Behold…He Makes All Things New…

  tulip tree..photo taken by me from my deck on the back porch

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,

he is a new creation.

Old things have disappeared,

and-look!-all things have become new!

Isaiah 43:18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.

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Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

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Isaiah 65:17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

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Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

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John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."   Credit

As I was having coffee this morning, I found myself thinking  about these passages. It occurred to me, that as we begin a new year, this would be a good place to begin reflecting on the New Year and our goals. It’s easy to look back over the last year and feel as if we had somehow come up short. Perhaps you feel you didn’t do enough, be enough, or somehow accomplish all that you should have or maybe wanted to. I know I certainly feel that way sometimes!

I hope that as you are writing your New Year’s resolutions, that you will be gracious to yourself, to your family, and to others. We are, after all, not perfect.  Certainly, this is the right time to consider how we can improve in those areas that need it, and it is good to reflect on the mistakes of the last year. Why did we make them…how can we change? These are questions to reflect on.  It’s also a perfect time to reconsider our priorities and how we are spending our time. Are we being faithful in the little things..or just racing down the road with little thought for our direction or the impact of those decisions on the lives of those around us.

my amaryllis...bought by dear hubby last week...

At the end of the day though, if we are in Christ Jesus, in other words, if HE is Lord of our lives and we are trusting in him for our right standing with God, we can have peace. We can trust Him to make us more like Him in every circumstance. If we are listening to that still small voice telling us what is good and what is not, then we need not feel condemned about our past mistakes nor our present trials. We won’t be perfect until we get to heaven. It is the direction we are headed in and what road we are on and who walks that road with us that truly matters. The Lord’s mercies are new every morning!

So while you are setting those goals…be sure to give grace to yourself and everyone else. Life is a marathon…not a sprint!  We don’t want to look at ourselves and our flaws and get so discouraged that we say, “Oh well…forget it. I quit!”  Nor do we want to look at all that we have yet to do and say through gritted teeth, “I WILL conquer this thing..I Will!”  What the Lord really wants from us, is to surrender “I” altogether and simply let HIM change us.  Then, with peace in our hearts we can say, “Yes Lord, I’m willing….to be changed.” 

photo by daughter Rebekah while having tea yesterday...

Here’s a song I wrote about ten years ago, when I was struggling with those New Year’s resolution blues. It’s called, “Enter In Anew”.   You can read the words here. It’s not GREAT…but it came from my heart. I hope you enjoy it.  :o) Just remember…He makes all things NEW!

I'm linking with one of my best bloggy friend's linky party today, Goal Setting. You will be so inspired if you visit!