Sunday Drive - All Things Are New

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Before I get started, I wanted to share a bit about the Messianic Jewish seder Mike and I attended. If you ever get an opportunity to attend one, I thoroughly recommend it. It was fascinating how many of the elements and traditions point to Christ the Messiah. At the end we even learned a few traditional Jewish dances. It really made us more mindful as we celebrated Easter this year.

On this Resurrection Sunday, I am reminded that through Christ's death on the cross, He has had made all things new! Not only my life, but my mind, my spirit, my attitude, and my future.

Romans 6:4 (NLT)
4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Everything He wants for us is new! The idea of 'new', can be a sort of perspective. I could buy a 'new' chair from a store and it could fit my needs. But what if I found a 'used' chair and re-stained the wood legs and recovered the upholstery with a fabric I loved. It would still be 'new' to me, but now it's exactly what I wanted and I love it even more!

I don't want a 'new' life that I pull off the shelf from Walmart, I want a custom life that is designed especially for me from Heaven's throne. That's the kind of newness of life Christ gave us with His death and resurrection.

I'm the reupholstered chair. It's still the same me underneath, but I have a new mind, soul and body!

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

We are a new creation in Christ! We are a part of the royal family of Christ! This is only the beginning of the work He's going to do in us.

1 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

I've been a Christ follower for over 30+ years and I can tell you, He is far from done in me! Every single day I need His Spirit to renew me. I want my 'new' nature to shine.

Ephesians 4:22 (NLT)
22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

What is this 'new' nature? It is the Spirit of God producing fruit in our lives that gives Christ glory, honor and praise. This is my memory verse for April, it seems God knew I was going to need this verse.