December 30, 2024 Devo

December 30th, 2024

“It’s All About Jesus!”
Jesus and the New
Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.” – Matthew 13:52 (NLT)
“Read It Again—For the First Time”

One of the gifts of God I marvel at is His ability to take a passage of scripture that I’ve read hundreds of times before and give me something brand new out of it. Has that ever happened to you? It’s crazy. As I sit each day with a passage to write about and pray for God to speak, I’m startled at how He gives me an angle of insight that I’ve never thought about before. It’s amazing.
But our scripture today hints at that very concept. Jesus speaks about a “teacher of the religious law.” This would be a person who knows the Old Testament really well. But then, as they become a disciple of His, something incredible happens. They suddenly see the “old truths” in light of the “new truth” that they have found in Him. His Spirit gives the old scriptures NEW understanding, a DEEPER meaning, so they have a more PERSONAL impact. It’s a new-found treasure!
What is the key to these kinds of discoveries? What makes old words have new life and familiar passages seem as if you’re reading them for the first time? A couple of things. One is that you have read to truly hear and not just to “get it done.” For many Christians, a daily quiet time is just a box to check. That’s way different from sitting with the Word of God so that you can hear the Voice of God. Reading the Bible to just get through it is like your spouse talking to you while you’re watching TV. They may be speaking, but your mind and heart are somewhere else!
The new treasures come out also when we have open hearts and minds to receive them. I don’t know about you, but I have said, “Ouch!” as many times reading scripture as I have said, “Amen!” God does as much correcting as He does encouraging through His Word—though they are BOTH because He loves us. New Treasures are hard to find when we read God’s Word with the eyes of our hearts closed.
What “new treasures” has God shown you lately? What new things has He shown you? What new ways is He growing you? No matter how long you’ve walked with God or how much Bible you know, God is constantly opening up new treasures for us. All you have to do is read them again—as if for the first time! That’s God’s Word for you today.