All Things New

Yes, it’s that time of the year again! It’s time for a brand new calendar; a clean slate of endless possibilities, with all those empty boxes begging to be filled. We are a resolved people! We are resolved to do better this year than last, to love stronger, to forgive easier, to exercise more, and eat less. Every year it’s the same. We (if you’re like me) resolve to produce more positive fruit! And (if you’re like me) every year, it only takes a few weeks to get disillusioned and downhearted. But I learned something new this past week in church, and if you had the pleasure of being there, you did too! We weren’t made to produce fruit in our lives! We weren’t made to do better, and be stronger. We were made to bear fruit. The Spirit of God produces the fruit in us.

So how will we make this year different? How can we enter the New Year in such a way that we meet our resolution expectations? We Abide in Christ as He abides in us. In John 15, Jesus lays out a comprehensive command to abide. It is a difficult passage, because it seems like he says the same thing several times, and so it is easy to rush through. But I encourage you to go and read John 15, and sit on it for a while. Read it over and over; break it down one sentence at a time. It may take awhile to grasp (if you’re like me), but it is worth a thorough read.

I cannot tell you how encouraging it is to realize that it is God who is responsible for producing the good things in my life. We are only responsible for one thing, Abide in Christ as He abides in us. It is my prayer for you this year (if you’re like me) that God would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better; and to feel the peace of Christ as you and I learn even better what it means to abide in Christ, as He abides in us.

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