The past several days, I’ve really been digging the song All Things New off of the Sidewalk Prophets record These Simple Truths. The lyrics are awesome as they talk about how lost and depraved we were without Christ and how only He can truly make all things new. In the spirit of the New Year, there is always talk of resolutions, goals, and fresh slates. As a Christian, I can make all the resolutions and plans I want to…but in and of myself, those plans will always fail. Apart from Christ, I will always fall back into my old sinful, self-serving patterns.
This morning, I looked to see how many verses in the Bible deal with the word “new”. There are over 200 verses that speak to the idea of being new. God is the creator of NEW. Our HOPE for 2011 is found only in Him. Take a look…
Ezra 9:9
Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
Job 14:7
“At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.
Psalm 73:14
All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.
Psalm 96:1
Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Isaiah 42:9
See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.”
Lamentations 3:22-24
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
Ezekiel 11:19
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
Mark 2:22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Mark 14:25
“Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Acts 5:20
“Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.”
Romans 6:4
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 7:6
But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
2 Corinthians 3:6
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Hebrews 9:15
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
2 Peter 3:13
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.