Behold, I am making all things new.
As we in the south are wont to say, it appears that spring has officially sprung. Although spring began inauspiciously (there were some pretty cold days in late March!), we are now experiencing what we expect from a Georgia spring. We are getting rain, and lots of it. We are seeing warmer and warmer temperatures. Birds are beginning to sing out more loudly. Grass is growing, and flowers are
blooming. Everything around us is beginning to look very different from the way it all looked several weeks ago. This is what spring does—it brings in the new. It is a season of new growth, and it is a time of refreshing.
The words at the beginning of this article are from Revelation 21:5 (which Larry Garmon read for us just a few weeks ago). John pronounces that the voice from the throne spoke these words: “Behold, I am making all things new.” That is what God does for us through Jesus Christ—he makes us new. He takes what was old and sin-stained and headed toward destruction in order to make it new and free from sin and headed toward joy.
In the month of May, I will preach a series on “newness.” On May 6, we will discuss “New Life,” focusing on what the sacrifice of Christ does for us in our lives right now. On May 13, we will discuss “New Birth,” that God has changed us in Christ and has literally recreated us to conform to his image. On May 20, we will discuss “New Opportunities,” that God’s grace in Christ has opened up our world in myriad ways to serve God and others. Finally, on May 27, we will discuss “A New Ending,” that we have an eternal future—death is no longer final for us.
–Ricky