Do I Really Believe “All Things New?”

It was 42 years ago tonight at 6:10 p.m. that I became a brand-new person in this world. It was 14 years ago in July that I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and became a new creature in Him. July is a pretty amazing month in my book!

 But do I really believe that all things are made new? Am I completely new? What part of the old person is gone, and what I am supposed to do with the new? 

 In one of our recent Sunday School classes, we talked about 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

 We talked about how a caterpillar becomes an entirely new creature when it changes into a butterfly. The butterfly can’t decide it wants to go back to being a caterpillar. It doesn’t take its wings off and refuse to flutter by. It’s new, all the way to its core.

 It’s easier to explain new creatures when you’re talking about butterflies because most kids have seen caterpillars, cocoons and butterflies. It’s entirely different when you’re talking about a human being, a new believer. The concept of being a new creature in Christ can be quite daunting, especially when salvation doesn’t change our outer body. Being saved doesn’t change us physically in some dramatic way, even while our hearts and minds have been made new.

Every July 29, I think about the year that’s gone by and the year that’s on its way. More than anything, I want to have been exactly what God needed me to be this past year, and I want Him to use me in great ways in the year to come. I know from Scripture that this is one way to tell you’ve become a new creature - the old creature wasn’t concerned with the things of God. Now I pray every morning that God will let His Word speak to me, showing me things I’ve never seen before. My new creature just wants to learn and grow and become a little more like Jesus every day.

 And what things do we let go of to make that happen? Our selfishness, our attitudes and our personal desires. Self is a hard thing to put down, but now with the Holy Spirit in us, we’re able to fight and win any time the flesh raises its ugly head. That’s one of those gifts at salvation that God blesses us with, and the ability to be victorious in any circumstance is a powerful and precious gift, for sure. 

 So as I celebrate my birthday today, I’ll be rejoicing in the new creature God has created in me, and I’ll be praying for boldness and opportunity to lead one more soul Jesus Christ in the year to come.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more