All Things New

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have started the new year off well.

Did you decide to join me in doing a “realignment” with God instead of a resolution? If so, I would love to hear from you. I pray it has helped you start off the new year on the right foot.

There’s something encouraging to me about being in a new year and having the opportunity to start fresh. Speaking of new, did you receive some new things for Christmas? Maybe you were given some new clothes or fun new tech toy.

Have you noticed that when you first wear new clothes you actually feel a little different? Maybe you feel a bit of excitement or more confident. There might even be a sassy spring in your step.

I was thinking about this idea of newness while taking an early morning trip to the airport. The sun hadn’t come up yet but light was beginning to make its presence known. It began to brighten the deepest shades of blue before me and I was in awe of the sapphire-like colors.

It’s hard to look at a sky like that and not think of the God who created it. I started thinking of the verse that says that God’s mercies are new every morning. As I did, a few more verses with the word, “new” came to mind.

I wanted to see just how many times the Bible talks about “new”, so I looked it up. I was amazed at how many verses I found.

Here are a handful of examples:

• Ez. 18:31 and 36:26 talk about the idea of a new heart and a new spirit
• Jer. 31:31, Lk. 22:20 and 1 Cor. 11:25 talk about a new covenant
• 2 Cor. 5:17 says that whoever is in Christ is a new creation
• Lam. 3:22-23 tell us that God’s mercies or compassions are new every morning

Each of these passages about “new” things would make for a worthwhile study if you are looking for something for your devotional time.

Let’s take a few minutes and delve a little deeper into the idea of God’s mercies being new every morning. What does that mean exactly and why is that important?

If you read chapter 3 of Lamentations, it begins in a rather bleak fashion. The more you read, the more you wonder if there is ever going to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, there is, and the author calls it hope.

The author tells us that despite how bad things can be for sinners, there is hope in God and in His mercies or compassions, which never run out. There is no end to them. In fact, they are renewed each morning.

If you think about everything on this planet, all of it is destined to perish. God’s mercies are not like that. Though streams dry up, trees fall and plants wither, God and His mercies remain.

What an encouragement to know that we can trust in, and rely on, God’s mercy and compassion. Regardless of our circumstances, regardless of those sins we still struggle with, regardless of any tornedo of negativity threatening to snatch us up, God’s mercy is available and plentiful.

Not only that, but as we read in 2 Cor. 5:17, in Christ we are a new creation! The old has gone and the new has come. The blood of Christ has made us clean and new.

Even though it is nice to have new things, it is infinitely more valuable to be a new thing, a new creation.

As we think about the new year, may it remind us that we are a new creation in Christ and God’s mercies are new every morning. May that bring us hope in 2019 and may we reflect that in our quest to go be radiant.

Come back next week for another something “new” I found in the Bible. You won’t want to miss it!

Please leave your comments below. See you next time.