All things New.

Revelations 21:1-8 says Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death."

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a *new* creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become *new*.

In the last week this theme of Him making all things new keeps popping up.
- During a chat last week with a girlfriend about how much God has redeemed our past mistakes.
-On Valentines day when a pastor of the church and his wife spoke about how before they were Christians they were in sin but through Christ everything was made new for them before marriage.
- In songs on Pandora. (im only listening to Christian music for 30 days and I don't have a ton of that on itunes so i've been a frequent visitor to Pandora)
-In a couple of conversations/facebook messages/ phone calls in the last week or so.

One of the greatest things about Christ to me is that He is a redeemer. He bought all my sins and made me new. As someone who really didn't understand that there was a difference between saying I believed in Christ and actually living like I did I made a lot of terrible choices as a "christian." I simply gave a name to being a Christian and didn't realize He requires a radical life. Radical obedience. I had a woman tell me last week that the word "radical" scared her. That she knew that is what He required that but she wasn't sure how to do that. AMEN. I'm not always sure how to do it but I firmly believe that we just need to live each day better than the last.

 Note that because I write these things doesn't mean I have it all together or all figured out. I don't. I'm far from it. I'm continually a work in process. And I'm continually asking Him to steady my heart, make me singleminded, redeem me, save me, heal me, grow me, remind me of what's important. There is nothing good in me but Jesus so I pray He fills me more with Him and less of me. I think the biggest thing I struggle with is patience... which is hard when in 1 Corinthians 13 the first thing love is is PATIENT. He is continually teaching me patience and I am thankful for the lesson but sometimes I have to ask Him to make me thankful in the learning of the lesson. Its a constant battle. I'm continually asking Him to make my heart purely desiring His will because I know how quick I am to want my own things.  It's through continual repentance that I have gotten to where I am now and I have so much further to go. So much more to learn. So friends know that He is still making me new. He is still growing me. He is still refining me. We are all still clay on the Potter's wheel.

So friends. Know that whatever sins you are struggling with He will redeem them IF you let Him. Don't hide them but offer them up. Get some alone time with God and just tell Him all the things you are doing that aren't for Him and ask Him to give you the strength and wisdom to pursue righteousness.

Of course I have been writing about marriage and such so I will throw in this nugget: Please know that YOU ATTRACT WHAT YOU ARE. Thus if you are living in the world then you will attract a man or woman like that. But if you pursue righteousness you will attract others who are doing the same thing. So instead of wishing for a princess or prince charming work on yourself and become the person that the person you are looking for would be looking for. (note there are exceptions to this but I'm saying in general.)  <3 I'm praying for you friends. That God would direct you and guide you and help you to know that through Him you will be a new creation. you will be given a new heart and a new mind and a renewed spirit. The only thing that keeps you from heaven is unforgiven sin and forgiveness comes when you ask. Ask and you shall receive.