RENEW

When we hit a wall, we question God, we question ourselves, we question the church and everybody else around us who calls themselves Christians. And we always have more questions than answers.

In Isaiah, the prophet promises God’s people that “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Renewal is a continual process for the believer. As believers we are still prone to sin, it is important for renewal to become a constant practice as we seek to live lives that reflect Christ and let the things God does not want part of our lives expire.

No one emerges from a family without some wounds or scars or a mind map of the world you live in. And so, when we come to Jesus Christ, when we become a Christian, the bible says we are born again. We are born into God’s family – He is our father, we have new brothers and sisters, a new name – CHRISTIAN – a new inheritance. So now we are in a new family, the family of God in Jesus Christ.

When you are yourself, and you know God, breakthrough comes. Because the guidance of the Holy Spirit becomes clearer, and you live your life out of the uniqueness that is who God made you to be. And so, everyone around you gets blessed.

But if you live your life, in a way that is not you, that is not unique to who God made you to be; you remain in a difficult place, and you can hurt yourself and other people because you’re not the real you.

Jesus invites us to leave behind those things that are not life giving, the ways of life that can be a burden, a heavy load, especially the ‘religious’ and ‘sinful’ stuff, and to take on his way of living. It’s a way of gentleness and lowliness, a way of learning but also a way of rest to our souls. It’s a way of inner transformation.

Why does the resurrected Christ’s physicality matter? Why does it matter that the resurrection is not just a spiritual thing, that Jesus is not a ghost? 

The tangible resurrection of Jesus matters for three reasons:

For your mind – what you believe.

For your will – how you choose to live.

And for your heart – how you feel.

Scripture tells us that Jesus came into this world to “drive out the ruler of this world”, and to “destroy the works of the devil”, to “destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” and to ultimately “put all his enemies under his feet”.

Can you trust God even when his answer to your prayers is either "No" or, when his answer is remarkably different from the one you had hoped for? Do turbulent and tumultuous times lead you to lose trust in God or drive you into even deeper dependence on him?

It is entirely understandable if you and I wake up every day and watch the news and wonder: Where is God? Why won’t he do something about the chaos and the wickedness? We need to be reminded that when it feels like hell on earth, there is hope. We may not like the way God is doing things. We may question his timing. We may doubt the effectiveness of his methods. But hope remains, because our God is holy and true and altogether worthy of our trust, no matter how bad things may get.

The Holy Spirit is a genuine, thinking, feeling, willing, person with whom we are to enter into a close intimate relationship. When you read about the Holy Spirit in the Bible you quickly discover that all the attributes that we typically associate with a person are found in the Spirit.