In Christ, a New Creation

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. (Galatians 6:15)

In the relationship we have with the Lord through the new covenant of grace, there is intimacy, fullness of life, spiritual victory, and so much more. These blessings (not available to those who are related to Adam) are aspects of the new life that comes to new creatures "in Christ."

"In Christ," everything is so different from how it was "in Adam." The family of man, having only natural life from Adam, puts great significance in human heritage or personal inclinations. Whether a person is a Jew or a Gentile can be of enormous consequence to many among the unredeemed community. Whether a person is religiously inclined or secularly motivated avails much with many unsaved people. On the other hand, those who have been brought into union with Christ can learn that God's perspective on such matters is vastly different. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availsanything."

In the kingdom of heaven, these distinctives among the sons of Adam mean nothing. Human differences do not cause the work of God or the will of God to be advanced or prevented. They avail nothing. What matters for all who are "in Christ Jesus" is not a "human category," "but a new creation."

When we come to know Christ by grace through faith, He gives us new birth. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again" (1 Peter 1:3). We are created anew. We become a new spiritual being before the Lord. We have "put on the new man" (Colossians 3:10). In this heavenly kingdom of new men and women, "there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all" (Colossians 3:11). All that ultimately matters is that the Lord Jesus Christ dwells in all of His people, and He wants to be all that they will ever need. All that matters is that the Spirit of Christ is the living water that we have begun to partake of and that He makes us one. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:13). Any person in any human category who will cry out to the Lord in faith can experience this richness. "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him" (Romans 10:12).

Dear Lord, giver of new life, my heart celebrates the wondrous fact that I am a new creation in Christ. I am delighted that my old human categories could not prevent Your work of grace toward me. I praise You for the richness of Your grace, Amen

Source: Written By Bob Hoeskstra http://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/dbdbg/view.cfm?Date=0331

Submitted by: Keturah

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Breath of "New" Life!

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “ Receive the Holy Spirit." - John 20:19-22

 

A remarkable scene, indeed: the risen Lord, standing in the midst of the frightened disciples, showing them the wounds which confirmed His identity, pronouncing peace to them, commissioning them for a ministry that would stretch them to their physical and emotional limits. Then John reveals a surprising moment when Jesus “breathed on them.” What was the significance of that gesture?

 

We have to go all the way back to Genesis to grasp the powerful implication of that event. In Genesis 2:7, Moses relays God’s description of an awesome moment in the creation story: “Then the Lord God [Elohim] formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Here is the origin of the mysterious life force that keeps us alive and well. It is neither our will nor our determination that sustains us, it is the very breath of God. Ezekiel 37:1-10 contains another amazing resurrection event, when the Breath of Life raises the dry bones to form an army.

 

In breathing upon His disciples, Jesus was instilling in them another kind of life; a new life filled with the Spirit of God, empowered by Him for service, and enlivened with the joy of His salvation. When you were born, God breathed into your lungs the breath that would sustain your physical life; when you were “born again” (John 3:3), Jesus Christ breathed into your spirit that same new life that enabled the disciples to change the world!

 

Prayer: Great and glorious Father, I thank you today for giving me the Breath of Life in which I live and move and have my being. Empower me by your Spirit to be a faithful witness to everyone I meet. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

 

Source:http://www.fiveminutedailydevotions.com/breath-of-life

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Posted by: Keturah

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Power to Overcome

by Joyce Meyer - posted May 21, 2013

But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . .  — Acts 1:8

No one’s life is everything he or she wants it to be. We all have challenges and struggles, sometimes even heartbreaks and tragedies. I have never met one person who could honestly say, “My life has always been every bit as wonderful as I always dreamed it would be.”

God’s job is not to make us happy or to give us the lives we’ve always hoped for. Often, we so desperately want unsaved people to become Christians that we tell them their lives will be better if they will just receive Jesus. In many ways, this is true, but sometimes we paint such a rosy picture that we lead people to believe they will never have another problem again for the rest of their lives and everything will be wonderful if they will simply ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. This is not true.

Jesus did not come to give anyone a life of leisure; Jesus came to give us abundant life, but not a trouble-free life. Part of the abundance He offers those who belong to Him is the power of His Spirit to overcome what others cannot.

As believers, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us deal with circumstances differently than nonbelievers do. When we are in Christ, we are supernaturally anointed to live our natural, ordinary lives in supernatural ways. We can be at peace in the midst of a crisis, and we can be positive when everything around is gloomy and depressing.

Why? Because we can choose joy, peace, positive attitudes, and stability. We can overcome the negative situations that are part of life, but we must choose to do so.
Love God Today: “Lord, thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit to help me deal any circumstance that comes my way.”

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.

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submitted by: Keturah

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The Follower's Investment

"...store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matt. 6:20-21

The encounter began one way but ended in quite another fashion! One can only imagine the response of the disciples as they listen closely for Jesus' answer to the rich young ruler who has surprised them all with his abrupt entrance as he runs to Jesus and falls on his knees. His question reverberates through the ages of time: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Perhaps Peter already began to formulate the answer that Jesus will surely give. He may also have begun to imagine what a relief it will be to their common purse to have someone like this as their companion. Jesus' response opens up a conversation which we have need of even though it is very contrasting to popular preoccupation with the presumed advantage of having wealth. Jesus places a higher value on following Him than on keeping the treasure for oneself! "Go and sell and give" are the primary words in Jesus' prerequisite to the invitation "then come and follow me".

Not only is the rich young ruler baffled (and turned away!) by this response, the disciples themselves were amazed at this totally controversial reply of Jesus. This passage in Mark 10:17 through 31 opens up an essential conversation. Jesus inserts the " impossible with men and possible with God" phrase. That is a loud clue that nothing about this whole episode follows the patterns of natural (and popular!) thinking. Peter seeks confirmation from the Lord that the decision of the disciples to "leave everything" has been right for both the "now" and the "forever" phase of life. Jesus solidly affirms the relationship of "leaving" to "receiving". He reveals to them (and to you and me) that treasure in heaven as well as rewarded provision on earth are His commitment to His followers.

Laying up treasure in heaven is real. That word "treasure" in the original language fits our modern vocabulary of wealth portfolios; it means "deposit and wealth". Laying up treasure in heaven is more than just poetry confined to church. It is the essential revelation to what really matters! "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The Apostle Paul, whose total life exemplifies "leaving for the sake of" declares the reality of anticipated, eternal rewards as he writes his final letter to young Timothy. (II Tim. 4:6-8) Treasure in heaven "makes $ense" of life which is so short and eternity which is so l-o-n-g! Being involved with our Lord in "the eternal" is an essential measurement for our investments of time and talents. Eternity is near. A prophetic understanding will have eternity at its very core. Let's restore the declaration so popular in a previous hour to the walls of our lives and hearts: "Only one life 'twill soon be past; only what's done for Christ will last!"*

With rejoicing,

Rev. Peggy I. Kennedy

www.TwoSilverTrumpets.ca

"Sounding a prophetic voice to Canada and beyond..."

*from the poem by C.T. Studd (italics added)

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