December 27, 2024 Devo

2025 is fast approaching. Will this New Year be different for you or will it be just another repeat of the years that are behind you? When many people talk about wanting a new year, they are often referring to the fact that they want fewer problems, fewer crises, fewer health issues, or fewer money concerns. The problem is these are mostly things that we have no control over. What we DO have control over is who we will BE in the New Year. With that in mind, who will YOU be?
Paul tells us in our passage today that we don’t have to be who we’ve been. We don’t have to live the way we used to live. We don’t have to talk the way we used to talk. We don’t have to treat people the way we’ve treated people in the past. We don’t have to live apart from God if that’s where we’ve been. Jesus came to change all of that.
Take another look at today’s scripture. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Do you recognize the promise, the power, and the potential that is in those words? You can be a NEW you!
Think about it. Today, you can shed the past that has haunted you. Jesus offers His Grace to forgive every sin you’ve committed and to heal every wound that you have incurred. You can let go of the guilt you’ve been carrying. You can shake off those shackles of shame. Through a simple prayer of confession and surrender, you can shed the old clothes that used to be your past and put on the New Clothes of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
But Jesus doesn’t want to just forgive your past. He wants to direct your future. Paul says that we “belong” to Christ. That means we claim Him, seek Him, and live for Him EVERY DAY for the rest of our lives. We surrender our habits to Him. We model our relationships after Him. We seek His guidance each day and allow His Spirit to live through us. Christ offers us the life we’ve always wanted, and the kind of life God can bless. Are YOU ready for a New You? That’s God’s Word for you today.