A New Beginning John 1:10-13 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 Colossians 3:1-4 Colossians 2:13-15 Colossians 2:20-23 Romans 6:1-4 Galatians 2:20 2 Peter 3:10-14 01.01.21

 

A NEW BEGINNING

BREAD

¹⁰ He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. ¹¹ He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. ¹² Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:10-13 (NIV)

 

¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NIV)

 

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

 

¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV)

²⁰ Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ²¹ “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²² These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. ²³ Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.  Colossians 2:20-23 (NIV)

 

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)

 

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.   Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

 

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. ¹³ But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. ¹⁴ So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.  2 Peter 3:10-14 (NIV)

 

BUTTER

 

“Christianity is not a system of doctrine but a new creature.”   John Newton

 

“If you want to be spiritually strong at the end of your life, then be spiritually strong right now. The end is determined by the beginning, the evening by the morning. Walk with God now, and you will be walking with Him then. You will be able to look back reflectively over your life and worship, recognizing that God was in control all along.”   Greg Laurie

“We all get to make one unforgettable mark. And every day, with every word, we get to decide: Do we mar the world, or mark the world?  Why in the world disdain the small? It’s always the smallest strokes that add up to the greatest masterpieces.  Because the thing really is: Do we ever really know which mark we make — that will matter the most? The extraordinary things happen nowhere else but in the everyday and today can always be the beginning.  You’ve got to remember: we don’t know when and how we are leaving the greatest marks on the world. It all matters.  Believe it: Every tremor of kindness might erupt in a miracle on the other side of the world.  And the only way to ever leave beauty marks on the world is with bits of yourself — and this will hurt. Things of realest beauty don’t bring us glory — but Him glory.”  Ann Voskamp 

“The Christian is a new creature, born and taught from above.  He has been convinced of his guilt and misery as a sinner, has fled for refuge to the hope set before him, has seen his Son and believed on Him: his natural prejudices against the glory and grace of God’s salvation have been subdued and silenced by almighty power; he has accepted the Beloved and is made acceptable in Him; he now knows the Lord; has renounced the confused, distant, uncomfortable notions he once formed of God…He sees God in Christ, reconciled, a Father, a Savior and a Friend, who has freely forgiven him all his sins and given him the spirit of adoption; he is now no longer a servant, much less a stranger, but a son; and because a son, an heir already interested in all the promises, admitted to the throne of grace, and assured expectant of eternal glory.”  John Newton

 

“What is revival? A simple definition is ‘to come alive again.’ Revival is the spark, if you will, that starts the engine. And periodically we need a new spark.  Revival is like waking up from your sleep. One person defined it as nothing more or less than a new beginning of obedience to God.  The great evangelist Billy Sunday once said, ‘They say that a revival is but temporary. So is a bath, but it does you good.’  A revival may be only temporary, but we need one right now.  We are not praying that nonbelievers have a revival, because they don’t need one. They need salvation. The church needs revival. Revival is a church word, and it is for believers only—believers who once, perhaps, were more alive than they are today and need to be revived again.”   Greg Laurie

“Tolerate nothing that dulls the perception of My presence.  Cut off, purge out, plead the blood of Christ, use every avenue available to you to rid your soul of sin.  Never be satisfied with half measures.   Never be deterred by satisfaction with the progress already achieved.  Know that this is only a beginning.  Holiness is arrived at by no low road.  The road to holiness is narrow and steep and exceedingly lonely.  There is no other road.”     Frances J. Roberts

 

“It is impossible to get from preoccupation with behavior to the gospel. The gospel is not a message about doing things. It is a message about being a new creature.  It speaks to people as broken, fallen sinners who are in need of a new heart. God has given His Son to make us new creatures. God does open-heart surgery, not a face-lift. He produces change from inside out. He rejects the man who fasts twice a week and accepts the sinner who cries for mercy.”   Tedd Tripp

“Ultimately the man who comes to obey God will love Him first…Let us therefore learn that the love of God is the beginning of religion, for God will not have the forced obedience of men, but wishes their service to be free and spontaneous…Lastly we learn that God does not linger over the outward sign of achievement but chiefly searches the inner disposition (motive), that from a good root good fruit may grow.”   John Calvin

“The experience of revival is nothing more than a new beginning of obedience to God.”  Charles Finney

“There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing to the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory.”    Francis Drake

“Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending.”   Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Let us watch jealously over our hearts, and beware of giving way in the beginnings of sin. Happy is he who feareth always, and walks humbly with his God. The strongest Christian is the one who feels his weakness most, and cries most frequently, ‘Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe.’” John Ryle

HEART SAVOR

•           Revive us again Lord!  Make us more like you.  Empower us for this great task that we may please you in all we say and do and think both for your glory and our good.
•           Help us to finish well.
•           Help us to make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with You.