The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son,
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
(John 1:1, 2,14 NIV)
In the beginning was the Word – Jesus. Jesus was God. Jesus is God. Jesus (God) became a man and dwelt among us as Emmanuel, “God With Us.” Much of the Christian world has just celebrated Christmas in December – the coming of Emmanuel into the world. Now we are entering into the beginning of a new calendar year. But Jesus doesn’t go back into the manger, put away until next Christmas. Emmanuel – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is with us in this new year.
Jesus told a parable about the new versus the old. He said that, “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” (Luke 5:36-39 NIV)
In the economy of God’s Kingdom, the New cannot be placed on or in the Old. We can’t go back and change 2021 (or 2020, or 2019, or ….) and we certainly don’t want to drag our sin, our failures, our baggage with us. The prophet Isaiah told us: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18 NIV)
We should take into 2022 the God-given wisdom, memories, and other precious gifts that serve us well. And we must be aware of how God wants to shape our lives in this next year. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have seen his Glory, his Grace, and his Truth. We have responded to his call to “come follow me” and have received the gift of his grace in our lives. Our foundation in Christ is firm and secure and this makes all the difference in our lives. When we live in relationship with Jesus as our Savior, we also live with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit whose guiding voice calls us into God’s New.
Holy Spirit – a person – lives within us and comforts, guides, and empowers us as much as we will let him. Holy Spirit will help us be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, gentle, faithful, and self controlled, because these are the fruits of the Spirit. When we have nailed our passions and desires of our sinful nature to Christ’s cross, Holy Spirit is in charge of us and we, too, will be full of the Glory, Grace, and Truth of Jesus. Before we are made new in Christ, we aren’t able to hold these things but after we become committed Jesus-followers – look out, world! – we can do amazing things under the empowerment of Holy Spirit!
Today, I will confess my “old” and ask Jesus to fill me with Holy Spirit’s “new.”
Emmanuel,
Thank you for the gift of time, always moving us forward. Thank you for the wisdom, memories, relationships, and gifts of our past and for the ways in which you are preparing us for our future. Help us to let go of the former things – our sin, unforgiveness, bad habits, and our wounds – and to not dwell on the past. Help us to nail all the desires and passions of our sinful nature to your Cross – to lay aside the old wineskins of our lives – and to allow Holy Spirit to fully inhabit the new wineskins of our hearts. Help us in 2022 to produce all the Fruits of the Spirit and to allow you to empower us to do all the New Things you desire us to do! We ask this in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Amen!
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires
of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”
(Galatians 5:22-24 NLT)
I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.” (Luke 6:47-48 NLT)