God makes us new

If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Do you ever wish you could have a “do-over,” a chance to go back and do something differently, to avoid a big mistake you made? Most of us can recall times when we did something foolish or sinful.

We wish we could take back that one conversation or email, that one deed that remains imprinted on our minds. Perhaps some of us wonder whether God could ever accept us with such a blemish in our past.

The good news of Jesus is that God makes us new. He not only wipes away our past sins; he creates a new person by reconciling us to himself through Jesus. When we confess our fall from the goodness of God’s created intent for us, God offers us the gift of redemption in Jesus. When we trust in Christ, God does not count our sins against us. What a gracious gift!

This awesome truth gives us new freedom as we live. God knows that we are sinners, but our status at the judgment is not “sinner.” Instead, we are redeemed and newly created in Christ. God sees in us the perfect love of Jesus. He calls us to live for Jesus and to share the good news of his love with other sinners who are in need of the same grace.

God has given us something better than a do-over. He forgives us and makes us new in Jesus.

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Jesus, you rule over all things by your Word and Spirit

“What is this? A new teaching—and with authority!” —Mark 1:27

When Jesus comes on the scene, something new happens. Our hope, our longing for change, takes on a different shape. Hurting people, sinful temptations, human brokenness, and disease are confronted with authority.

The people in this story recognized Jesus’ authority in regard to two specific things: his teaching and his power over impure spirits (demons). There was something about Jesus that made him different from the other religious teachers of his day. In fact, this is the first thing mentioned in Mark’s gospel about Jesus’ public ministry: it was a ministry of authority.

We often long to witness the authority of Christ confronting diseases, financial hardships, broken friendships, and injustices of all kinds today. But we do not pause as often to consider the spiritual dimensions of our suffering. The apostle Paul reminds us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). Rather, we contend with demonic powers that want us to think that our circumstances, not our hearts, are the problem.

It’s worth noting that Jesus’ teaching, not just his healing, triggered a reaction from the crowds. But “being amazed,” by itself, is not a response to authority. Jesus’ teaching demands either submission or rebellion. He calls us to bring our hurts, our diseases, and our hearts under his authority. How will you respond?

Prayer

Jesus, you rule over all things by your Word and Spirit. Enter our lives with your authority today, we pray. Amen.

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“Are we there yet?”

Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. (Mark 1:3)

 “Are we there yet?”

Parents often hear these words from their children as their family travels on a long trip—or even a short one. Young children have an underdeveloped sense of time and distance that prevents them from understanding how long a journey will take.

God’s people often have an underdeveloped sense of the gap that exists between our lives and God’s kingdom vision. We would like to think we are decent people who just need a few minor adjustments to become right with God. We might rationalize, “If I lose a little weight, try a little harder to be nice to my neighbours, and give a little money to charitable causes, then I will really have my life together.” In reality, there is much more that keeps us from God’s ideals.

The distance between God’s ideals and humanity’s ideals was so great that Jesus did not merely come into the world without advance preparation. God sent someone to get us ready for him. John, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, came to help people recognize that the condition of this world needed a major turnaround. He called God’s people to repent and to experience a new way of life (not just a few minor adjustments) that would be signified in baptism. John helped people to realize the problem before they could be prepared to see the solution in Christ.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me to glimpse the kind of glory you are calling me to, so that I am ready to make a radical turn from the ways of this world, to embrace you. In your name. Amen.

Taken from Today Daily Devotional.

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