All things new

All things new

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Revelations 21:1-7

 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.

 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

 6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty, I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.

 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.

Could it be that if we were to ask average people on the street if they had ever lied, been in trouble, or done something they wish they deeply regret, each person would tell their own story with a sigh?

Because we are fallen people in the fallen world, mistakes are unavoidable in life. People who make mistakes are not necessarily bad people. Often they are good people that made bad choices. If they were given a chance to go back and make the decision again, would make the right one? Anyone can learn from their mistakes and make course corrections.

But often because of fear, many people refuse to make course corrections. They go through life just trying to survive, rather than thrive. Perhaps a better life script might be, “Growing from hurt, living in hope” (allthingsnewtherapy.org).

The Lord Jesus Christ made a magnificent promise to every child of the King.

Revelations 21:5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”

When the Lord Jesus Christ speaks, His words are true, reliable, and can be believed. When He speaks, He always speaks the Truth. As a witness, His character is above reproach. His words can be trusted. “Everyone can believe these words; they are true” (UBS). When he says, “I am making everything new,” you can have complete confidence that He will do exactly what He says.

REFLECT & PRAY

It takes a strong person to say I am sorry. But it takes a stronger person to forgive.

Father, I thank You for the second chance. I am a new creation in You, encourage and strengthen me to live like it.

INSIGHT

When the six days of creation were completed, the Father remarked, “it is very good” (Genesis 1:31). All was well until sin entered into the human race. Adam and Eve sinned and became fallen. The innocence and luminescence of planet Earth were marred. The world became a dark and fallen place. The Father loves His creation and does not want to vaporize it. Instead, rather than its destruction, the Father seeks to rescue and restore it. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to die for sin, the sin of the human race. His purpose is to redeem people and planet Earth. He will make everything new exchanging evil and death for goodness and life.

Lord Jesus Christ will renew all things, “make everything new.” Although the old heaven and earth will be replaced with a new heaven and earth, there will be a degree of continuity between them. For example, the Lord Jesus Christ was part of the old heaven and earth. He was confined to an earthly body. But He was raised from the dead and His mortal body was transformed into a resurrection body. Nevertheless, He was still essentially the same “person.” He was recognizable and recognized by His disciples. Their relationship continued until the ascension.

In the same way, children of the King, “will be raised to eternal life with our ‘selves’ intact. We will retain our memories, our personalities – everything that makes us who we are. At the same time, we will be transformed and purified and renewed, so that we conform to God’s will in every way” (Christopher A. Davis).

Could it be that everything good in this world will be incorporated into the Father’s eternal kingdom and become part of the “new heaven and new earth?” The coming renewal is more than a renewal, it is a replacement of our old ways and old lives with new, remarkable ones (Garland).

All that we do on planet Earth will be sorted out by purifying fire. Knowing this fact should motivate us to do our best as we build upon the foundation that has been laid down in our hearts.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

 10 Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have – Jesus Christ.

 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.

 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

Paul doesn’t stipulate what kind of work is valuable and remains, or what is trivial and worthless and is burned up and incinerated.

Each child of the King should be careful how they build. We are to seek to build with things that are precious and eternal. There are only two things that are eternal on planet Earth at present: the word of God and human souls. The quality and value of our effort will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. Some stuff will be burned up and some stuff will survive. Each one of us will suffer loss, but we will be saved.

“At the final judgment, everything in our lives that does not conform to the will of God (the ‘wood, hay or straw’) will be ‘burned up.’ Praise God, for all our character flaws and all our failures, will be removed! They will not be a part of the New Creation. However, Christians themselves will be ‘saved,’ and whatever good we have accomplished (the ‘gold and silver’) will be incorporated into God’s eternal kingdom” (Christopher A. Davis).

On the day that we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were given eternal life. Our eternity began and will continue forever. We are now in a personal union with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We are “in Christ,” mystically united with Him for all eternity.

“And one day we will enter into His promise of unending days with Him (John 14:3). Age and disease will no longer take their toll, and we will continue the adventure of an eternal lifetime. What stories each of us will have to tell – stories of our Savior’s redeeming love and undying faithfulness” (James Banks).

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