All Things New!
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” Isaiah 65:17.
All things NEW! When an artist views an empty canvas with visions, and a writer views a blank sheet of paper and has dreams of wonder, that turns into “What DO I write?” Then the words flash before the writer, What has been, is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2.
There was no hesitation in our God. The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters! He spoke and the heavens and earth were formed. No hesitation, just action. No directions to follow, no pictures of a completed project to replicate! No leftover pieces. How often, I heard my husband, Ed, come in after completing a project, and say, “I think it is good, there weren’t any leftover pieces.”
How we love something new, from the bottom of our feet to the clothing we wear to the car we drive and the house we live in. Yet, God’s creation has lasted for many generations until, Revelations 21:1comes to pass. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
How often we use the term ‘New!’ every day. New crop, a loaf of bread, dress, shoes, haircut, lesson, day, year, baby, life, fruit, and tires, taste, time, school, pencil, crayons, a ream of paper, month, song or news.
We try to refresh ourselves, and how is that done? We go to the Mountains, the Beach, the places where we find lush greenery, tall forests, and find the grandeur of color in flowers. Songbirds fill the air with their God-written song.
My Mother had a quest each time we drove anywhere–to find the perfect tree to have a picnic beneath. She loved the grandeur of a tree. Then she taught me the song, I Think That I Shall Never See… a Poem Lovely As a Tree. (Joyce Kilmer).
There is one ‘new’ that we celebrate! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18. Eighty-two years ago, I felt the newness in my heart when I received the gift of Salvation through baptism in Christ. I remember coming out of the water feeling unburdened and cleansed from sin. The next day in school, I shared my good news, and my friends laughed at me. I learned lesson after lesson through the days that followed. Belonging to Jesus is learning through the places I found myself. Growing up in the Lord requires patience, prayer, willingness to learn to love and forgive. Then there is continuing to believe and trust in the Lord for His guidance even when it hurts.
I learned about pride and literally learned the verse that says… Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18. This fall was after playing a piano duet on a Sunday night with my Mom. I slipped on three steps and fell before the congregation.
Singing a new song of Thanksgiving after walking to the window, to see the brilliant blooms of the flowering tree in the backyard. I find and give thanks for the blessings of God, for they are the assurance He is in control. Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song! Psalm 149:1 and verse four, For the LORD, takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the humble with salvation.
He helps us re-new our minds when we seek Him. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:21-24, 31-32.
Then I search the Bible Concordance for the verses the word, ‘new’ is found. God delights in newness. These are only a few of the verses.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23.
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. Ezekiel 36:26 -27.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:12-15.
Comments? eacombs@att.net