Throughout this month we have been encouraged with the assurance that when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we become a new creation! (2 Corinthians 5:17) We have been encouraged to add and continue some important things in our daily lives and we have been made aware of things that we must cease. Now when we are a new creation in Christ we have died to sin and we have been made alive in Jesus. For when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior then Jesus lives in us! For Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (NIV) Those who accept Jesus as their personal Savior receive eternal salvation for their soul and they become children of God! For John 1:12-13 tells us “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (NIV) Praise God for these incredible blessings!
So now it is a new year, you are a new creation in Christ, and now we can and must have a new outlook on life! When we have Jesus living in us as our personal Savior we can rest assured knowing that we have been forgiven for all of our sins past, present and future! We can rest assured also knowing that we get to spend eternity in heaven with Jesus! We get to be confident in the Lord knowing that our soul is secure and we get to enjoy our future in Him. We are blessed to share in the blessings of God and we get to know that there are good things in store for us. Better things than we could ever imagine! For God tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV) We are blessed with true peace, in our inner being, we have peace with God through our Savior Jesus. For Romans 5:1-2 tells us “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. (NIV) We are also blessed to know that we have nothing to fear for God is our refuge, He is our strength, and He is in control of all things! We can be confident knowing that God will work everything out for our good according to His will. (Romans 8:28) Even in times of life that seem hard, we can rest assured knowing that struggles are blessings from God! God blesses us with struggles to teach us, strengthen us, sanctify us and discipline us so that we can be shaped even further into the child of God that He has created us to be. (James 1:2-3) Even our struggles are for our good! There is no greater assurance than the assurance found in Jesus for we have everything we need when we have Jesus in us! So now having been blessed with our new identity in Christ we can and must go forth with full confidence in the Lord and joy that overflows. We can wake up each morning with hope and joy! Let us go forth and enjoy this life God has blessed us with in Him glorifying Him and praising Him in all we do! Let us leave fret and worry behind for we bear the name of Jesus Christ!
We also need to see the people around us as we should, through the eyes of a child of God! For that is what we are and those are the eyes we now have! God wants us to love others and have mercy and compassion for one another. We love others because God loves us! (1 John 4:19) For God is love! (1 John 4:8) We need to remember that no one is perfect and that we all need our Savior Jesus. We need to remember to have mercy on each other for God has given us His grace and mercy in Jesus even when we never deserve it. Let us have the same outlook on others! Even if we are wronged by others we have assurance knowing that we have nothing to fear for our God is in us and He will protect us. We have been blessed with Salvation in Jesus and we have been called to live a life that glorifies God. Praise God that we have been blessed with that calling and our salvation! It is not a burden to live for God for He is living in us and He will make us to be faithful. God will mold us into the person He has created us to be in Him. Remember, it is God who works in us to do his will and glorify Him and He is faithful even when we are not! (Philippians 2:13) When we love others people see Jesus living in us! The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:12 that “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (NIV) God loves others through us! So as Galatians 6:9 says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (NIV)
So here we are! We have a brand new year, we are a new creation in Christ, and we have been blessed with a new outlook on life! Let us enjoy all of these blessings in God and let us go forth in the Lord praising Him and living our lives to glorify Him! Let us not become discouraged for we have everything we need in Jesus to live a life that is glorifying to God. God is faithful and He will make us do exactly that!
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