A New Creation

Sunrise

Becoming a New Creation

This morning God’s Word spoke to me, actually spoke TO me… 

I like to read the same Scripture in several different versions of the Bible so that I can fully grasp the meaning.  Today I was comparing the New International Version as well as the Complete Jewish Bible given to me many years ago by my mother.

The Scripture was Philippians 4:6-7.  Although I have read this verse many before, this was the first time it truly jumped off of the page and came alive:

Don’t worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.  Then God’s shalom [peace], passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua [Jesus Christ]. Philippians 4:6-7 (Complete Jewish Bible)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version) 

Although that is what I read this is what I HEARD:

“Beloved, you do not need to worry about anything!  In fact, it is just the opposite, tell Me what you need in prayer and ask Me along with your gratitude.  Then My peace, which is so great you can never understand it, will keep your heart and mind safely bound to Jesus.”

Wow!  I am going through Beth Moore’s study titled “Breaking Free” which is all about the captivity that prevents us from fully experiencing and enjoying God and the obstacles that stand in our way.  One of the benefits is “Experiencing God’s Peace” and the obstacle to this benefit is “Prayerlessness”.

The tears fell as I began to pray.  I presented my personal needs before Him.  I didn’t hold back, I laid myself bare and then, without fail, I was blessed with this amazing peace.  He is right, I don’t understand this feeling of peace nor can I explain it.  I only know that it is here, within me. 

When I heard His Word say to me, “My peace, which is so great you will never understand it, will keep your heart and mind safely bound to Jesus”, I was immediately drawn to the word bound.  Rather than being bound by chains of captivity I could be bound to Jesus and He would guard me! 

I had been living as a prisoner of lies for far too long, so long that I had become a captive who falsely believed I had fallen in love with my captor.  I truly believed those things that bound me were helping me.  My addictions, my pride, my idolatry, and my prayerlessness were all my captors.  They were discouraging me from fully experiencing God and they were preventing me from truly enjoying the beauty of God’s presence in my life. 

That knowledge changes absolutely everything!

By, and through, the grace of God, I have broken free from my addictions because the lies have been exposed and I am no longer fooled by them.  They do not help me, they hurt me.  I have always used addictive behaviors to fill a void that only God can fill.  He created me to be in relationship with Him and if I am not walking with Him daily, nothing else I turn to will satisfy. 

He is also revealing areas of pride in my life, showing them to me and pruning them away as I humbly acknowledge them.  It is a process that will last a lifetime as pride has a way of returning and must be kept in check. 

Through His Word, He is making me aware of anything that I idolize and is helping me put them in their right place in my life.  Essentially, His Word is teaching me that I must always put Him first, there shall be no other “gods” before Him. 

I also know that my prayer life has been stagnate.  Maybe, if I’m completely honest, it never really flowed.  This morning, I felt something change in my heart and in my mind.  With all these changes I am allowing Him to make in my life I find that I am falling in love with His Word and I am falling in love with Him.  My eyes are being opened, and my heart is like a welcome mat, ready to invite Him in like never before.  I am so grateful I didn’t need to fix my life before approaching Him.  He accepted me as broken as I was, He loved me in the midst of my brokenness, and as I began to love Him more, I changed.  He changed me.  He is changing me.

If spending time in His Word is going to make it come alive, if it is going to become personal and touch my soul like this, then I want more.  I am so grateful for His presence in my life.  He isn’t just talking to me through His Word, He is making it speak specifically to me.  I am so grateful that He chooses to be with us when we choose Him.  Just imagine Him doing this in your life, too.  I am not unique or special, I am just like everyone else.  This happened because I chose to walk with Him this morning.  I plan on continuing this walk all day, every day.  I hope you will, too.

I know He has a plan for me.  I know He has been trying to get my attention.  Well, He’s got it now.  I am kneeling in His presence every morning, bowing at His feet, immersed in His Word, giving Him all the glory. 

And really, nothing has changed except… everything!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

NOTE: Underlining and [brackets] marked in any Scripture are my own to emphasize and/or define.