Tag: 2 Corinthians 5:17

The iPhone Dilemma

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My husband and I have 2 granddaughters, 5 years and almost 2 years. They have loved our iPhones for quite a while. Even the little one loves to have possession of a phone. While the baby had my phone, she seemed very frustrated and could not find the apps she usually uses. I looked at my phone to see what was wrong and realized all of my apps were wiggling. For anyone that has an iPhone you know that this means apps can be deleted.

Sure enough, I was missing quite a few apps and my apps were in the wrong place. Not only had she deleted my apps, she had rearranged them. Even though my apps were saved to the cloud, I ended up having to restore my phone to a previous setting. Thanks to my husband, I was able to recover apps from the cloud as I realized which apps were missing. My phone was a mess but it was back to the way it had been previously. Everything that was missing could be restored from the cloud. Even though the apps were deleted, they were actually still there. I could go to “the cloud” to find them. (When I say I could do this, what I mean is my husband/tech support could do it.) The apps were not really gone.

Thankfully, that is not the way forgiveness works. When God forgives our sins, he deletes them. God does NOT store our sins anywhere. When we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, His blood deletes our sins. He restores us to the original created person with all of the plans he has for our lives.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John 1:9 NIV

Psalm 51:10-12 ESV Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

He knows the plans he has for us. He orders our steps. 

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God not only forgives our sins, He throws our sins away. 

Psalm 103:12 tells us “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” 

How far is that? The further you go West, the further away East is. The further you go East, the further away West is. Our God is so forgiving. He would never go to “the Cloud” and download our sins for us to remember. Are there consequences for sin, Yes.  Just like my phone being “messed up”, we can mess up our lives but God is faithful. When we call on him, he is always there.

Romans 10:13 says, “for whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Isaiah 40:31 NKJV “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

1 Peter 5:10 ESV “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

Don’t go fishing in the sea of forgetfulness to remember sin that God has forgiven. 

 

I Was a Non-Person

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My birthday was in November, but I did not realize until December 2nd that my driver’s license had expired in November. I knew that they give you about 30 days to renew so I didn’t panic, I just went to the courthouse to get a new one.

Everything was going fine until they took my picture. The lady at the desk told me that my eyes didn’t match my previous picture. Really? These are the only eyes I have ever had.  Apparently, the computer software digitally measures your eyes to determine whether the pictures match. They took 4 pictures and still could not determine that I was me. How do I prove that I am me? 

document-id-uk-driving-license-driving-licence-45113I was told that I would have to go to a driver’s testing facility to get my license. I was to take my social security card, birth certificate, passport, and marriage license. I knew that my social security card, birth certificate, and passport were in a secure place but had no idea where my marriage license was. I sure hoped I did not have to prove I was a married person anytime soon. I knew that we had a license, but where it is might have been was a question that did not have an easy answer.

While looking for documents, I realized that my passport had expired in July. That meant that my 2 pieces of identification that had a picture were both expired. I was definitely a nonperson. How was I going to prove that I am me? 

My husband and I went through our bills and found several pieces of mail with my name and address. I then set off to try to prove my existence.

I arrived at the driver’s license facility and took a number. As I sat there patiently, my mind began to wonder what was going to happen if I could not resolve the problem. How would I prove who I am?

I began to think about what I could prove about myself. I could bring in people who could attest to the fact that I am me, but what could I prove about myself. I am 8 years older than that picture on my license since I renewed my license online. My red hair has turned blonde so my hair was not cooperating. The documents that I had were specific to me, but would they believe me?

The scripture that kept coming to mind was 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Well, maybe I just needed to take a look at my driver’s license and make sure that all things are new.

bodyworn-794099_1280When it was my turn and I explained my problem. The state trouper said that they should have never taken my picture with my glasses on 8 years ago. The technology was relatively new then and they have learned a lot. She did change my hair color to blonde but told me that blonds have more fun. I have had a lot of fun as a red head but I guess those days are just memories now. I was happy to be a person again – with identification.

I know that the Lord does not need a license or a passport to know my name. He has known me since before I was created in my mother’s womb. I am thankful that when I get to heaven, He will know who I am and find my name in the Book of Life. I look forward to living in my forever home with my Lord and Savior. Until then, I will make sure my license does not expire again.

 

Construction Zone: Remodeling

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

Remodeling.

A word that strikes fear and dread in many.

The closest I’ve ever come to remodeling was having our deck replaced. The constant pounding and sawing outside my kitchen window was overwhelming, but at least it wasn’t sawdust and noise and workers inside my house every day. Nevertheless I chose escape. I loaded up my writing work each morning for weeks and headed off to my other office: Panera Bread. After nearly a month my deck was finished, I’d gotten my writing project completed, and I had a new family, my Panera family. Love you Nola, Tyler, Taylor and Debbie!

God is constantly remodeling our lives. From the moment we turn to Him as our Savior, He actually starts rescuing and remaking us. Rescuing us from our selfish sinful nature and remaking our inner woman. As with physical remodeling, this spiritual remodeling is time-consuming and painful. It is ongoing throughout our life. It can be a process from which we wish to escape. But if we stick with Him and trust Him we will find a brand new us in the end.

Tearing out old sins and habits takes time and effort. Patching up the wounds and hurts from the past is necessary. Finding the faulty wiring built on old lies is crucial. Our Father does this process over time for the health of our spiritual and emotional lives. He digs in places where we would rather not have Him dig. He cleans out closets of things we would rather not turn loose of. We are sometimes left feeling stripped bare of the paint and cosmetic trappings the we have hidden behind for so long.

So how do we embrace this constant remodeling throughout our lives without seeking escape?

  1. Accept that this remodeling will come from time to time throughout your life.
  2. Remind yourself that you have the Master Architect working on you.
  3. Trust that He loves and adores you, and that is why He has chosen to update and improve the rotten, warped, and worn out places in your heart and soul.
  4. He is remaking us for His glory and for our good. We may not like going through the process, but we will love the renovation when it’s over. We will see that it really was for our good, and we will be thankful for the improvements.

As you face struggles this week that seem to tear out those old timbers, be grateful that he is remaking you into a beautiful structure for His glory! Pray and seek His face when you don’t understand. Stay in His Word. And most of all, Trust Him.

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He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5

Construction Zone: Needed Repairs

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As we continue our Construction Zone series, it’s time to take a look at something we all need at one time or another – Repairs.

Repairs to a home are often costly and time-consuming. We can’t believe the heat pump is already 10-years-old and out from under warranty. We wish we had paid a little more up front to have better quality flooring that wouldn’t have gotten marred so easily. We blame ourselves for the problem, if only we’d taken time to do some touch-up paint then maybe that wood wouldn’t have rotted.

board-broken-brown-2273477Likewise, needed repairs will come to our spiritual life. We can’t believe we slid down the slippery slope of sin so easily and got ourselves and those around us in a fix. We wish we had invested more in our faith, because at the moment we feel broken and messed up. If only we had taken time to go to church weekly, to pray daily, and to keep our spiritual life in repair.

I have good news. Your life can be repaired! That catastrophe is not impossible for God to fix. We serve a God of second (and third and fourth,…) chances. He’s the perfect Father who never tires of drawing us back to him as we toddle off into sin thinking we know best. Nothing is too grievous to forgive. Nothing is the final straw against us. As long as we have breath in our lungs we can call out to Him to repair our souls and our lives. All we have to do is make the call.

Seriously, all we have to do is to call out to Him in prayer.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

The call to the “repairman” is in. Now the work begins. Scripture tells us

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

builder-carpenter-close-up-1251176This is where Christ comes in and tears out the old and puts in the new. Demolition and remodeling can be a longterm and often uncomfortable project. Allowing Him to remove the old rotten sinful boards that make up our spiritual house is necessary but painful. We apprentice Him in this venture; we work alongside Him helping to pull out the ruined parts and replace them with new, God-ordained habits and choices and plans.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

adult-blur-close-up-1260312The process continues by taking in scripture daily to teach us to make new choices, to rebuke us when we sin, to correct us and get us back on course, and to train us in righteous living. When we seek Him through prayer and reading of His Word our life begins to be repaired and we become equipped, made usable for the task He has put before us.

If today, you find your spiritual house in shambles, your life teetering on the brink of utter devastation, turn to Him. Call on Him to repair the rotten places. Allow Him to mend the old and make it new. Choose to work side-by-side with Your Creator to remake your spiritual house based on the Word of God.

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