Transformed By The Cross

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:18-19, New International Version)

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

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:9-11, NIV)

Have you ever been thrift shopping? 

Thrifting is something I’ve loved for a while because of the unique finds, affordable price tag and the story behind each piece. Finding old treasures and bringing them new life is exhilarating. A pair of jeans or a lamp that would have been thrown away can now be your prized possession. 

This is what your identity in Christ is like. The old is gone and the new has come, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, because of the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. You can trust that your old self was crucified and that you now have a new identity in Christ. That is something worth celebrating!

You can have confidence that by God’s grace He is growing you and sanctifying you. Colossians 3:10 says that those who are in Christ “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” You are being renewed daily by God because of His great sacrifice.

Christ delivers you from old to new through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection. God’s grace alone can take what’s old and make it new. 

By His sacrifice, Christ takes your spiritual brokenness and introduces a new metric that says your hope isn’t in your ability to improve; rather, newness comes from redeeming love.

Praise Him that new things can come through Christ and because of Christ. As Isaiah 43:18-19 reminds us, “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (English Standard Version).

May you fix your eyes on Christ and how He has made you new!

Pray

“Lord, thank you that you make old things new. Grant me the peace to see renewal in my life, and remind me to look only to you to produce this transformative change in me.”