New Again

by Andrew Cromwell

We’re obsessed with the new. We love new cars, new HDTVs, new phones, and new opportunities. And here we are at the beginning of the new year, and we will collectively reflect on the new changes we need in order to make our life better. We will resolve to start new habits, build new relationships (and revitalize old ones), and get new bodies (or at least try and work on the ones we are stuck in). 

Why are we so in love with the new? 

I think it is because we all know deep down inside that something is wrong about the way things get old. And I’m not talking just about old bodies, but old everything. Everything in this world over time, becomes scratched, stained, and scarred. 

Shiny new cars become oxidized, high-miled heaps. 

Bright new TVs become faded and fuzzy.

Wicked fast and beautiful cell phones become slow and cracked.

And lest we forget, young, thin bodies become old and fat. 

New love becomes tired and predictable.

Inspired dreams become broken and forgotten.

This makes us sad! And it should.

Because we were made for the new. That’s why our heart cries out for it.

At the end of time as we know it, the Apostle John tells us that Jesus will declare that He will make all things new again. It is at this moment that everything that is wrong with the world will be made right, once and for all. Jesus will bring things back into the order for which everything was originally designed.

But until that day, your and my heart still cries out for the new. We have an unshakeable knowing that things in our life can and should be better. We believe they should be new again.

At the beginning of this new year, let me encourage you not to listen to the talking heads that will make a big deal out of all the new year’s resolutions that will be broken before we get to February. Don’t listen to your family and friends that remind you of your past attempts to change. And especially don’t pay attention to your own failed history (we’ve all got one). 

Instead, reach out for the new! Hold on to hope. Start a new habit, learn a new skill, and build a new future.

New

by Tim Howard

I like NEW! New cars, new clothes, new houses and new places to visit, but none of these compare to the new things offered by God to those who will receive.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 The Apostle Paul explains to us that we can be transformed from the inside out – We can become a new person. When God changes you – old things pass away and new things come into being. 

The old lifestyle gives way to a new lifestyle. Motives for self-advancement give way to a new sense of purpose, which involves others. 

Rather than spending all their time, efforts and money on things that don’t satisfy or last – people who make God a priority develop a new set of goals to pursue. 

As you move through this New Year, don’t miss the new things God has for you!

1.  With each New Year, God makes a new beginning available to every person who calls on Him. 

2.  There are new relationships that God has pre-ordered for you. Some of your best friends may still be in your future. Don’t underestimate the impact of any and all new people you will encounter.

3.  New opportunities await those who pursue a desire to love God and people. Opportunity knocks and it will be knocking on your door this year. Don’t close you eyes and mind to new possibilities. Don’t be so ensconced in your routine – making it difficult to take a risk.

4. New victories will come your way. Those old habits, addictions and patterns will give way to new hope when you learn how do battle with your giants. God wants you to win. He wants to be on your side and help you grow stronger with each passing day.

5.  New life rather than mere existence awaits those who exercise faith in Christ. Someone said: “It’s sad to live and then die but it’s even more sad to die, having never lived.” The Bible calls this: ‘Eternal Life.’ It is more than existence – it is a quality of life that lasts forever. The good news is – you don’t have to die to receive it. It can start right now.

Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun. He said: “What will be – has been.” Even though this is true when speaking about humanity it is not true individually.
There are surely new things awaiting you and me in this New Year. Things we have not yet experienced in fullness.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “…no eye has seen – no ear has heard and no human mind has conceived —the new things God has prepared for those who love him.” 

Break Out Of The Rut

by Andrew Cromwell

It has been said that a rut is nothing more than a grave with the ends knocked out.  The truth is, we all get stuck in the routine and if we’re not careful, we become blinded to the new thing that God wants to do in our lives.

Routine can be a wonderful thing.  It lends consistency to our lives and helps us accomplish many tasks.  The problem is that personal and spiritual growth is stifled by routine.  Humans are wonderful at taking the “God” stuff in life and reducing it to a formula.  Whenever God does something new we try and figure out how to make it happen again.  So we end up repeating the same old prayers, singing the same old songs, and expecting God to move in the same old way He did yesterday.

But God is a God of the new!  In Isaiah chapter 43, God says “See, I am doing a new thing!”  God doesn’t want you to stay in the same old rut, believing the same old stuff.  Aren’t you tired of dealing with the same old sin patterns and repeating with the same old anger, pride and selfishness?  It’s time for something new!

So how do you break out of the rut and break into the new thing that God has for you?  

First, build an altar of worship.  In the Old Testament, we see the fathers of faith building altars wherever they went.  They took ordinary stones and fashioned them into places of worship.  These piles of stones then served as reminders of God’s reality and of the call to worship.  Today we don’t build altars out of stone, but we can build them out of the ordinary stuff of life.  We can place markers in our life that are reminders: a photograph, a prayer journal, a drawing — these things that are ordinary but can point us back to His goodness and grace and call us to worship.

Second, change your perspective. In the routine, we stop seeing things the right way. Like Elijah in the wilderness, we believe God has abandoned us.  Mark Batterson developed a good formula — change of pace + change of place = change of perspective.  Have you ever noticed, when we slow down and change our routine, suddenly God speaks?  It’s not that He wasn’t speaking before, it’s just that when we put our head down and push through life, we become dead to the sound of His voice.  So do something different!  Worship different, pray different, listen different — mix it up!  

Third, throw down your staff.  When God called Moses, He told him to throw down his staff.  Moses threw down this ordinary, everyday tool that was a symbol of his identity and his security, and it turned into a snake!  Boy, was he surprised.  God wants you to throw down those things in your life that you are holding onto — maybe it’s fear of being embarrassed, a favorite sin or the past that you keep replaying over and over.  Throw those things down and watch what God will do.