All Things New

The two most important events in Christ's life were clearly His birth and His death; the cradle and the cross. His coming had been foretold. The people were promised a Savior, and they were waiting for the sign that He had arrived. Micah, Jeremiah and Isaiah all prophesied. And then He came in Luke 2...today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. Those were the words of the angel to the shepherds. And what was the sign? That they would find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. A new baby...a new king...a new regime on the earth that He had created.

At age 33 He fulfilled God's promise. It's still amazing to me how from death comes new life. In Romans 7 Paul writes that we were dying under the law, but Christ released us so that we can serve in the new way of the Spirit. And in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul writes this...Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! There's that word again...new. He makes all things NEW! He redeems, He restores, and He transforms. All versions of becoming new.

I love dictionaring-dot-coming things...I know that's not a real phrase and not grammatically correct to use as a verb, but I'm going to anyway. When I think of the word new, I can't help but associate it with a creator. After all, how can anything come into being without a creator? Our God is the original Creator. Great artists merely mimic what He has already made. And so here is the definition that I found: to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. To cause to come into being...isn't that what God did with you and me? 2nd Corinthians tells us that we are new creations because of Him. But lets think about the second part of the definition...something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. We would never come to Christ on our own. It's not natural in our flesh. And it definitely didn't happen by an ordinary process. It took a supernatural act of God.

The New Year is already here, and I haven't really though much about 2009. I'm pretty sure it will take me a few weeks, even a few months to finally get a grasp that we've started a new 12 month time period. But, I'll still greet the New Year just like the other 6 billion or so people around the globe.

The original New Year's festivities are attributed to the ancient land of Babylon. They would wait for the first new moon and their celebration lasted 11 days. Then, there are the Jews who celebrate, Rosh Hashanna or the Jewish New Year. Their holiday actually takes place several months before ours does. They celebrated back in September. Translated, Rosh Hashanna means 'head of the year'. Basically the Jews celebrate the creation of the world.

Of course in America, all eyes are on Times Square. We're either in Times Square or watching Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve (now with Ryan Seacrest) on TV as if we were there. This was the 37th year for the show. New Years here in America and around the world means parties and confetti and all kinds of debauchery. It's no wonder that historically Catholics opposed New Years celebrations because of what they called “pagan extravagancies.” An estimated one million people were in Times Square and another billion around the globe were expected to watch the broadcast.

What would New Year's be without our traditions? Do you eat black-eyed peas? They're supposed to bring you good look, but all they seem to leave me with is a brief lingering taste in my mouth: black-eyed peas. My grandma believed in them, so we of course had them every year, and she made sure they were on my plate. I ate them once every 12 months. I have nothing against them. I'm just not a big fan.

But the biggest tradition of all has to be our New Year's resolutions. We've all made them. Most off us have broken them. Take a look at this list of people's top ten priorities for 2008, last year:

1. Get out of debt or save money
2. Lose weight
3. Develop a healthy habit (e.g., exercise or healthy eating)
4. Get organized
5. Develop a new skill or talent
6. Spend more time with family and friends
7. Other
8. Work less, play more
9. Break an unhealthy habit (e.g., smoking, alcohol, overeating)
10. Change employment

A survey found that 35 percent of people had already broken their New Year's resolution by the end of January. That means within 31 days, 35 out of every hundred people had already given up. Only 23 percent of people said that they don't ever break their resolutions. Again, 23 out of 100 people say they are strong enough to stay the course. Don't ask me what happens to the other 42 percent of people...I guess they break their commitment somewhere along the way.

To me there seems to be something missing on this list. Everything on the list has to do with our lives in the world—the physical. Change employment...great, maybe you'll be happier or make more money. Break an unhealthy habit...wonderful. We all need to rid ourselves of things that aren't good for us. Work less, play more. That's why God created the Sabbath as a day of rest. We need it. Spend more time with family and friends. Relationships are important. God Himself said it wasn't good for man to be alone. That's why He created Eve. Develop a new skill or talent. Being good at something not only makes you feel good about yourself, it can also come in handy. Get organized. You're more likely to be productive and less stressed depending on your methods. Develop a healthy habit. If we're getting rid of the bad, doesn't it make sense to replace it with good? Lose weight. Not only will we fell better physically, but we're more likely to live longer. And finally get out of debt or save money. Pay back what you owe. Set aside some for when you are in need. But what about the spiritual aspect of these things?

Don't miss me here. I'm not saying that these resolutions are bad in any way. I'm simply asking if we're looking at them with the right eyes. My favorite resolution in all the Bible is found in 1 Corinthians 2...

1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

And there it is...'For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified'. Again, back to dictionary.com. A resolution is a strong will. It is dedication, earnestness, it takes guts, heart, is relentless and requires perseverence. Paul was single-minded during his time with the church. He was soley focused on Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because that one line changes everything. Everything!

What happens if I resolve to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified? I will begin to reflect Him where I work. I will become content with where I am until He sees fit to send me somewhere else. What happens if I resolve to know Christ and Him crucified? I stop trying to break an unhealthy habit in my own strength, and I begin to rely on him. I begin to think about how what I'm doing affects my witness. What happens if I resolve to know just Jesus and think about His death? Rest and relaxation will become important because I recognize that Christ Himself took time to renew and went away to pray. What happens if I resolve to focus on the Savior and His sacrifice? I will work to better the gifts and talents that I've been given to tell His story and bring Him glory. What happens if I resolve to keep my eyes on the Prince of Peace and remember the price He paid? I will try to be more organized because we serve a God of order and not chaos. What happens if I resolve to identify with the Lamb of God and what He did? Then, working on my weight will be less about how I look and more about the fact that my body is His temple. And finally, what happens if I resolve to focus on the Father's son and His surrender to the cross? I will get out of debt and save money not so that I won't be a slave to my creditors or to have extra cash on hand but because I'm called to be a good steward of all that God has given me.

You are a new creation. What do you resolve to do? He is making all things new again. That's the beauty of who He is. What's been broken He restores. What's been sold for less has been bought back for more. What's not like Him Christ transforms. You don't have to wait until January 1st. We make such a big deal out of that one day. But the Bible says this in Lamentations: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. His compassions are new every morning. He never fails, but we do. Why beat ourselves up when we don't have to? He'll forgive us and we can start anew.

Keep in mind that 35 percent of people break their New Year's resolutions in a month. We as Christians can't go a day without sinning in some way. We need Him to make us new. Yet it takes resolve on our part. We must be dedicated to the cause, earnest in our quest, have guts to the point of death, take heart in who He is, be relentless in our pursuit, and persevere in the face of fear. I like what Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:7-8.

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Okay, so I just threw the first verse in there because I though it was kind of funny since the reference about the whole black-eyed peas thing and old wives' tales. It's actually verse 8 that means the most to me. Paul writes that taking care of ourselves physically is a good thing, but being godly is of value today and throughout eternity. Again, resolving to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified. We become more godly.

So, what does this mean to you? What will you do with this truth? Behold: He is making all things new.

Read Revelation 21:1-5