2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
My efforts to listen for God’s directions to me are not always perfect, but since I have been studying Experiencing God, the Henry Blackaby course on that subject, I have been trying to rectify that problem. That may be the very reason that our Lord gave me the opportunity to take this wonderful course J. If you have not taken it, please let me recommend it. I don’t claim to have this problem licked, not by a long shot, but I am working on it. God speaks to us in many ways, often at times we don’t expect it. That means we need to listen for Him as often as we can. When a person has an active prayer life, allows Christ to be the Lord of his life, and spends time studying the Scriptures, he puts himself in a better position to listen for God’s direction than he would otherwise be. That has been my experience. This is an integral part of being “a new creation” in Christ. The Lord directs me now to write about what it means to be “ a new creation” in Christ.2 COR 5: 16-17, “No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so. When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new creation; the old one is gone, the new has come.” This is a familiar citation, certainly one I will quote many times in my life, but it needs deeper inspection to allow the Lord to reveal the truths within it. The concept of coming away a changed being from having come to faith in Christ is beautifully introduced in the JN 3: 1-21 where the Jewish leader, Nicodemus, visits Christ under cover of darkness and learns what it means to be born again from Him. I hope you will read this passage today to see what I mean. JN 6: 63 places a Godly perspective on what happens when one comes to faith. “What gives life is God’s Spirit. Man’s power is of no use at all. The words I [John] have spoken to you bring God’s life-giving Spirit.” This citation gives us some insight into the nature of God’s grace and reveals His love for us. We learn more about how faith grows from being nurtured from JN 12: 24, “I am telling you the truth: A grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.” Our faith is like that grain of wheat in that it needs to be nourished with prayer, study of the Scriptures, and encouragement from other believers around us. Then, it needs to be watered with the “life-giving water that flows from the heart “ that comes from the Lord [see JN 7: 38-39].The Lord really wants us to understand what goes into being this new creation, so we are given many rich and wonderful citations to help us understand it. RO 6: 5-6, “For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with Him in being raised to life as He was. And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” This passage speaks of how we relate to Christ’s experience through our faith in Him. It also gives us a chance to understand that through being new creations in Christ, we are no longer saddled with the necessity to sin. Now, if we sin, it is a choice we make, albeit a none too wise one. When we came to faith, we were justified, that is deemed acceptable by God. Righteousness was imputed to our accounts. What this means is that as our faith grows, we now want to make righteous choices and decisions.RO 6: 8-11 further explains the impact of relating to Christ this way. “Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again-death will no longer rule over Him. And so, because He died, sin no longer has power over Him; and now He lives His life in fellowship with God. In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.” This is one of the things that is meant by RO 8: 29 when Christ is described as “the first among many brothers.” Not being slaves to our former sins is a real gift of God’s grace. His utter compassion for mankind is really revealed here. In fact, it is revealed in every aspect of being a new creation in Christ. This privilege is given to Christ to serve as a model for us to follow with the understanding that it is also a gift to us. That is the case even through God didn’t have to give it to Christ, since Christ never sinned. We are still sinners, which is why this is a manifestation of God’s grace, unmerited favor, showered on us. The difference is that we can choose not to sin now, whereas before that wasn’t an option available to us.RO 13-14 gives us direction on what to do with the release from sin’s power over us acquired when we became new creations in Christ. “…Give yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to Him to be used for righteous purposes. Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under the law but under God’s grace.” God deserves our unending praise for His willingness not only to give us the opportunity to be new creations in Christ, but for giving us direction on how to do that. He reveals many other aspects of how to do this which we will examine in this series of messages. Please join me in this prayer:PRAYER: O Lord, because You love us so much, You give us the opportunity through coming to faith in Christ to be released from slavery to sin. While we are sinners who must come to You for direction in humility, You see fit to give us that direction. When You called us to faith and we answered that call, You made us new creations in Christ. Like the gorgeous butterfly that emerges from an ugly cocoon, You show us how to spiritually soar on the air drifts that are our faithful obedience to You. You sent us Your Son to die on the cross and to be the first among many brothers as a model for us to follow. We dedicate ourselves to seeking Your direction, so that we may never misuse the grace You shower upon us. Praise, honor, glory, thanks, and adoration be to You. In Christ’s name, amen.It is my hope that we will know what it is like to listen and obey God, so that we can soar together spiritually, being encouraged in our desire to cast sin aside and seek fellowship with Him. The love God has for us all is manifested in the grace under which we live. Let all the efforts we make to expunge sin and to work through the challenges of our lives always be made knowing that our Father in heaven loves us from the bottom of His heart. Peter and I also send you our love.Grace Be With You Always,Lynn <-- Back to Archives