With the New Year come many new things that we should all take advantage of. If we want to live our lives to the full according to the desires of God, then we should grab all that He gives to us and use it how He wants us to!
An Invitation
Friends, God is calling us all to take His hand and come away with Him to a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. He longs for us to celebrate His goodness by coming to His arms. Don't you want that?
The Song of Solomon best explains God's longing for us to come to Him in this passage:
"My lover said to me, 'Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one! Look, the winter is past, and the rains are over and gone. The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air. The fig trees are forming young fruit, and the fragrant grapevines are blossoming. Rise up, my darling! Come away with me, my fair one!'" (Song of Solomon 2:10-13)
Don't Pass the Opportunity
This invitation is to all who love the Lord and desire an intimate connection with Him. He is inviting us to take advantage of the new things that He has made, so that we can live the abundant life that Christ promised (see John 10:10), a life that sees the beauty of God daily (see Psalm 27:4) and experiences His goodness all the days of our lives (see Psalm 23:6).
Would you want to grab a hold of what God has in store for you? Then take advantage of these new things that God has given you.
1. A Clean Slate
"Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
If you have repented of your sin and put your faith in Christ's finished work on the cross, God assures you that you've been given a clean slate. Your sins, though red as crimson, have been totally wiped out and you are now as white as snow. In Christ, you're a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The chilly and lonely season of winter—being separated from the Father—has ended! If you're in Christ, you're a child of God.
2. His Daily Renewed Mercies
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed; His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Do you have that nagging feeling that you're going to end up doing wrong or failing to please God even if you are a Christian? Well it's true that no one is perfect and that all men has fallen short of God's glory, but in Christ, our lives are never that same way again ever.
In Christ, we can come boldly to the throne of God where we can obtain grace and mercy in time of our need (see Hebrews 4:14-16). God's mercies are new every morning. He does not run out of mercy and patience toward us. All of His goodness is made available to us so that we can pursue Him, His holiness, and work towards being moulded in His likeness.
3. His Blessings for You in Christ
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..." (Ephesians 1:3)
As children of God, we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing that we can ever imagine. In Christ, we are reinstated as God's children, given dominion over the earth (see Genesis 1:26). We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places (see Ephesians 2:6-7), and are given the authority to bring God's love and freedom to all men (see Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20).
We should not fear anything except God (Matthew 10:28; Psalm 118:6). We must take advantage of God's goodness so that we can live for Him powerfully (2 Peter 1:2-11)!
