Sunday, March 28, 2010

Just Like New by Ann Elaine Broughton

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV).

My driver’s education instructor gave me the nickname of “Crash”. Little did he know that I would live up to that name. I believe that every car we have owned I have dented. I have backed up into two telephone poles. What can I say…they were in my blind spot. I forgot three times to hit the button for the garage door. That wasn’t a pretty sight. Now I push the button as soon as I step into the garage. To bad it took me three times to figure that out. I didn’t say I was a genius. Then with our big old green Fury I backed into my husband’s car and took off his door handle. I decided I was too close to that side of the garage so I dented the other fender by going to close to the other side of the garage door. Rick’s dad gave us a spic and span Ford LTD in the ‘80’s and I immediately backed it into another car. Let’s just say that reverse isn’t a good thing for me. But it was a good thing for the body shop owners. The most wonderful thing is that they always made all my dents vanish so the car looked just like new.

That is just like our lives without Christ. We were imperfect because we were sinners. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Is. 1:18 NIV). Sin separates us from God. That is why Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46 NIV). At that moment He had all of the sins upon Him. He was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. It is because of His death and resurrection that we are forgiven. It is His grace and mercy that enables us to go to Him and ask for forgiveness for our sins. We are then indeed a new creation.

Dear Lord,
Thank you for forgiving us our sins so that we can be new creations in your eyes. Thank you for sending your son to come to earth to be our ultimate sacrifice in order for us to have eternal life some day.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Perseverance: A devotion by Ann Broughton

“ And not only this, but we also exult in tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven cha...