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Keeping Things in Focus A devoted husband brought a guest home to dinner one day. As the two entered the home, the husband kissed his wife tenderly at the door. Following the meal, the husband again caressed his dear spouse and thanked her for the delicious dinner. When he departed with the guest, he again kissed his wife at the door. Such actions impressed the guest tremendously and he asked the man: "Do you always kiss your wife like this?" He answered, "Most assuredly, every day." The man went home determined to give his wife similar caresses. He opened the door, went to his wife who was still busy with housework in the kitchen and deliberately showered her with kisses and caresses. She began to scream and cry: "What a terrible day I have had! The children have been unusually naughty. The washing machine broke down. The plumbing sprang a leak. The light went off during a storm. And to top it all off, you come home drunk!" It seems that certain changes in our lives can be dangerous, but Christians know that there is one kind of change that is crucial. The apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” God calls for each of us to have that kind of spiritual transformation. It is also a great verse to think about this month as spring approaches. The buds come out, the flowers begin to bloom, and the fresh green of spring splashes out all over our part of the world. We celebrate spring and behold its changes, its newness, and its beauty. Paul tells us in our verse that Christ has made us a new “creation.” He does a new work in those who become Christians. He says, “Old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.” God does this change. When He does a work, it is comprehensive and all-embracing. It is wide ranging. God changes and reorients our lives. Because of this, we see things differently. God, through His Spirit, motivates us through our new creation. If we try to do it on our own, to attempt to duplicate what only the Spirit can do, we find that our imitation is a poor one, indeed. The world sees Spirit-led changes in a Christian and tries to explain it with euphemisms. They say, “That person got religion”, or “That person became churched.” But Scripture tells us that we are a new creation in Christ. Take St. Augustine, for example. He lived a sinful and debauched life, but while visiting Milan, God touched his life and changed him. He left his former lifestyle, and when he returned home, his former girl friend called to him. “Augustine, Augustine, it is I.” “Yes,” he said, “but it is not I.” He had been changed by the work of the Holy Spirit, and God had made him a whole new creation in Christ, Jesus.
Pastor Jeff
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