'The Old Has Gone, The New is Here!'

The end of 2011 is closing in quickly. It's time to review the year past and look toward the year coming. The emails are pouring in, full of questions, challenging us to rate our year. Lists of resolutions are being made with good intentions. Parties are being held to celebrate the 'new' and say goodbye to the 'old'. Isn't that what we do as Christians? Celebrate the 'new' and say goodbye to the 'old'? 2 Corinthians 17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" If we are in CHRIST we aren't the same anymore. We are a new creation in HIM. Gone is the sinful, broken, fallen creature, instead we are a reconciled, forgiven, whole, adopted, loved creation. 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The best part is, although we welcome in a new year every 12 months, once we give our lives to CHRIST, we don't have to do it again, it's done. We never have to go back to who and what we were before. Oh sure, there is always more work to be done to better resemble HIM, but HE will always see HIS children with the righteousness of CHRIST draped around them like a cloak. A royal cloak.
We love 'The Skit Guys', and they have a great video called 'GOD's Chisel' (here is the link for the video on godtube http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=K7GKLWNX ). All the things we experience are part of GOD's work, making us into HIS masterpiece. It can be so painful, we want it to stop, but it's all part of making us into a new creation. So as we say goodbye to 2011, and welcome in 2012, remember, in CHRIST all things are new! We are a masterpiece, created and perfected by an all knowing, all powerful GOD.

LORD, the past year hasn't always been easy, there were times that I definately didn't feel like a masterpiece, but YOU still see me as one! There were times that fear and insecurity threatened to overwhelm, but YOU held me tight in the palm of YOUR powerful hand. There were times that I felt like I was incapable of being an effective witness for YOU, but YOUR word assures me that YOUR strength is made perfect in my weakness. Thank YOU for working on me, to make me into the original masterpiece YOU made me to be. Thank YOU for looking on me in love, and for not giving up on me. I love YOU!!!!!! In JESUS' name, Amen.