MORNING MANNA 1-29-23
A NEW CREATURE
“ Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. ”– 2 Cor. 5:17
A few years before John Newton died, a friend was having breakfast with him. Their custom was to read from the Bible after the meal. Because Newton’s eyes were growing dim, his friend would read, then Newton would comment briefly on the passage. The day the selection was from 1 Corinthians 15. When the words “by the grace of God I am what I am” were read, Newton was silent for several minutes. Then he said, “I am not what I ought to be. How imperfect and deficient I am! I am not what I wish to be, although I abhor that which is evil and would cleave to what is good. I am not what I hope to be, but soon I shall put off mortality, and with it all sin. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan. I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that by the grace of God I am what I am!”
Do you ever stop and reflect on who you are in Christ? Do you meditate on the believers benefits? Understanding who you are and what you have in Christ will transform your life. It will produce peace and give you reason to rejoice. You will focus on praise rather than problems. It will turn your thoughts from trials to thanksgiving. Stop and think about where you would be without Christ. His saving grace has not only saved you from hell, it has secured for you a place in Heaven. It has made you a new creature. Not only are you saved from the penalty of sin, you are being saved from the power of sin, and will, one day be saved from the very presence of sin. And it’s all because of God’s amazing grace!- HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, Tx.
