A new creation

I grew up in a small town. Stuck close to home. Didn't travel much at all - certainly not out of state. So it was quite a leap for me when I joined the Navy. Not only being far from home, leaving everything that was safe, secure and familiar, but being on my own.

I soon realized that all these new people around me didn't know me; my background, my experiences - who I was. The friends I grew up with always knew me as "too tall", kinda clumsy, awkward and shy. I basically had a clean slate with these new people. I could be anything and that's what they would know me as.

I soon met a girl also from Michigan. Oh boy! Someone from "home"! She came from an even smaller town. And she was spreading her wings. Heavy makeup, tight pants, dancing and clinging to very kind of sailor. Her "new creation" was becoming quite scandalous.

Joining the Navy, a new beginning had indeed begun. The challenges of boot camp clearly defined my old life as gone. A new way of life had begun. What I now knew changed me - there was no going back to small town Julie. I couldn't un-know the things I learned. I became stronger, more confident, and more self-controlled. The old Julie was gone, and the new Julie is here!

Can the same be said of our Christian walk? Of our joining with Jesus?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Though we may struggle from time to time, our hearts are now set on following Jesus and God's ways.

Yes. If anyone is in Christ.

From that day forward.

Your old way of thinking and doing and living is no longer as comfortable.

The new is here, now and forever. The Holy Spirit has entered in, constantly leading and guiding how we should think and do and live.

Insert your name into the verse below like I did and feel empowered:

Therefore, if _____________ is in Christ, __________ is a new creation. The old __________ is gone, and the new ___________ is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

The following line is:

All this is from God. (verse 18)

Learning to do old things in a new way while I was in the Navy, and doing them afraid at first because it was so unfamiliar, made me a stronger person. Establishing new thought patterns made me a better person. Absolutely the same can be said for following Christ.

And it's all from God.