“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

It is God’s will that all people be transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. This transformation begins at Baptism. In this Sacrament we commence our spiritual journey as children of God. Cleansed and filled with the Holy Spirit we receive God’s forgiveness and blessing as we begin our new life as disciples of Our Lord Jesus. If we are baptized as little children we rely on our parents to assist us in learning about God’s holy will.

These were the instructions of Our Lord Jesus to His apostles before He ascended into heaven:

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

God invites us into a special communion with Him and this new life begins as we come to Him with contrite hearts asking for His forgiveness.  Repentance is the key that opens the merciful heart of Our Lord Jesus.  Let us confess our sins and open our hearts to trust Jesus and learn from Him!

I remember many years ago shopping with my husband and children both in strollers. When we finished shopping and got to our car I noticed to my horror that my little 3 year old had helped herself to a little doll she found in a store. I guess it was just at the right level on the shelf for her to take it while she sat in her stroller. I said “where did you get that?” “I took it at the store” was her reply. In that moment my husband and I looked at each other with a look that said “ok now what”. It was tempting to just get in the car and leave because the store was another 15 minute walk away, but I thought “NO that would not be teaching her the right thing.” So we walked back to the store and had a most unusual conversation with the salesperson who said “Oh yes I saw her take it; she’s so cute. I knew you would come back.” I wish she had told me in the store that my child was shoplifting as she could have saved me the extra walking. But perhaps it was God’s will that we be put to a moral test.  I didn’t buy the doll that day because I didn’t want to teach my little girl that she could take what she wanted and mommy would just pay for it.

My little three-year old didn’t have the understanding or self-control needed to be able to resist temptation. Knowledge, understanding and wisdom are gifts of the Holy Spirit that enable us to live a new life in Christ as we resist temptation and strive to discern God’s holy will. Let us trust in Jesus to help us to choose the right path:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 4-5

Sometimes we fall short as parents because we put too much emphasis on money and careers. I remember when my little girl grew to be about six years old, she said to me one day “Mommy I hate Toronto!” I was puzzled, “You hate Toronto, Canada? But you have never been to Toronto.” Suddenly I realized she was telling me “I hate it when you travel to Toronto because you are away from me.” I used to travel to Toronto frequently and she felt that Toronto was stealing her mommy.  I subsequently chose to travel less frequently.

Seeking to Understand…

I remember a number of years ago speaking to teens about illegal downloading of music and movies. Although the teenagers were highly intelligent they didn’t see illegal downloading in the same way as they perceived shoplifting in stores to be wrong. At that time I was working in IT selling into the education sector and the head of the Motion Picture Industry Association spoke at a higher education conference I attended. He explained how many middle income jobs (not high paying actor jobs) but lower paying jobs were being lost because of the shrinking industry revenues. If people lean on their own understanding and think ‘who cares if I download this movie for free’ then they are not really understanding how this illegal activity is impacting someone’s ability to put food on their table.

All of us are invited into a new life in Christ and this is an invitation into a transformative life experience. We don’t become NEW in an instant miraculous experience, although we may indeed have some miraculous encounters with God along the way. Spiritual growth usually occurs slowly as we strive to learn and embrace God’s will in our life, and persistently seek God’s forgiveness, truth and grace.

Take a moment right now to rejoice in the greatness of God’s love for you. Enter into the tender embrace of Jesus and hear Him saying, “I love YOU beyond your imagination!”

We cannot imagine the greatness of God’s love for us, but let’s rejoice in how much Jesus loves us and how much He wants to help us to become people to great dignity and honour.

“But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” Psalm 13:5

The New Life in Christ begins in a fragile way, like a seed planted in the ground that needs to be nourished and watered. We are like the nascent seedling that needs to be nourished by the Word of God, by the Spirit of God and by the Lord’s Supper.

We have many baptized Christians in the world that are not living out the promise of their Baptism because they are not reaching out to Jesus for forgiveness and for continuous guidance and nurturing.

The New Life in Christ is like a tree grounded in FAITH in Our Lord Jesus. If the root of a tree is planted deeply and securely in the soil and if it receives the sunshine and water it needs, then that the tree will grow and thrive. But if the root of the tree withers then the whole tree will die.

In difficult times our faith must become even stronger, just like the roots of a tree must reach deeper for water in dry seasons, so too must we believe even more that God will come to our assistance in times of trial.

So if we consider the root of the tree to be our FAITH in Jesus, then consider the branches of the tree are like our WORKS IN FAITH. Our works in faith reach out with HOPE to the people we serve and the FRUIT OF OUR WORK (the leaves and the tree’s fruit) that’s LOVE!

THAT’S THE NEW LIFE IN CHRIST – A LIFE WHERE FAITH GIVES BIRTH TO WORKS THAT PRODUCE HOPE AND LOVE.

“Three things will last forever–faith, hope, and love–and the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

A NEW LIFE IN JESUS REQUIRES THAT WE BECOME LIKE HIM!

“One of the greatest hindrances in the spiritual life is that we do not know and do not see what God desires that we should be. Our understanding is still so little enlightened, we have still so many of our own human thoughts and imaginations about the true service of God, and we know so little about waiting for the Spirit who alone can teach us. We do not acknowledge that even the clearest words of God do not have for us the meaning and power that God desires. And as long as we do not spiritually discern what likeness to Jesus is, and how completely we are called to live like Him, there can be very little said of true conformity. If only we could simply understand our need for a special heavenly instruction on this point…The other thing we need is the belief that it is really possible for us with some measure of exactness to bear the image of Our Lord. Unbelief is the cause of powerlessness. But we see this matter otherwise. Because we are powerless, we think we don’t dare believe that we can be conformed to Our Lord. This thought is in conflict with the Word of God. We do not have it in our own power to carry ourselves after the image of Jesus, No, He is our head and our life. He dwells in us and will have His life work from within, outward, with divine power, through the Holy Spirit. Yet this cannot happen apart from our faith. Faith is the consent of the heart, the surrender to Him to work, and the reception of his working. “According to your faith let it be to you.” (Matt 9:29) is one of the fundamental laws of the kingdom of God.” From the Book, “The New Life” by Andrew Murray

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2

Let us pray to Jesus for the grace to live a new life in union with Him. This is a life of divine intimacy where we are continuously inspired and nourished by the Holy Spirit, by the Word of God and by the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Come to the Lord’s Table:

“For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.” John 6:55-57

Years ago I felt God was calling me to a new life.  I felt compelled to leave the business world and venture into a new unknown direction. I am grateful to my husband for allowing me to follow the urging of the Holy Spirit because it involved leaving my career and giving up my income. In this experience I learned the meaning of this Scripture:

“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Matthew 10:39

I could have stayed in the IT industry and continued to preach the benefits of IT for industry transformation as an ‘IT industry evangelist’, but I gave up this life and now I am preaching the power of God for personal and global transformation as an evangelist of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is my prayer for you:

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3: 16-21

A SPECIAL INVITATION FOR DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST

Please Join a Peaceful Revolution in the Name of Jesus Christ

Disciples of Jesus Christ, all over the world, are STOPPING DAILY @ the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in our local time zones) TO THANK JESUS FOR LOVING US SO MUCH THAT HE WOULD SACRIFICE HIS LIFE TO REDEEM US. At this time we REMEMBER the PASSION OF CHRIST for Jesus suffered so much to save us and give us the promise of a new life united to Him. At this time we PRAY FOR ALL SOULS that all may come to know and love Jesus. Please join us and PRAY that the Holy Spirit silences the forces of evil in the world so that we may enjoy the peace and love of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.  LET US UNITE IN THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST, INVOKING THE INFINITE POWER OF HIS SACRIFICE TO CHANGE THE WORLD, ONE SOUL @ A TIME!