The New Me

The New Me


Born again. I am not sure if that means anything to you; but it means everything to me. Jesus saved me from the spiritual death I deserved and gave me the undeserved gift of eternal life. I was bound for hell and didn’t know/didn’t care. Now I have the assurance of eternity in Heaven. 

I didn’t really believe in God (especially the God of the Bible). Not long before I surrendered my life to Christ, I met the woman I would eventually marry and she invited me to church. She was amazing and church was fine. But I often recall that during that time, I told a good friend, ‘I don’t want anybody trying to change me.’

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

When you are born again, you are changed! I certainly don’t dwell on how my life was before Christ, but it blesses my soul when I think about how different my life is now. Of course I still struggle with the weakness of my flesh just like every other Christian (whether they realize/admit it or not). But praise God I struggle less and less with my sin nature as He continues to change me from the inside out.

- I came to know Father God through Jesus because He is the only Way to God
- I trusted in Jesus because He is the absolute Truth
- I have eternal life through Jesus because He, as the Life, overcame death when He rose from the grave

• John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus, here is a list of some of the things I love about my life since I came to know you as my personal Savior:

I praise You because You are Worthy of praise

• Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!

I love You because You first loved me

• 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

I worship You because that is the response of my soul to who You are

• Psalm 95:6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

I need You because all good things come from You

• James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

I follow You because You are the light in the darkness

• John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

I pray to You because You told me to and taught me how

• Luke 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,
• Matthew 6:9-13 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

I obey You because I love You

• John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

I confess my sins to You because You are faithful to forgive

• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I tell others about You because You empowered me to do so

• Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

I read Your Word because through it came the faith to believe in You

• Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I study Your Word because it helps me to live a life that honors You

• Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

I long for You because You are the only thing that satisfies my soul

• Psalm 42:1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God.

I seek You because there is nothing more worthy and satisfying than being in a close relationship with You

• Jeremiah 29:13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
• Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The New Me

Becoming in daily life who I am already am before God!!

By the way, my wife is more amazing than ever and being part of Christ’s body, the church, defines and fulfills me.


Prayer

Gracious loving Father, thank You for saving me and indwelling me with Your Holy Spirit. I am a new creation!! I praise You and love You for drawing me to Christ and bringing me into Your family. Thank you for my new life. Thank You for eternal life. Thank You for paying my sin debt and making things right between me and You. I pray in the name above all names, Jesus. Amen.

 

  

Blessing Leftovers

Blessing Leftovers


Jesus blesses in abundance! He often looks beyond our immediate need and provides so much that we have an opportunity to bless others. Unfortunately, at times we see anything beyond what we need then and there as scraps. We are prone to discount or discard any ‘blessing leftovers’.

Feeding the Five Thousand

• Matthew 14:19-20  Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

Feeding the Four Thousand

• Matthew 15:35-37 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.

Our tendency is to become self-reliant in times of abundance and desperate in times of need. Time and again we ungratefully turn our back on the Lord when our needs are met. Then, when we are lacking, we worry ourselves to death and do foolish things to get what we need instead of trusting our loving Father to provide.

• Proverbs 30:7-9 Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): 8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me; 9 Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

Jesus challenged His disciples to face the reality of His deity; the miracles He performed proved who He was, God in the flesh. His love, mercy, grace and provision challenge us in the same way today.

• Mark 8:19-21 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” 20 “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” 21 So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”

Another story in the Bible that demonstrates the value of ‘blessing leftovers’ is the gentile woman from Canaan who showed tremendous faith that Jesus could save her demon-possessed daughter. Her faith and willingness to accept mere remnants of the blessings intended for the Jews resulted in her daughter’s healing (Matthew 15:21-28).

• Matthew 15:27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

In 2 Corinthians, our Lord speaks very clearly through the Apostle Paul to tell us that our abundance is meant to bless a source of blessing to others.

• 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

What are you doing with the ‘blessing leftovers’ in your life?

• Are you carelessly discarding them as something of no value?
• Are you hoarding them to protect against potential future hardship?
• Are you using them to earn the favor of those in need?
• Are you waiting for someone you feel comfortable approaching to beg for your leftovers?

I am guilty!


Trust in the Lord; give it away!

• Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
• Acts 20:35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Prayer

Lord, You know that I love You. But You also know my worries and fears. Forgive me for holding on when I should be letting go. Guide me through Your Spirit and Your Word to give however, whenever and whatever You want me to give. Help me not to use ‘being responsible’ as an excuse not to bless others. I praise You and thank You in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.