Off with the Old/On with the New!
Colossians 3:10a
...and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.
It seems that God is all about newness. He has given us new life (Eph. 4:16); in Him all things are made new (1Cor 5:17); we are to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4); He will create a new heaven and a new earth for us! What an awesome God we have! Anything NEW on this planet earth is not to be compared with the NEW that our Father makes and creates especially custom fit for us.
Paul was telling the people at Colosse that we have actively put on the new man that was made especially for us. It's not just any man. When you were saved He made sure He had the right fit for you. This new man is continually being renewed in the knowledge of our Maker and Savior IF we allow him.
I'll share a bit of my testimony. I was 21 years old when I made a turnabout face in my life. I exchanged the old sinful, tacky, selfish, angry, rebellious, hurt self for the new man that Jesus had waiting for me. I just had to come to Him, ask Him to forgive me, come in my life and save me and He made me a new creature! Talk about a renewal...a literal washing and renewal. It's as if a new brain was placed in my head. That's it! I had brain surgery performed by my Maker because He made His claim on me and He desired me to be NEW. I saw the world with a different set of eyes. The first thing to go was my wardrobe. I had some skimpy, inappropriate clothes that I threw in the trash. How did I know they were inappropriate? Nobody told me, the Lord impressed it on me. Then the house cleaning began. I threw out romance novels, 8 track tapes of worldly rock music (I'm telling my age now), and jewelry and images of false gods. No one told me to do it, I knew in my new thinking that it had to be done. I had lots of worldly friends and I didn't leave them, they left me because I was so different! He made me NEW!
Well, about 40 years have transpired and I never cease to be amazed at the great works of my Father daily in my life. I see His handiwork all around me. At the beginning of this year, I ran into a verse in the Bible that hit me and blessed me in such a way that I decided to adopt it for the whole year...or at least until another verse popped out at me. The verse is in Isaiah 43:18-19 and it reads: "18Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 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."
This advice or counsel from the Word of God came at a time that I was ready for something new. I needed encouragement that I could not find anywhere from anything or anybody. I needed a lift! You know how sometimes you can get in a rut personally or at church dealing with the same old negative people. We feel like we're pushing and pulling for people to do what is right and to get busy and active in what God's called them to be and do?! Or we are dealing with heartbreak with relationships, situations, and families. You wonder if there will ever be an end in sight.
I find that in ministry, you can do one of two things. You can focus your eyes and mind on all the negative things and difficult people and heart breaking situations, or you can focus your eyes and brain (knowledge) on the One who has everything under His control. Don't doubt for a second that God sees and knows all that is going on in your life. And as difficult as it may seem to accept, He allows all things for a specific purpose. We are made in His image; He is molding and making us better and newer.
No matter what your situation, always be in expectation and anticipation of what God is going to do new in your life and ministry. Keep in mind, we can't control what people around us do but we have total authority and power on what we allow for ourselves. Stand on the truth and the promises of God's Word, it will surely help you face each day with a fresh, new, outlook.
Irma
Join me in the devotionals to post a comment or the forums for a discussion about our letting the light shine through our lives!
Irma is a Pastor's wife serving alongside her Senior Pastor husband since 1977. They are currently serving a great church in Galena Park, Texas. She has three amazing adult children serving in ministry and missions and two grandchildren!
In 2000, she retired from the secular workforce and started I Am Ministries. Under this ministry, she translates documents and/or interprets between labor and management (English to Spanish). We are so honored to have her writing for CJ4H! Find her complete bio by clicking on her picture.
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CJ4H Summer Giveaway
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August 7th through midnight(CST) August 13th, 2013
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Two NEW Opportunities
Spanish Contributed to CJ4H Starting today, At least once a month we will have our main article written in English as well as Spanish. NOW, you can share CJ4H with your Spanish speaking ministry wife. Today, is our first article. Post comments to the devotional in Spanish and in English!
As promised earlier this summer!  How are you going to love is a question I asked myself as I was writing my Level Paths Bible study. Sometimes showing love exposes our vulnerability and frailties. I don't know where you are at this moment. Maybe you are walking through the hardest time in your life, poised to receive a miracle. You may be on the other side of "something" still feeling a bit shattered. My friends, this I do know - LOVE ALWAYS WINS. God's love never fails. Invite your friends to spend six incredible weeks walking together on Level Paths at www.compassionthatcompels.org. Listen to stories of other women who've journeyed through a valley to the mountaintop, then click on CLASS INFO and begin your heart changing journey! Agape, Kristianne A FREE exercise plan for you to use right in your home. After confirming your registration click on the "Bible Studies" tab and Enter "Level Paths" Bible Study. Check out the Bible study before you start your exercises or scroll down to begin your video driven exercise plan. The registration is simple and covers the permission to exercise release forms. You will then have access to bible study and two hours of exercise right from the comfort of your own home!
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AFUERA CON LO VIEJO, ADENTRO CON LO NUEVO!
Colosenses 3:10a
...y revest�os del Nuevo hombre, el cual conforme a la imagen del que lo creo se va renovando hasta el conocimiento pleno.
Parece que Dios siempre trata con lo
Novedades. El nos ha dado nueva vida (Efesios 4:16); en El todo es hecho nuevo (2 Cor. 5:17); debemos andar en vida nueva (Rom. 6:4); El va a crear �un nuevo cielo y una nueva tierra para nosotros! �Wow! �Que Dios tan maravilloso servimos! Cualquier cosa NUEVA en este planeta no es de ser comparada con lo NUEVO que nuestro padre celestial hace especial, a la medida para nosotros.
Pablo le dec�a al pueblo en Colosas que nos hemos puesto activamente el Nuevo hombre que fue hecho especialmente por orden especial para nosotros. No es cualquier hombre. Cuando fuiste salvo El se preocupo por tener todo preparado para ti. El nuevo hombre esta continuamente siendo renovado en el conocimiento de nuestro Creador y Salvador SI ACASO le permitimos.
Le compartir� un poco de mi testimonio. Yo tenia 21 a�os de edad cuando hice un cambio completo en mi vida. Cambie lo pecaminoso, destartalado, ego�sta, contrariado, rebelde, y da�ino por el nuevo hombre que Jes�s tenia esper�ndome. Solo tuve que venir a El, pedirle perd�n, pedirle que El entre a mi vida y me salvara y El lo hizo. Me hizo una nueva criatura. Fue un lavamiento y renovaci�n literal. Es como si un nuevo cerebro fue puesto dentro de mi cabeza. �Eso es! Tuve cirug�a de cerebro por my Hacedor porque El quiso hacerme nueva. Entonces yo vi el mundo con un diferente juego de ojos. Lo primero que hice fue tirar toda mi ropa en la basura porque la vi inapropiada. �Como supe que era inapropiada? Nadie me dijo, el Se�or me lo impresiono. Entonces limpie mi casa de todo lo que yo pens� que seria ofensa para mi Se�or: novelas de romance, cintas con m�sica mundana y rock, joyas y retratos con im�genes de dioses falsos. Nadie me dijo que lo hiciera, yo sabia en mi nuevo pensar y por su Esp�ritu Santo que era necesario. Yo tenia muchas amistades mundanas y yo no los tuve que dejar, �ellos me dejaron a mi porque cambien tanto! �Dios me hizo NUEVA!
Bueno, como 40 a�os han pasado y nunca dejan de maravillarme las grandes obras diarias que mi Padre celestial hace en mi vida. Veo su maniobra todo alrededor de mi. Al principio de este a�o, encontr� un vers�culo en la Biblia que me impacto y me bendijo tanto que decid� adoptarlo para el a�o entero...o hasta que otro vers�culo de su Palabra me impactara. El vers�culo se encuentra en
Isa�as 43:18-19: "18No os acord�is de las cosas pasadas, ni traigas a memoria las cosas antiguas.
19He aqu� que yo hago cosa nueva; pronto saldr� a luz; �no la conocer�is? Otra vez abrir� camino en el desierto, y r�os en la soledad."
Este consejo de la Palabra de Dios vino en un tiempo en mi vida que yo estaba deseando desesperadamente algo nuevo. Yo necesitaba animo y no lo encontraba en ning�n lugar ni en nadie. �Te has sentido as�? Me sent�a tan abajo que parece que �necesitaba un ascensor! A veces nos metemos en esos posos ya sea por problemas personales o por tener que lidiar con gente negativa en la iglesia. Nos sentimos que estamos empujando y estirando para que la gente haga lo correcto y se ocupe en lo que el Se�or los ha llamado. O estamos tratando con relaciones que quiebran el coraz�n, ni�os que quebrantan el coraz�n de los padres, o manejando situaciones que quebrantan el coraz�n que te preguntas si acaso �esto nunca va a terminar?
Encuentro que en el ministerio, puedes hacer una de dos cosas: 1) Puedes enfocar tus ojos y mente en todo lo que es negativo y en la gente dif�cil, y los motivos por el quebrantamiento del coraz�n, o 2) puedes enfocar tus ojos y tu cerebro (el conocimiento pleno, del cual habla Pablo en el vers�culos arriba) sobre El quien tiene todo bajo su control. No dudes ni por un segundo que Dios ve y conoce todo lo que esta pasando en tu vida. Y aunque sea dif�cil aceptar, El permite muchas de las cosas por las cuales estas pasando para un prop�sito especifico. Somos hechos a Su imagen. El nos esta moldando y haci�ndonos cada dia mejor y mas nuevos.
No importa cual sea tu situaci�n , espera con anticipacion lo que Dios va a hacer nuevo en tu vida y ministerio. Mantenlo presente, que no podemos controlar lo que la gente alrededor de nosotros hace pero si tenemos la autoridad total y el poder sobre lo que permitimos para nosotras mismas. Conf�a en la verdad y las promesas que encuentras en la Palabra de Dios. Ellas seguramente te ayudaran a confrontar cada dia con una nueva, fresca perspectiva.
Irma
�nete a m�en los devocionales para publicar un comentario, olos forosdediscusi�nsobre nuestradejando que laluz brillea trav�s de nuestras
vidas!
Irmaesla esposa de unpastorsirviendojunto a suPastormaridodesde 1977.En la actualidad est�ncumpliendo unagran iglesiaenGalenaPark,Texas.Ella tiene treshijos maravillososadultosque sirvenen el ministerioy las misionesy dos nietos!
En2000,se retir� dela fuerza de trabajoseculary comenz�SoyMinistries.En virtud de esteministerio,quetraduce documentosy / ointerpretaentre el trabajoy la gesti�n(Ingl�s aEspa�ol).Estamos muyhonrados de tenersu escrituraparaCJ4H!Encuentrasubiograf�a completahaciendo clic ensu foto.
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