Happy New Year
Dearly beloved of the Lord, Happy New Year!
The world gets so excited about a new year. They celebrate with parties, make resolutions, which they hardly ever keep, and the new soon tarnishes along with the world.
On the other hand, we should celebrate everyday! Whether we were previously Judeans or Gentiles in the flesh, Christ Jesus made both of us one new man!
Before he did this, as Gentiles in the flesh, we were uncircumcised and had no part in God's covenants with Israel. At that time we were without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But, and that's a big but, through Christ Jesus something new came. He bought those who were far off nearby through what he achieved in his death and resurrection, his ascension, and seating in the heavenlies. He is the peace between us. He ended the hostility between us by offering up his life to God as a sacrifice.
Now we both have access to God as our Father through Christ Jesus by one spirit.
Now we are not strangers from the covenants of promise; we are joint citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God! Now we Gentiles are joint heirs, joint members of the same body and joint partakers of what God promised in Christ Jesus by the gospel.
In Christ we are now being built together into a Holy of Holies, in whom we are being built together for a habitation of God through the spirit!
Beloved, in Christ new things have come and these new things are the result of the sacrifice, the blood, sweat and tears of our Lord who gave himself for us. These new things are spiritual realities, eternal verities. These new things have nothing to do with the flesh (we don't even know Christ after the flesh any longer!)
The old things that pertained to the flesh, such as what we ate or drank, or observances of feasts, or new moons, or Sabbath day observance (which were only a shadow of good things to come), were observances under the old covenant for Israel to observe; beloved, new things have come!
We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus and new things of the spirit have come! The body is of Christ; not of earthly observances of any kind!
We should occupy our minds with the new things that have come, not with the old things.
We ought to think what our Father instructs us to think. We ought to set our affection on things above, not earthly things. We ought to walk in the spiritual realities in which our Father instructs us to walk. We ought to be imitators of God like His beloved children.
The knowledge of these new things ought to flow into a walk of love even as Christ also loved us and delivered himself up for us an an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling fragrance. He did not live to please himself, he lived to please Him who sent Him.
New things have come dearly beloved, and there are many new things to come: new bodies, new heavens and earth; God will make all things new again!
Until then, may we occupy ourselves with the knowledge of the new things that are ours in Christ to the end they flow into a life lived in the love of God. It is one thing to know something, but love builds up.
God shared His knowledge of these new things with us so that we could imitate Him and show the love He showed us to others. By your love they will know you dear ones.
May this be our New Year's resolution:
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other even as God also forgave you in Christ. Hold up one another in love. Bear one another's burdens whether by prayer or by sharing your worldly goods, by speaking a word fitly spoken or or by ministering deliverance, and so fulfill the law of Christ. By love serve serve one another as Christ did. Beloved, have the same care, the same concern for one another. Live love.