New Blessings

New blessings come from Jesus every day!  Can you imagine if God kept providing you the same blessings day in and day out?  Yes, we would still praise Him and thank Him for those blessings.  Yet, our lives are not the same day in and day out.  New challenges come our way daily (sometimes even hourly).  With those challenges, our ability to manage each of them on our own is not feasible.  In walks our Lord!  Those challenges are met head on, not by us alone, but with our Lord standing by our side.

Those challenges can bring turmoil and anguish.  Those challenges can be difficult and stressful.  The exceptionally good news is those challenges are not mine alone.  I bring along with me the One who can meet each challenge and be with me as I journey through those challenges.  The thing I need to remember is that with those challenges, there are blessings.

Today’s verse helps me to realize that.  When I think of God’s blessings, I typically think of all the ‘good’ things that He has blessed me with.  A loving family.  A job with good people at a good company.  A home where I can rest.  Good health so I can get up each morning.  Those and so much more our Lord has blessed me with.  Focusing on the verse for today, I noticed that God is not just blessing me when things are good, He blesses me “… abundantly so that in ALL things, having ALL that I need…”

God blesses me in ALL things, even in those tough challenges, providing me all that I need.  When I reflect upon the challenges I have been given, I do realize the blessings that have resulted from that:

·       When I had cancer, there was the blessing of medicine to bring me to better health.

·       When I lost my father, there was the blessing of knowing he was in eternity with Jesus.

·       When I got divorced, there was the blessing of finding my true love to walk through life with.

·       When times were tough financially, there was the blessing of financial assistance.

I believe the blessings that are provided by God when life is going well.  When I reflect on the above, I do believe it is the blessings, the new blessings, that come with each challenge that are the most abundant!  It is those new blessings that come with each new challenge that has brought me hope and peace.  Hope and peace!  May we always have the simple faith to know that God’s blessings will be abundant in ALL things so that we have ALL that we need.

Dearest Lord, I thank you for the new blessings you give to me each day, so that I have blessings in all that I need.  Amen!

 

New Mercies

 

My commute was extended by 15 minutes this past week.  As I was leaving the driveway, I could not help but notice the incredible sunrise.  The sun was peaking through high clouds as if it were saying, “Good Morning.”  The more I drove, the more brilliant the salutation was!  God’s paintbrush was out, and He was painting a new masterpiece.  I could not seem to help myself to stop and give thanks for such beauty. 

The verse for today came to mind as I continued to stop and take pictures of this awe-inspiring sunrise.  Our spring focus is newness and growth.  Newness comes in so many forms.  The posts so far have talked about our newness in Christ and a new path.  Today, our thoughts move to the newness that God gives to us.

When I think of the numerous wonderful characteristics of God, I tend to think of constants. 

·       God’s constant love – Psalms 36:5

·       God’s constant presence – Hebrews 13:5

·       God’s constant forgiveness – 1 John 1:9

Yet, it is the newness that He provides to us, each and every day, which can bring us greater peace.  Today’s verse proves that.  If I look at God’s mercy in a vacuum, it would be as if I were looking at my sin in a vacuum.  My sins, so regrettably, are new every day.  My goal is to learn from the old sins and not repeat them.  I cannot claim I have always been good at that.  There are many sins that I, unfortunately, repeat.  There are other sins, also unfortunately, that are new each day.  The most wonderful part of God’s forgiveness is that with EVERY SIN, whether repeated or new, God’s forgiveness is new to me each day.  His mercy and compassion are new to me each day.

God never says to me, “Susan, you committed that sin last week, so this week you are on your own!”  God says to me, “Susan, each day is a new day, and I will walk with you and love you and FORGIVE you for those new sins, just as the sun rises each new day.”  I draw so much comfort from that when I reflect on my sins of the day.  How great that God’s forgiveness is new for each sin I bring to Him!

May we walk into each new day with this blessed assurance from God, His compassions and mercies are new every morning.  Today’s sunrise was blocked by clouds and rain.  It was new and different than the sunrise of a few days ago.  As our sins change from day to day, may God’s mercy on me be new each day as well.  May we all have simple faith in this knowledge!

Almighty Father, I thank you for your new mercy and compassion on me each day.  Amen!

 

New Path

 

We are continuing our focus on the newness of spring, and the newness of faith.  As I reflect on this newness, it is a bit hard for me to see the ‘new’ in things.  I believe as I have aged, I have become set in my ways.  Can you relate?  Whether it is my morning routine, the items I buy at the grocery store, or even what I make for lunches and dinners, it seems as if I have not stepped into anything new.  Sometimes, I can feel as if I am in a rut, nothing new, nothing exciting, just going about each day the same as the day before.  Newness does not seem to be around the corner.

Our faith can seem like that at times as well.  We go about our faith with the same familiar patterns.  Morning devotions, prayers in the evening, the same dinner grace, the routine of worship, all of this can be more of ‘checking the box’ than finding inspiration and newness in Jesus.  Then this special passage crosses my path, and as I reflect on its messaging, there is something exciting about it!  These words are God’s words!

“For I am about to do something new. . ..  Do you not see it?”  I looked at these words, knowing that God is talking to me, to us, about the newness that He has for us.  The verse before this one God says:

                              “Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past.”

God is sharing with us that the past is in the past.  Our old habits, our old ways, our familiar patterns can be changed, and He can change them for us!  In the dry wasteland of familiarity God will make a new pathway for us.  This pathway can help us to see His love and His light in unusual ways.  Forgetting the former things and moving into a new relationship with Christ can be difficult.  Doubts and fears can overtake us.  What if I really share with God all that I am (and am not) – will He still love me?  What if I confess ALL the sins I have committed, not just the ones I can say aloud, but what about the ones deep in my soul – will He still love me? 

My friends, Our Lord knows everything about us.   He is fully aware of what we are and what we are not.  He is aware of all of our sins.  He is aware of our habits and our routines.  He is also aware of what we need – the newness of Jesus in our lives and in our souls.  God has promised that newness; we need to see it.  Look around you and see what path God has provided to you.  Is there an opportunity to serve the church in a different capacity?  Is He preparing a path for you to share the good news with new people?  Look to see the new path that God has provided to you – and live out your faith, your simple faith – in a new way!

Lord, thank you for providing the new path for us!  May we forget the old way of doing things and replace it with the new opportunities and new paths that you have provided for us!  In your guiding name we pray.  Amen!

New Creation

 

Spring has sprung!  It doesn’t quite feel like that in New Hampshire right now.  As I look out the window, there is still snow on the ground.  Yet, as every April comes, we know that eventually we will start feeling the warmth of 50–60-degree temperatures and the sun shining in our faces.  In 2024, my goal was to focus Simple Faith Today on the seasons of faith.  I am happy to say we have moved out of the winter season and have entered spring!  Spring has always focused on newness and growth, which will be our focus during the season or spring.

Being a lifelong Christian, I always struggled with the excitement of finding God for the first time.  Ever since I can remember, I was going to church, Sunday School, youth group, Bible studies, etc.  When I speak with someone who has found Jesus as an adult, there is such an excitement and wonder that, I have to admit, I can get jealous of.  Then this wonderful verse comes to mind and Jesus tugs at my heart in that unique way.

I believe the key word in our Bible verse today is the word ANYONE!  When Paul shared these words, he didn’t say, “Therefore if any new believer is in Christ, the new creation as come.”  Paul said, “. . . ANYONE!”  This restores my soul.  Yes, I have known that Jesus is my savior since I was a toddler.  Yet there are numerous ways by which I can become a new creation in Christ. 

·         Anytime a Bible verse opens my heart and mind to a new viewpoint.

·         Each time a sermon reminds me to follow Jesus.

·         Moments where a worship song helps me to see a part of my faith I may have forgotten.

·         Prayer when my eyes are open to my sin, and my Lord provides me new forgiveness.

In each of those scenarios, and so much more, my faith can become new again.  I can become new again!  Whether you are a brand-new Christian or one that has believed in Christ your entire life, we can always become new creations in Jesus.  The newness of faith isn’t just for those who are new believers.  The newness of faith can be found each day in the wonders, blessings, mercy, and grace God offers us.

Take these moments in spring and ensure you remember you are the ANYONE who has become a new creation.  Live your life in the knowledge of that blessing! Here’s to spring!

Dearest Christ, thank you for opening our hearts and minds to continually becoming a new creation in your sight and love.  Help me to see this every day!  Amen.