Fresh Start part 3
When you leave the old behind you can experience the new. Look at Romans 6:4, "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." And there's a lot here, but it starts with the cross. The second death. The death OF death. Before the cross we were dead in our trespasses and sins. Because of the cross we are alive in Him. And because we are alive in Him we SHOULD walk in newness of life. We don't have to... I believe God is too much of a gentleman to force His will upon us. I believe He will let us do what we're gonna do--to a certain extent. But if you've been given a gift you ought to enjoy it. That's why, when someone asks me what I want for like Christmas or birthdays or whatever I always tell them gift cards. You can't spend a gift card of bills. You HAVE to do something fun with it. And in this world that we live in where so much of our three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) are spent simply getting from the start of the day to the end of the day... sometimes we almost need to be FORCED to do fun things. Almost like how in Psalm 23:2 how the Shepherd MAKES us lie down in green pastures. Sometimes we need someone to almost give us a reality check. Shake some sense into us. We have been given newness of life. We died with Jesus on the cross, and were raised again with Him by the Father. So we should experience and enjoy that life that we've been given. And, because I like words, I looked up "newness" in Strong's Greek Concordance. It is number 2538 and it means, "renewal." And that clicked in my brain with Revelation 21:5, "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he side unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Notice that Jesus didn't say, "I make all new things." He said, "I make all things new." It isn't just US... its EVERYTHING. The cross was the Messianic rebirth of the world. Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." And that phrase, "are become" means HAVE become, ARE becoming, and WILL become. It is a perpetual renewal. Of everything. Everything in your life. Everything in the lives of the people you come into contact with. Because love... love is the creative force of the universe. Love renews and restores. Love, quite literally, is the difference between life and death. No love, no life. Know love, know life. Life and love aren't just connected. They are the same thing. God is love. God is life. Love is life. So walking in newness of life is walking in newness of love. Keeping your heart open so you can receive and release the love of God. So you can let what's inside come out, by knowing and believing that its in there. That HE'S in there. Because its His life. And nobody can live Jesus' life except Jesus. In order to experience this fresh start, this renewal, this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God we simply let HIM live His own life in us, and though us, and as we. We simply let Him love us and then we walk in that love!