Totally New

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Scripture

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

~2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV

Quote

Creation is the work of the Creator, not the creature.

~Ya’akov

Are you trying desperately to be a good Christian and getting frustrated in the process? Charles Stanley says, “Be comforted by the fact that you cannot make yourself into a new creation–no one can.” Some twenty or thirty years ago, I read Thomas à Kempis IMITATIONS OF CHRIST, and it is a great read which I highly recommend. About the only thing I disagree with is the title–no one can imitate the life of Christ and they will become either frustrated or self-righteous if they try. Jesus did not come to this earth to be our example; He came to take our place. We are not saved by imitating His perfect example: we are saved by His vicarious offering of Himself. Jesus lived a life we could not live and He died an atoning death which we cannot do.

Relax, take a deep breath, everything is grace. Your new birth or regeneration was by grace and so is your sanctification. This is the theological problem that other denominations get wrong: they have you starting by grace but after the initial salvation experience, it becomes up to you to continue the process. If you are a new creation, the Holy Spirit indwells you and He will give you an ever growing desire to obey and honor Christ. I love Philippians 2:13, For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. {NLT} That desire you have to please Christ is a part of your grace package but that is also true of the power.

What I am saying is that God, the Master artist is reshaping you into a totally new person and when He is finished, you will not see any resemblance to the old. The old will be gone. Meditate for a moment on Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians, God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. So when darkness seems to hide His face, rest in His unchanging grace.

I don’t like long hair on men but this dude can sing…

I finally got all those blogs I wrote weeks ago posted: I wrote this one yesterday so I know it is fresh. Sun is out this morning and it is warmer PTL. I got cold yesterday and couldn’t get warm but it feels good today. I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.

I watched some news last night: we have NEWSMAX now and I love it. The fake news has come up with away to get Cuomo off the hook: they are doing a smoke screen to divert the attention. All they are talking about is him hitting on a woman at a wedding. They are not mentioning the 9,000 covid patients he put in nursing homes because he refused to use the hospital ships that Trump had stationed on the Hudson. He didn’t want to make Trump look good. What a jerk and he will get off Scott free because he is a democrat and the media gives them a free pass no matter what they do. I not sure which is the most corrupt, the democrats or the media.

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