A New Beginning Always Follows An End

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!"

-Apostle Paul

(2 Corinthians 5:17)

One thing that amazes me about the Lord is how he does what is best for me, even when the best is not always the way I think is best for me. He does those things that I can't do for myself because he knows me so much better than I know myself. Because He loves me this much & so much more, He'll allow people to come into my life for a reason, a season and/or a lifetime. Through every season, one thing always remains as my constant, God has a purpose for my life!

2 Corinthians 5:17 was always God's promise to me that no matter how I felt about my past, that through Him all things are made new. The point the writer, the Apostle Paul, is trying to make here is that regardless of our past, in spite of the person we used to be, and more important than the things we USED to do, God is willing to take us back! God is not merely the God of 2nd chances, but the God of ANOTHER Chance. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of God, not only are we no longer chained down by sin, but we are "new creations," with a fresh start on life! It doesn't matter if we find comfort in drugs, sex and/or alcohol; if we ask God in FAITH for forgiveness and deliverance from those sins, God through his grace will forgive us and deliver us. If we make a conscious decision and effort to turn away from them, then they are no longer of us, part of us, or belong to us. "WE ARE A NEW CREATION, the old has gone, and the new has come"

God in his omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence already knew that Satan would seek out Christians who DO NOT read their Bibles, so he could use their ignorance of the truth with their past failures to hinder their spiritual growth, freedom in Christ and abundance of Life.

But for those of us who read our Bibles, God inspired Paul to tell us that if we would only seek His face and walk away from the unrighteous ways we know are unpleasing to Him, He would forgive us and a new person we will become in His sight. God says, "for the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.. the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind" (Isaiah 65:16&17) It doesn't matter what the world remembers about us; it's about who God says we are NOW. God, "does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7)

Let us observe the things that are hindering us from becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus and release/claim those things unto Christ. We have too much to lose if we don't and too much to gain once we do.

"Each new day brings new hope, new faith, and new beginning,

it's an opportunity for us to choose who we want to become.

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives"

-Live Productively