Easter and spring are about new: A new creation, a new life,
a resurrected life, a new song, a new job or baby or a new way of living life.
I am choosing to look at life afresh or in a new way this year. Easter brings
the hope of a new life in Jesus Christ who has risen from the grave. Perhaps
you don’t connect to that thought like some members of my own family. They say
Christianity is OK, but don’t give me any of this Jesus stuff. That is very
painful and sad to hear, because it points not to new life but to death. Yes,
not recognizing the fact that Jesus died and rose from the grave for each of us
is to disregard God’s plan for you and to seek your own life where you are
captain or driver. It’s all about “me” you might say. You can’t have it both
ways; either God or you are in charge. So I’m singing a new song this spring.
In 2014 I wrote a book called Great is God’s Faithfulness. It is based on the psalms and the
theme of faithfulness. Psalm 40 deals with faith persevering in trial:
I
waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He
lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
He
set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to
stand.
He
put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many
will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in Him.
God is
faithful to lift us out of the pits of life and put a song of praise in our
mouths and heart. It is the image of the resurrection of Eastertide. It is new
life in Christ, who died for you and me. He pulled me out of a death spiral
into new life when I was in the lowest place even though I was a hospital CEO.
He pulled me from death again when given a mortal diagnosis by world-renowned
physicians. He miraculously healed me when they did not know what to do. I sang
a new song. What about you? Perhaps you have not had a miraculous healing, but
God can still do it.
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.
I
say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The
Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it
is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord (Lamentation 3:22-25).
This is
a new dawn; the sun is rising as I look out the window on a new day. The birds
are singing in hope. This again is about God’s faithfulness to those who seek
and wait for Him. Many times in the psalms David speaks of a new song that is
the new covenant in God through Jesus Christ and His life, death and
resurrection. The last reference to this new song is the one sung by the
144,000 Jews around the throne in heaven praising Jesus in Revelation 14. If
there are any Jewish people reading this now, keep your eyes and hearts open
for your redemption draws neigh.
“Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new
creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The promises of God are perfect and
new. He has taken away your sin and given you His righteousness. Just as God clothed Adam and Eve with new
clothes in Genesis, He wants to do the same for you and me. “Rather,
clothe yourselves with the Lord
Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans
13:14). God is saying, put off the old self and put on the new that does not
gratify the fleshly desires, but those of God. This is a renewing, “Therefore,
I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper
worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and
approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
The
entire Bible is about God’s covenant relationship with us from old to new. The
Book of Revelation ends with the coming of the New Heaven and New earth when
Christ comes to make all things new again. He is returning soon to do just
that. So be ready. “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s
dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will
be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the
old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne
said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these
words are trustworthy and true.”
This
is the great promise; God is coming again to make all things new. But first we
must trust in Him, be renewed.
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts.