January 1, 2024 … Truly A HAPPY NEW YEAR

January 1, 2024 … Truly A HAPPY NEW YEAR   

Devotional Song: ... GO TO THIS LINK ...  Please take the time to take in this song with lyrics from Mac Powell singing … New Creation …  Powerfully singing of how we, as Christians, are wonderfully made new in Christ. 

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Highlight Passage: …  2Corinthians 5:17  [NLT] …

17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 

… The Apostle Paul reminds fellow Christians that in Christ they (and we) have been new.     

Highlight Passage (in context)  … 2Corinthians 5:14-21  … USE THIS LINK … 

… The Author of Hebrews prays for fellow believers in Christ for God to give them (and us) His power to do His will no matter the oppression they (we) might face .                                      

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Reference Passage: … Isaiah 43:17-19 (NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Isaiah, reminds God’s people of how He brought them out of Egypt but prophesying that He would do far more in creating a new dwelling place for them (us). 

Reference Passage … Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NLT] …  USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru Ezekiel, tells God’s people of how He will create a new heart in those who faithfully follow the LORD.  

Reference Passage: … Romans 3:22 (NLT] … 

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are..  

…The Apostle Paul assures fellow Christians that by their (our) faith in Christ, we are made right with God.   

Reference Passage: … Galatians 2:20 (NLT] … 

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me..  

…The Apostle Paul testifies to fellow Christians that that his life had been radically been made new, … dying to self and living in Christ..       

Reference Passage: …  1John 3:1-2 (NLT] … USE THIS LINK … 

… God, thru John, teaches that then (we) are being made new into the image of our Savior by the grace of our Lord’s sacrifice.   

        

My Devotional Journal: Today’s Our Daily Bread Author , James Banks -  AT THIS LINK -  - tells of a young man, Geoffrey, who testifies at a school assembly how he had been radically made into a new person, having been an addict to cocaine but freed to walk in newness of life thru His surrendered faith in Christ.   

And that’s me too !!! … Once - over 40 years ago - I was an addict to lust and sexual sin.  But today, I declare another NEW YEAR, celebrating the newness i feel each day, remembering and realizing what God has done, thru my faith in His dying to save me and remaking me into His image so that day-by-day I can serve Him in this life and follow Him into the next.  

What about you?  Is this another wonderful year of newness for you in Christ?  I pray so!  

My THANKFULNESS: ... Oh, Abba Father, thank You, King Jesus, … for giving me a new life to serve You, Lord, … forever … truly a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!    

My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, ... King Jesus, ... . I pray. again today, that all reading here will join me, … to declare a HAPPY NEW YEAR … serving You.   … Amen  

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Blogger Note:  Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries.  If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.