New: New Life, New People, New Song, New CreationShembull

NEW PEOPLE

New life leads to new people. You can’t surrender to Jesus, be filled with his Spirit, be a child of the King, and stay as you are. It’s not possible. 

Every single person who encountered Jesus in the Bible was changed somehow. He didn’t force the changes. They were simply the natural and necessary result of being in the presence of God. 

The same is true today. If someone really encounters Jesus and surrenders to him, that person becomes new. Not because Jesus forces some kind of automatic one-size-fits-all change in his people. Not at all. Followers of Jesus don’t need to reject their unique personality traits, give up their interests, or deny the way God has purposefully gifted each one of them.

But, it does mean that each day, little by little, we are made into new people through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Strangely enough, being changed by Jesus doesn’t make us less like ourselves. It makes us more like ourselves, just as God created, designed, and intended us to be.

We become new people, little by little, bit by bit, step by step, and day by day. We do this by getting to know Jesus more closely, spending time with him, learning about him from the Bible, talking to him, listening to him, being with his family (other followers of Jesus), and by allowing him to be Lord of our thoughts and actions. 

Little by little, bit by bit, step by step, and day by day we begin obeying him more joyfully, reflecting him more clearly, and imitating him more completely.

Our old self gets replaced with a new self. And our new self becomes more like Jesus in the way we treat others and the way we follow God.

A new year lies just ahead. There’s something a tiny bit magical about marking the day when we all make promises to ourselves about what new things we’ll start (or what bad habits we'll kick).

Being a new person who lives new life with Jesus means that in some ways, every single day is a “new year,” a chance to start fresh with joy and hope and anticipation.

REFLECTION

What are some ways you’ve experienced God changing you? It could be your thoughts, your habits, or something else.

What are some ways God is changing you right now?

What is one way that you are resisting or pushing back against changes that God is leading you towards? Why? How can you be more open and willing for that change to happen?