All Things New

As I mentioned in last week's blog I'm driving to Muskogee everyday for my psych rotations. As I've mentioned last week I've been using my mornings to pray and reflect. I've really enjoyed my morning time just me and God driving down the road. It prepares me for the day ahead and the challenges that I may face. Last week in choir I mentioned to the ladies during prayer time that the drive was really getting to me and I was getting worn out by driving to Muskogee everyday. They encouraged me to spend this time in prayer. While I had been using the first few minutes of my drive to pray I had yet to use the entire drive to pray and worship the Lord as I drove. I decided to take their advice. So for the last week I've been praying and worshiping the Lord. 

Again this morning I was watching the sunrise as I drove. It was beautiful this morning. This morning I was listening to Watermark's All Things New. If you've never heard this song, you should listen to it on youtube. In the chorus its says that "because of who You are and who I am in You, You make all things New." Again I was reminded that God is the one that makes everything new. This was so encouraging this morning. It has been a long week on the psych unit. We have had several patients that are really sick and I have worked hard. This was so encouraging to hear this morning that because God is who He is and that He loves us He makes things new. The Bible talks about how God makes us new. We have the promise of not only a new life in Christ on this earth, but new life in Christ when we die. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come The old has gone, the new is here! 

2nd Corinthians 5:17

So many times as Christians, especially as women we forget that we have been created new in Christ. We have new beginnings. As women sometimes, we tend to dwell on our "imperfections," the things in our lives that are unbecoming that we don't take pride in. While it is important to be repentant of our sins we tend to think less of ourselves. We hide who we truly are.  Ladies, you are beautiful on the inside and outside. God has a special plan for your life. He plans to use your flaws, imperfections, and things that you just don't like about yourself. He desires to take the the hurts and bruises from life and turn them into a beautiful masterpiece if we will only will trust Him with out. 

You see stout woman aren't afraid to be made into new beautiful masterpieces. They aren't afraid to be vulnerable before their Lord.  I think of the story of the woman at the well. This Samaritan woman is a perfect example of how Christ makes things new. Let me "sarahpharse" the story. Jesus and his disciples had been out ministering to others and sharing the Good News. They stopped in Samaria. To the Jews, Samaria was where "those people, those sinners" lived. The disciples went into town and Jesus waited at the well. This woman (one of those people) came to draw some water and Jesus asked for some. She knew that Jesus was a Jew and Jews didn't talk with her "kind." Long story short Jesus shared with her how he could change her life. That He and only He could take away her sins and make her new. I believe Jesus was also saying to this woman, "be My daughter, be the daughter of The King, let me make you new, let me take your imperfections, your "beauty flaws" and your hurts and make you into a beautiful masterpiece.  Now I know that not all of our stories are just like hers. But we just like are filled with our own hidden sins, flaws, and hurts and we just liked that woman need to answer Christ's call...to be the daughter of a King. 

For you created my inmost being you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,  I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body;    all the days ordained for me were written in your book    before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them,they would outnumber the grains of sands when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalms 139:13-18