Moving On With Life
“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?….Is.43:18-19 NKJV
19 I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land. GW Isa 43:19
From these scriptures God was explaining, through Isaiah, all the things He had done in the past for them. Miraculous and amazing things which they witnessed. However, His point in mentioning the past was not to get them looking at the past but to understand He was the same God today, right now, as he was back when He did those awesome works on their behalf.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time you could do the same, you can look back at all you know God did on your behalf. You might even use the statement “remember when”. But even like we read in Isaiah, God was trying to get His people, you and I, to see what He is doing now, not back then. As good as yesterday with Jesus was, there is the good He is and will be today because He is the same.
There is an event in February called Groundhog day. It is a superstition started back as far as 1600 when the groundhog comes out from hibernation and if he sees his shadow it means six more weeks of winter. It has also become a phrase used in situations in which a series of unwelcome, tedious events seem to stay the same as they are repeated over and over, recurring in exactly the same way.
There was even a movie done many years ago entitled Groundhog Day. It’s about a person who gets caught repeating the same day over and over. He wakes up to the same scene day after day and tries to convince others of what is happening, but no one believes him. So he starts to adopt an “I don’t care anymore” attitude. He thinks since he repeats each day the same, what does it matter? He’s stuck. So he does as he pleases. However he slowly starts getting conscious as to who he really is inside and starts to make himself a better person. Each day he learns new things to improve himself. Now, of course like most movies he is doing it to win over a girl. So each day he sees his wrong motives and eventually does get his motives right.
Well as a pastor for many years I believe there is a Christian version of Groundhog Day. Where many Christians get stuck in the same cycle of being a good Christian, doing the right things over and over again and eventually losing track of where they are in their walk with Jesus. They are doing these Christian things and do not see the person they have become inside. Their version of Christianity becomes rote, tradition, nothing different, nothing new. They don’t really feel the life or passion in what they do, they just do it. Now I am not saying they are bad people, they are still good people, its just they are not experiencing Jesus Christ the way they did when they first met Him.
Think with me for a bit, if we truly look at Jesus, the author of Life, Resurrected Lord of all, we have to ask ,”how can this be so”? How can life be the same over and over again with the Lord of all creation? Yet if many were truly honest about their routine, they could say it was the same as always, and could do it blindfolded. They get so used to it they really have no other thoughts. They just do, and that’s it, that’s all there is to it. They remain good Christians, and nothing wrong with that. They go to church, again, nothing wrong with that. But it is almost as if they are doing it robotically or asleep, yet awake. Nothing new, nothing different.
So here is the question, how new is Jesus today, right now to you? Is He the same ”old” Lord? I mean scripture does state “He is the same yesterday, today and forever”. Or, is He new and alive today just like He was yesterday. The difference is just like the Lord was saying through Isaiah, His newness is springing up right now, can’t you see it? Sadly though, many do not look because they have allowed the same things over and over to speak to them and have gotten comfortable with the routine, and this is life. They experience it again and again and slowly fall into a habit or pattern of Groundhog day.
Every day, every single day you wake up with Jesus you have the ability for new life to come forth bringing you new things, that is if you are looking for them. We need to take the time to check our lives and evaluate how fresh and new Jesus is to us today. It could be you are in need of His life flooding your life today. His new life is happening right now.
2 Cor 4:16
16 So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. NCV
16 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. MES
So no wonder we don’t give up. For even though our outer person gradually wears out, our inner being is renewed every single day. TPT
Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is [progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being [progressively] renewed day after day. AMPC
Remember the day His salvation came into your life, you knew Him and how alive you were in Him and how real His presence in your life was. He is still that same amazing life giving God today. Ask yourself how exciting is my life with Jesus? You want to say I’m okay, but make sure this is not from your state of comfortableness, being used to nothing changing, everything the same as yesterday.
Well I believe there is a life with Jesus inside every Christian wanting and even trying to burst forth with new things, a new spiritual revelation, changing their environment to something full of what He says is abundant life every morning they wake up. We need to realize as Christ centered beings what that really entails. We can live a life that is truly alive with Christ. Every day we can be touching the living Lord of all creation. If it’s new, then it has the ability to produce life. If it’s not new, then it is what you had yesterday and as good as that may have been it does not produce new life today. Jesus wants you to experience the new life He has for you today. Today He is still saving you.
Again, every day we have the ability to reach out and enjoy the fullness of being saved with Jesus. On a daily basis all of His life, joy, strength, and blessings are available. Daily we can experience new growth in our relationship with him, in our faith, and in our revelation from His Words. The possibilities are unlimited. We just have to agree to not get caught in the grind of life but instead be renewed in the freshness of His life. Every day we are seeking out the amazing treasure of life found only in Him afresh and anew this day. He is the Extraordinary, Exceptional, and Enjoyable God.
