New Heaven and New Earth
Read: Revelation 21:1-14 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (v. 1) Any fan of TV home makeover shows will tell you that there is a certain “formula” that every episode follows. They begin with a tour of the “before” condition […]
A New Body
Read: 1 Corinthians 15:48-58 This mortal body must put on immortality. (v. 53) Eventually, everything will wear itself out. Cars, refrigerators, your smartphone and your favorite pair of jeans—they will either break or wear out or become obsolete. The same is true of these fragile bodies in which we live. It’s true that nowadays you […]
A New Future
Read: Isaiah 25:1-9 He will swallow up death forever. (v. 8) We have looked at what God has done for us to make us new creations in Christ, and what he is doing to conform us to the image of his Son. But the most glorious renewals are still in our future! God is making […]
A New Hope
Read: 1 Peter 1:1-9 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope. (v. 3) In his 1986 memoir, Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea, Steven Callahan recounts his desperate journey in a small inflatable life raft in the Atlantic Ocean. With little water and food, Callahan barely survived; he struggled daily […]
A New Lifestyle
Read: Ephesians 4:17-32 To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life . . . (v. 22) Last year my youngest daughter, Meredith, adopted a dog that had spent a long time in the animal shelter. The grateful dog was enthusiastic in her love for both Meredith and her new […]
A New Commandment
Read: 1 John 4:7-21 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. (v. 7) The night before he was crucified, Jesus gathered with his disciples to observe the Passover. He had many things to share with them; he knew that, after his resurrection, the nature of their relationship would change. He would […]
A New Mission
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. (v. 20) God has renewed us in so many ways! He has given us new hearts and new minds, and has regenerated us through a new birth. We have a new song to sing, and have been adopted into a new family. But God’s work […]
A New Family
Read: Romans 8:12-25 You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (v. 15) Jesus once told his followers, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life” […]
A New Song
Read: Psalm 40 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. (v. 3) Life is not a musical; we do not spontaneously burst out in song as we go about our daily business. Or—do we? Have you ever experienced an overwhelming sense of God’s love and the joy […]