Were/Are

 November 18, 2024

Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart. St. Paul said it best when he declared, “I die daily” (1 Cor 15:31). Yesterday I mentioned one benefit; here’s another: 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Though it’s been over sixty years, I remember well the day I prayed and asked God to forgive my sins and for Jesus to live within me. If you do the math, you’ll know I was just entering my teenage years, so I hadn’t really done a lot of what most people consider “bad stuff.” But even then, I could see the direction I was heading, and knew it wouldn’t end well. In the years since, God has delivered me from all sorts of pits and traps I would have fallen into were it not for his Holy Spirit living within me. 

It hasn’t always been easy, but I also haven’t had to deal with the harsh consequences of the bad decisions I surely would have made otherwise. God has given me a life I didn’t deserve and couldn’t have achieved on my own. For me, the best part of it all is having had the opportunity to pour this New Creation through Christ into the lives of others over the years. 

Maybe you had more “bad stuff” in your past than I. If so, God’s promise is still true: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It may not feel as if everything is new. In your mind you may have memories of the old life that haunt you, but remember God’s Word is true; as far as he is concerned, the old has passed away. Don’t believe the devil’s lies that you are what you were. You WERE a child of the devil; you ARE a child of God. You WERE wandering in sin; you ARE home with your Heavenly Father. You WERE lost; you ARE found. You WERE dead in your sins; you ARE alive in Christ.