New Beginnings

 Greetings to  you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

     It’s always exciting to get something new.  Here at the assisted living facility, there are many new things.  In fact, the company that owned the place yesterday, is no longer the owner as it was purchased by “Spring Oak” which will be our name in less than 24 hours.  All of the staff will be the same for the most part, except for one position where a possible change might take place.  It will be interesting to see what changes take place with a new owner.  We also got a shopping bag each filled with goodies such as a deodorant that is about 10 inches long.  That should last most of the new year. 

     One of the greatest things is the “new life” of the believer.  The above passage is one that speaks about the new life and how all things become new.  The “new creature” finds that there are now new things in his or her life. There might be new people in  your circle of friends as you discover new practices such as attendance at a church on Sundays and possibly Wednesday night prayer meetings.  You may find that  your do not depend upon the winning of a lottery to provide your needs, but nwo it is God Who works to meet the needs that crop up in your life.  You will also find that you now have new desires.  God gives you these new desires as a part of your new creation.   You are now able to see the differences between heaven and hell and knowing what lies ahead for the nonbeliever, prompts us to pray for the lost that will not experience eternal separation from God.  You now realize that a family member who does not know Christ  as you do, will spend eternity separated  from God and facing judgment.  You will find that your new life will be one of prayer now only for salvation of the lost, but those that have needs both friends and family.  Your new life will be filled with blessings that you didn’t know existed before.  You will be urged to begin a reading plan through the Scriptures even though the Bible on tape can be read in less than 100 hours.  While  you read t through the Bible, you soon discover a new relationship growing between  you and God.  As one catechism exhorts, “To know God and to enjoy His presence forever.”  The Bible is God’s letter to us that introduces us to His plan of salvation and not that of a denomination.  There is only one condition for all of this to take place and it is the little word, “if” that appears in the above passage.  If a person be in Christ, he is a new creature.  It is sad to note that much of the world does not fit into this category.  They are not in Christ but ae looking for other means in which to arrive at heaven.  Some think that just being a morally good person will make us acceptable but the first three chapters of Romans gives no hope to the morally good person because all have sinned.  The only acceptable sacrifice is to be “in Christ.”  Praise God today for His grace and mercy and for the new year.  May we live for Him today and all of our tomorrows.