He Makes All Things New
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am
making everything new!’...” (Revelation 21:5, NIV)
TODAY’S WORD
Can you remember the time when you
first discovered a big dream in your heart? Maybe you were determined to excel
in your career, or as a parent, or maybe you were focused on deepening your
walk with the Lord. You probably started out with enthusiasm, but maybe things
got a little difficult or didn’t happen as quickly as you would have liked. Oftentimes,
when things don’t go as planned, people decide, “I’m just going to settle here.
It’s not exactly what I wanted, but at least it’s good enough.”
Friend, in this new season, recognize
that you were made for more than “good enough.” You were made to increase, to
excel, to grow and stretch. Why don’t you take a step of faith this year and
embrace the new life He came to give you. Not only does Christ offer new life
in eternity, but He offers new life here on earth. Why don’t you pick up those
dreams and be determined to see them through. It’s a new day, and He is making
everything new in your life!
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father in heaven, thank You for this
new day. Thank You for the opportunity to begin again. I choose to press
forward and keep believing for the dreams and desires You've placed in my
heart. I trust You today with everything that I am in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
***
The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son. John 1:14 (TEV)
The love of God is intimate and personal. He came up-close in Christ, and that means we cannot hide our imperfections and faults from him. He knows about them anyway.
This model from God means we need to love each other intimately and personally, looking past the faults and weaknesses of one another, seeing the handiwork of God in each one of us, knowing that we also have weaknesses and faults but that God is active in our lives, too.
When we know and believe that God is determined to love us no matter what, we can stop being concerned about our faults and conform to Christ instead of our fears (Romans 12:2). When we don’t believe that God loves us no matter what, we try to put on masks that make us look perfect in order to hide our faults. When we try to hide behind masks, we undermine God’s plan that we live together in transparent, loving communities, such as small groups.
The reality is, God’s love is perfect, and he wants to cover our faults with Jesus Christ.
God goes beyond merely diagnosing our problems or judging our faults (Psalm 103:10); instead, he steps forward to address the areas of our lives that are broken:
The more we’re conscious of God’s love, the less self-conscious we become about ourselves. We spend less time and energy looking to appear perfect and have a life where everything is exactly the way we want it to be; instead, we invest more time and energy pouring ourselves into other people, who, along with us, make an imperfect community, but one infused with God’s love.
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