A NEW YEAR – A NEW YOU

ALL THINGS NEW

Rev. 21:5 ¶ Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

I often think of a scene in the movie THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST that really stood out to me. It was during Christ’s walk through Jerusalem, carrying His cross to Golgotha. The scene was quite moving, The Lord had been beaten unmercifully by the Roman soldiers leaving His face disfigured and Jesus in a weakened condition. The movie portrayed Christ as falling to the ground under the weight of the cross only to be looking eye to eye with His mother who had been following close behind. Jesus said to her, “Behold, I am making all things new”. Actually, the quote was from the book of Revelation, but the impact of those words during that scene was quite powerful. It is because of Christ’s work on the cross that He is making all things new. He is making me new, and if you are in Christ, He is making you new everyday. Jonathan Edwards had some insight into this verse, check it out.

“Hence this new state of things is called a new heaven and a new earth. Christ came to restore all things with respect to the elect that, whatever there is of the ruinous effects of the fall through the whole universe, all might be fully and perfectly healed in Christ; that old things might pass away and all things become new; that man himself might be a new creature, both in his soul by conversion and sanctification, and in his body by the resurrection, and the world as to him might become a new creation; and so not only himself created anew in Christ Jesus, but everything created anew as to him fully and perfectly. Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” Hence the end of the world, when this shall be perfected, is called the “times of refreshing” and the “times of restitution of all things”.”

We are ready to close out one year and start a new year; because of that, all of our thoughts turn to the anticipation of things to come. The blessing of being a Christian cannot be overstated, Christ’s work of renewal is continual in our lives. We were made into new creatures at our spiritual birth but it doesn’t stop there, far from it. The Lord continues His work of change in our lives as Christ is being formed inside of us. As we look to Him He gives us a new tongue, He makes the word of God new to us, The doctrines of the Bible become new, and He even gives us the new wine of the Spirit to drink. How can I step into this spiritual renewal? It’s really more simple than you can imagine. All it takes is saturation; saturation in the written word and saturation in the presence of the Holy Spirit. If you take time for those two things in your life renewal is certain.