2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

A new year is here, and there is one thing I know for sure – this fallen world we live in is a lot like a runaway car without brakes on its way to running off a cliff. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be caught sleeping in the passenger seat of that car!

Thankfully, Paul makes it very clear that Jesus provided a way of escape from the brokenness of the present world order. When he told the Corinthian church that “old things are passed away”, Paul uses the past tense to assure us that the certain end is already accomplished. Thankfully, Jesus has already paid the price for us to avoid riding off the cliff to disaster. It is a historical fact, already accomplished for those who are “in Christ”.

The finished work of Calvary purchased our redemption, and now it is up to us to apply it in our lives. What that means for those of us who are “in Christ” is that we no longer have to be in the death grip of the “old things”. All the darkness of our fallen world. All the lying and deceit. All the overt sensuality and immorality. All the damage and despair caused by enslavement to sin. This is all the old, outdated stuff that Jesus overcame by the cross. Just like the song says, “I’m no longer a slave to sin, I am a child of God”.

Now we, as His followers, are part of a “new creation”. When Paul proclaimed the good news that “all things become new”, he used the perfect tense of the Greek language indicating a past action with continuing results. In other words, there are ongoing effects of Jesus’ past action to save us. In the perfect tense, His past action is intended to continue to produce results; results that reflect the new creature we have become. New things like honesty, forgiveness, generosity, faithfulness, joy, peace, and compassion become part of our everyday lives. His process of making us into a new creation is ongoing and anchored in the historical truth of a resurrected Savior. That means that we, as His followers, are “becoming new” and looking more and more like His new creation all the time.

The start of this new year is a good time to ask if your life looks more like the old or the new. As a “new creature” in Jesus Christ, are you seeing the changes in your life that clearly reflect His new way of living? Let’s wake up to the fact that we don’t belong to the darkness of this fallen world. Instead, let us embrace the new dynamic that God desires to create in our lives. Live to make progress in the perfect tense of His finished work so this year will be a lot more “new” and a lot less “old”. I cannot think of a better New Year’s resolution to make!

Mark 7:20-23 KJV And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Shopping for a watermelon can be a difficult task. No matter how good it looks, it’s really hard to tell if you are getting a good melon or not! So, I tap it, thump it, and, if no one is looking, squeeze it. After all my assessing is done, I will take it home only to discover that the inside does not match the outside.

When the Pharisees were aggravated that Jesus’ disciples did not wash their hands before eating, which happened to be a violation of one of their traditions, Jesus immediately challenged them. Mark 7:9 KJV And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. He even called them “hypocrites” and explained that what comes from the inside of a person is what “defiles” him, not the other way around.

If we’re not cautious, we can become engrossed with looking good on the outside and forget what really counts. In fact, when we get to the place where we are keeping all the “right” rules, we may become proud of ourselves and critical toward others. However, entertaining bitterness, clinging to critical attitudes, and thinking too highly of ourselves are the kinds of things that defile us and make us guilty of Jesus’ charge of “hypocrite.”

Please do not miss the real point here. We must remember that it’s the things on the inside of us, your heart, your thoughts, your attitudes, that really matter most. Jesus has been, and always will be, concerned with condition of your heart.

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Kevin Allen

1 Kings 3:9 KJV Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

If God invited you to ask Him for anything you wanted, what would you ask for? Would it be a long and healthy life? Would you ask Him for money, power, status, or prestige? Would you ask for a better job, stronger marriage, better education, or great family dynamics? What would you ask God for?

When Solomon was asked and given this choice, he asked for the wisdom to discern good from evil so that he might judge God’s people well. “Because thou hast asked this thing,” God told Solomon, “I have done according to thy words”. But God did not stop with simply answering Solomon’s request; God went on to promise to give Solomon “both riches and honor”. To this day, Solomon is known throughout the world for the great wisdom and riches God gave to him.

When Solomon began his reign, he did it with devotion, wisdom, and a deep determination to build a glorious temple to honor God. But something began to change in Solomon along the way. His desire for living by God’s wisdom was shifted by the drawing of the wealth and position God had given him. His marriage to many foreign women who worshiped pagan gods eventually led him into idolatry. This, in turn, lead the nation away from God and into idolatry as well. To be so full of wisdom and knowledge, he became fool hearted.

To me, the lesson is very clear for us. We should keep our attention turned towards God and not lose focus on all the blessings that come our way. A conscious decision to apply God’s wisdom to our lives every day will enable us to avoid the mistakes that destroyed Solomon. Tune into God’s voice every day and allow Him to direct our paths.

Romans 8:28 KJV And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Auguste Bartholdi traveled to Egypt from France in 1856. His mind was stirred by the magnificence of the pyramids, the greatness of the mighty Nile, and the splendor of the Sphinx of the desert. While there, he met a man who was there to sell an idea to cut a canal from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. This canal would save ships time from the long journey around the tip of the African continent. Auguste was inspired by the concept and decided to design a lighthouse for entrance to this canal. In his mind, it had to be special; it could not be just an ordinary lighthouse.

In the ten years it took to build the Suez Canal, Auguste drew concepts, made models, and trashed plans. Finally, he came up with what he considered a perfect design. Now he faced his biggest problem: Who would pay for it? He tried everywhere, but no one was impressed enough to fund his dream. The Suez Canal did open, and it did so without a lighthouse. Auguste went back to France crushed; ten years of work, time, and effort wasted.

Auguste’s final draft was something you and I would truly love! It was a gigantic robed lady that stood higher than the Sphinx. She had a book of justice in one hand and a torch held high in the other to light the way.

After Auguste finally returned home, the French government requested his services to design a gift for America. The Statue of Liberty that lights the New York harbor shows that disappointment can often be the beginning of good things beyond what we could have ever imagined.

We may become discouraged in our lives when we feel as if our dreams and desires have been crushed and defeated. I have found so much hope and peace by leaning on the words that Paul penned to the church at Rome. Romans 8:28 KJV And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

In life, I have learned the importance of understanding my position. I am in the middle of my life, and there are just some things that I cannot see because of my position. Yet, I also know that God is everywhere. Because of this, He is before me, behind me, above me, below me, and in me. This gives Him the ability to see things from a much better vantage point. Some days, I may feel as though I am stuck, and nothing is working for any good at all. God sees me growing, and He knows the very things that are blocking me from the ultimate purpose He has for me. Even the things I may feel are important can often times be the very things God is trying to remove from me because they are keeping me from His purpose.

To truly understand Romans 8:28, we must comprehend the whole verse. All things work together for good, if I love God and know that He has a purpose for my life. Far too often we get in trouble when our desires do not line up with His purpose. There is a process, and we always do better with disappointments and defeat when we know He has a plan for us.

Each of us are a work in progress. He sees all that we can become, and He will use our circumstances, both good and bad, to ultimately bring about His purpose if we are willing to trust Him through the process. Trust in God. With Him all things work out for our Good!

Psalm 66:19-20 But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

This verse has been stuck in my spirit this entire week. A few days ago, as I read the words of this Psalm, it seemed to leap off the page to me. “He attended to the voice of my prayer… which hath not turned away my prayer”. For some reason, I began to think about all the times I have prayed thoughtless prayers, and yet, He heard and answered even those.

Let’s be honest for a minute. We all have those prayers we pray daily that sometimes become automatic to us. What I mean is that we say them sometimes without really thinking about what we are praying. When I was meditating on this passage, it hit me. I realized that God attends to those prayers as well. He has answered prayers for me that I was not even really thinking about. What an amazingly faithful and wonderful God we have!

The knowledge that He has never turned away my prayer, that His mercy is new and fresh every morning, is almost more than I can wrap my head around! We are blessed… truly blessed with a God who is concerned with the smallest details of our lives. The more I get to know Him, the sweeter He is to me! Thank you God for hearing and attending to my prayers!

Exodus 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

Have you ever needed a “pick me up” or an “energy boost” to get you through the day? Sometimes I need these in my life to lift me up. Daily trials and responsibilities cause me to get tired and weary some days, feeling as if all my energy has been drained from me.

As they arrived at the same mountain where the Lord spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, God had something very special to say to the people of Israel. The first thing He did was remind them of the victory He had provided over the Egyptians. Sometimes we need to be reminded of how faithful God has been in our lives already. God is greater than anything or anyone!

Next, God spoke to them about how He cares for them. By stating that He had borne them on eagles’ wings, He was painting a powerful picture in their minds. It has been documented by different ornithologists over the last century that, from time to time, the eagle will let its young ride its back. This gives the young eaglets time to rest and regain energy. This also keeps them safe from harm that can come from below. Anything that tries to attack must first pass through the mother eagle.

God has won our victory. He has defeated the enemy of our soul. While we must carry on until He returns for us, He did not leave us alone and without protection. He will bear us up on eagles’ wings and bring us unto Himself. If today is one in which you need a “pick me up” or an “energy boost”, just know that we have a God who is able and willing to soar you into the heavens today and let you rest in Him.

Exodus 14:15 NKJV And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

We understand that the situation was desperate. The Egyptian army was closing in on the children of Israel. Every option appeared to be an impossibility! Moses did what any one of us might be inclined to do: he prayed. However, we see that this was the wrong thing to do in this moment. It wasn’t time to pray, it was time to act. God speaks to Moses and says, “Why do you cry to Me?” The answer seemed apparent – I am crying out to You because there is nothing else to do. We are facing certain destruction unless You do something.

There is a time to pray, and there is a time to act! There are times in which if we continue to pray and not act, we are going against God’s will. Now, I know full well what 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says about praying without ceasing. I am not saying that we do not need to continue to keep a prayerful heart throughout our day. What I am saying is that it is wrong to pray because of the wrong motives. Sometimes we pray selfish prayers, asking for things to meet our selfish desires and motivations. Those are the wrong kinds of prayers to pray. Yes, we can pray for ourselves, but it should be with the purpose of asking that God’s will be done in us.

It is wrong to pray with the purpose of controlling a situation. We must never forget we are praying to God. We should not pray in order for others to hear what we are praying so that someone will change their ways. God alone has the ability to change someone’s heart.

It is wrong to pray with the purpose of avoiding action or buying time. Many, when asked to do something, say “Let me pray about it,” and they never pray. They may think about it or talk to others about it, but they don’t really pray about it. For them, prayer is more of a delaying method than a means of seeking the face of God.

It is evidence of the nature we received from Adam that we can take something as good and right as prayer and use it in a wrong way. May God help us learn to pray for the right reasons, and may He also guide us in the times when we need to act on what He has already told us to do.

 

Hebrews 11:15-16 KJV And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

At last years men’s retreat, several of us went on an ATV ride during one of the free times. We were having a wonderful time when it started pouring rain. This made for an amazing time in the mud. After all, what could be better at bringing out that inner boy than splashing in the mud with an ATV! Everything was going so well until one of our guys snapped the valve stem off his ATV’s wheel. Immediately, all the air went out of the tire. There he was, stuck with a completely flat tire, without a spare or anything with which to fix it. We were stuck several miles from the trailer. Few things are worse than feeling stuck!

As bad as it can be, whether on a men’s retreat or traveling for business, it’s even worse if you get stuck spiritually. You have probably experienced this at some time in your life. In the middle of a difficult circumstance, bitterness and disappointment take root and cause you to be stuck in the mud of discouragement, or perhaps someone close to you hurts you with actions or words. Instead of turning the other cheek, you get stuck in a fight that feels like it is only pulling you in deeper with each passing minute. There is always the sticky pit of unconfessed sin that will completely overwhelm you over time.

When I read Hebrews 11, I love that I am reading about real people! They were living in a world like yours and mine. While reading this chapter, notice that they refused to get stuck in the disappointing and discouraging things of life. What was it about them that allowed this to take place? What I noticed was they had their mind set on this fact: they were strangers in a strange land. This was not their home. They knew that something greater awaited them! Because of that, no one or nothing prevented them from keeping their eye on the prize. We see this in the verses we read, “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly.”

So, the next time someone’s actions or words cause you to feel stuck, or the next time life gives you an excuse to blow up, remember who you are and where you’re headed. There isn’t a person or thing in your life that is worth getting stuck for! You’re headed home. Nothing compares to heaven!

Hebrews 13:5-6 KJV – 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

My day started with an alarm going off on my phone to awaken me. After grabbing it to silence the noise, I noticed a notification from a news app that there had been another terrorist attack in our world. Many were dead and even more wounded as the details were pouring in. For just a moment, fear gripped my heart as I remembered again the impact of 9/11 on our country. I live with a vivid memory of that day, and news of any terrorist attack brings back that same sense of fear we all felt.

Fear is a crazy thing. It has the ability to enlarge whatever we’re afraid of. Fear can cause our view of God to diminish and shrink, but I have noticed something about myself when it comes to fear. My fear tends to wither when I remember that God is with me everywhere, present all the time. God has no boundaries, so it does not matter if it is Brussels, New York, or Murfreesboro. God is everywhere at the same time! The psalmist understood this in his life when he penned Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Yet, there is even more to this when I understand that God is everywhere, and He is also all-powerful. If we keep ourselves close to Him in prayer and obedience to His Word, we can draw on this power to guide and protect us. This combination of power and presence makes God the greatest protector of all time. Taking this understanding, along with the news in our opening scripture that He will never leave us or forsake us, whom shall we fear?

Do not allow the enemy to use tactics that cause fear to well up inside of us. He knows that fear will change our view, even the view we have of God. But know this today – Jesus Christ has not changed. He is still with you every day. Call on Him in your time of need. He will answer. Stay close to Him, and your fears will shrink away. I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Psalm 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

I know that I cannot be alone at how shocked I am at how quickly rationalizations and excuses come to mind when I have done wrong. At first, it seems better to cover up guilt than to be honest about about it. I know that I am not alone in this feeling!

Just in case you are not aware, Psalm 51 is written after David experiences a humbling reality check brought to him by the prophet Nathan. A succession of choices had taken King David down a path that lead him away from righteousness into the land of excuses and denial. Nathan had to speak the hard truth in love in order to bring David back to the reality of his sins.

We can read in Psalm 51 how David comes clean! In this heartfelt prayer, David reminds us that God is a compassionate and merciful God, but He is also a God that demands that we be truthful with ourselves concerning our wrongs. We are to live life without rationalizations and excuses. When we have done wrong, God demands heartfelt, open honesty about our wrongs and for us to take responsibility for what we have done. Only after this can God’s grace and mercy flow over us.

Self-deception is the worst of deceptions. Trying to convince ourselves to feel better about our sinful condition by using lame excuses is like bathing a pig in the middle of the pig pen. It means putting in a lot of hard work only to end up with a dirty pig! Your excuses may feel good for a while, but before long, you will not like who you have become. Even more serious is the realization that failing to come clean about our sin hinders the process of God’s work in our lives.

So why are we lying to ourselves? God stands ready to forgive and forget! If you are going to be honest with anyone, be honest with yourselves. In Psalm 51, David points out that being honest with ourselves opens our hearts to comprehend God’s wisdom. Confronting our wrongs always shows us that we are not nearly as smart as we thought we were.

So let’s be done with our excuses, and let’s come clean before our God! Let us approach Him with clean hands and a pure heart. By doing this, we position ourselves to gain wisdom that leads to the best life… a life guided by Him!