New-Creature Living

As I've shared many times, I'm not a shopper - going into a new year, I stand by that statement. The term "gently used" is one that generally means it's not shrink-wrap-tag-bearing new but used ... with care and kindness. It also usually means it cost less! When God says that in Christ we are "a new creation," He absolutely means "the old is passed away ... the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). That Greek word for "new" (kainos) means ... recently made, unused, unworn, a new kind, unprecedented. The newness God gives those who trust in His Son, Jesus, are not like great-grandma's china cabinet that has been stripped of old stain, sanded down then refinished to a like-new condition. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10). For certain, the workmanship of God can never be described as gently-used or second-hand. To God's glory and like Jesus, we are new and called to walk in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Last year was a hard year for many, including me; the weight of last year seems heavy at times. Jesus has designed and designated Believers' lives for new-creature living. God has equipped us with New Life to live with daily victories in the New Year. Let us go deliberately and boldly into 2023 as the new creations we are ... live as new creatures!