New Life

 

There is something about water.  Looking out at the ocean or a river can be so peaceful, so calming.  Yet, those same calm waters can evoke anything but peace when a hurricane strikes or a river floods surrounding areas.  The peace that brought a sense of serene and calm can turn into a sense that brings panic and devastation.  It has always amazed me that before a hurricane or rainstorms, there is typically an aura of calmness.  After the destruction, the sun comes out, but there is much to do to clean up from the destructive waters.

When I think of baptizing waters, I can’t help but have that sense of calm, of peace.  During baptism, one enters their relationship with Christ.  One goes from the death of sin to a new life – a life with Christ that frees them from that sin and moves them to a journey with God.  From that time forward, God is with them, holding them and loving them.  The calming and peaceful waters of baptism brings one from sin to the new life with Christ.

New life.  It should be peaceful and calm after baptism, right?  We all know that is not the case.  Although a child can be baptized as an infant, it doesn’t mean that their new life is free of trials.  Although an adult receives the sacramental water of baptism, it doesn’t mean that they will no longer have tribulations.    Before baptism, we are spiritually dead.  There is nothing that can save us from the death we deserve by the sins we have committed.  Just as Jesus died for our sins, without baptizing water and a new life, we would spend our eternity in hell.

Our new life, through baptism and belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection, provides us new grace and mercy each day.  It provides us forgiveness for each sin.  It gives us hope for tomorrow.  It promises us a place in our heavenly eternal home.  The newness of life through baptism gives us all that Jesus has to offer to us.  What greater blessing can we have than that?

This doesn’t mean we continue to commit the same sins over and over again.  Just as each day provides us grace and mercy, it is also an opportunity for us to continue to walk with Jesus even closer, shedding our old sins behind us and putting on the coat of righteousness that only Jesus can give.  It means reflecting on what we leave behind and focus on the beauty of the path Jesus has created, a path for each of us, that brings us to Him.

Friends, may we walk the path of a new life in Christ.  Let us begin each day repenting of our sins and praying for a new life.  Although a sense of peace and calmness may not be on our path every day, there is our Lord Jesus who is with us every day.  He will bring us through the storms of life to a place of serenity.  All we need to do is have simple faith!

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us a new life through baptism.  May we realize what those baptismal waters have brought us and strive to walk the path you have created for us.  In your loving name we pray, Amen!

Provides

 

Birds chirping – one of the great signs that spring is here.  Winter in New England finds many birds ‘heading south.’  Waking up to birds chirping is one of the things I miss when winter arrives.  Then spring comes, and the sounds of birds fill the air.  They start pretty early, usually around 4:30am.  That is okay – their sound, each as individual as the type of bird themselves, becomes a choir of harmony.

The picture today was taken from my deck.  This beautiful bird feeder hangs in a nearby tree and every year, a mama makes her home there and I have the pleasure of watching her leave and return to provide for her new family inside.  She leaves to bring back nourishing food for her family.  I am amazed at her diligence of always finding food and caring for the family she has inside the birdhouse.

My mother is much the same.  She would always provide a bounty of food for us growing up.  Our meals were always delicious, plentiful, and made with love.  My dad was a gardener and although mom did not spend a great deal of time in the garden, she was an expert at preparing delicious meals from the harvest along with saving some for future days through canning and freezing.  I remember watching her as daddy would bring in all his treasures from the garden.  I can just imagine what might have gone through my mom’s thoughts, “Really Andrew, MORE zucchini?”  Yet, she never complained and always found creative and delicious ways to utilize the bounty.

She not only provided food for our bodies, but mom also provided food for our souls.  When we were young, and even now as adults, she shows us the importance of God in our lives.  She shows us the importance of prayer, of knowing our Bibles, and the richness gained in worship.  My love for our Lord comes from the example she sets for our family. 

Our job as moms, whether it is for our own children, nieces, nephews, or friends’ little ones, is to help to provide.  It takes a village to raise children, to provide for them.  Whatever gift our Lord has given you to help, use it to the glory of God!  Nourish them, body, and soul, for their future.  Throughout the Bible, we see women helping each other, using their gifts to raise children.  Proverbs 31 paints a beautiful picture of the Christian woman.  There are many examples of women in the Bible, some mothers of their own children or extensions to help others.  May we read and learn from them all.  Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, especially to my own.  Love you, Mom!

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of moms.  They provide so much for us, body, and soul.  May we always remember them, thank them, and keep them in our prayers.  Amen!

New Escape Route

 

What better way to start out an inspiring post on newness and growth than the verse for today!  Yes, my friends, we are sinners.  How many times in a day, even an hour, do we know what we ‘ought’ to do and we do not do it.  In walks sin!  Whether we think it, say it or do it, sin is certainly inevitable as we walk through our daily lives. This past week, I thought deeply about the season of Lent we just walked through and how many of us focused on the sin by which we need repentance.  During this preparation for Easter, we reflect on our sins, ask for forgiveness, and may even deny ourselves from an earthly pleasure, focusing on our Lord and Savior versus earthly items.

Easter Sunday arrives with the triumph of Jesus over sin and our reflection of our sin seems to pass away for another year.  Anything we may have learned from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday about ourselves and our sins can be put aside as we continue to move through our daily activities.  I know I am guilty of this!  Yet, we should be coming out of Lent as a new person – one who learns from mistakes and sins, one who works on being new! 

We will always sin.  There is so much that we would need to overcome that we cannot do it as human beings.  The love of Jesus and his death and resurrection brings us out of the depths of sin.  Temptation is at our doorstep from the moment we arise to when we put our head on the pillow at night.  Overcoming temptations, overcoming sinful ways, creates a new person.  We can only do this with Jesus’ help.  In 1 Corinthians 10;13, we are reminded, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

God provides us an escape for our temptations.  He provides us with an escape from our sin.  He may provide the escape route, but we need to take the route.  We need to leave our old ways behind us and follow the new escape path He provides for us.  Following the new path God provides will take us out of temptation and sin and move us to a new journey closer to Him.  This is not easy.  This path may not be a walk in the park.  It may feel more like climbing Mt. Everest.  Though the path may not be easy, we are not on this new path alone – we are walking this path with God.

Friends, sin can take us to very dark places.  Giving up temptations, addictions, bad habits and old sins is not easy. We may wonder if we will ever find a new path to walk.  The good news is the path is there.  God provides us new paths daily for us to walk.  Jesus’ path to Calvary was not easy either.  Yet, He loved us so much He walked that path for us.  Let us reflect on our Lenten season.  Let us reflect on our sin.  May we find the new path that God has provided for us, our escape route from our sin, and take the path.  Have simple faith that God will always know the right path for us and may we walk the new path together with Him!

Dearest God, thank you for providing an escape path for me when temptation and sin follow me.  May I have faith to take that path with you and see the ‘new’ me that I can become on that path.  In your name I pray, Amen!