive, and harmful things can be gone!
 
So, what does it mean to be "in Christ"?
 
It means to live in trust. When you trust "in Christ" for your salvation and stop trusting in your own goodness or righteousness, then you can enter into a spiritual relationship with Him.
 
It means to live in truth. When you are "in Christ" you surrender to His truth and "lean not unto your own understanding". His truth is expressed through His Word, the Bible. Living in truth means that you commit to defining what is real in your life based on what the Bible says is real. You live by its principles. You order your life by its priorities. You shed your past and plan your life according to its promises and you prevail in life according to its power.
 
The New Year can only be new if you are made new! It can only be happy if you are made whole - and holy!
 
As you turn the page on the calendar will you turn a page in your spiritual experience? Will you be "in Christ"? Will you trust His truth to transform you into a "new creation"? Will you allow Him to make "all things new" in you?
 
You can be "in Christ" or in crisis. It's up to you.