New Life

Completely New in God’s Eyes

“Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. ‘Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ” – Isaiah 1:18 Today we will focus on a passage from Isaiah Chapter One. This is one of literally hundreds of passages that proclaim you’re completely new in God’s eyes. Through His prophet, Isaiah, God calls us to do what is right and that we see ourselves as God sees us, which is pure as snow. Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek

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A Transformed Mind = A Transformed Life

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2 In Spain, there’s a man named Justo Gallego Martinez, who lived to be 96 years old. Justo was a Trappist monk during the Spanish Civil War, a time in which he saw many of his friends murdered and his own life was also in grave danger. Even worse, after the war, he contracted tuberculosis causing him to leave the monastery and he could no longer be a monk. Refusing to lose hope, he thought to himself, “Lord, if you heal me of this disease, I’ll build a cathedral for you.” The Lord healed him — the problem was, he had no money or resources to carry out his vow to God.

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Perspective is Everything

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” – Luke 6:45 There once was a man walking down the street and he happened upon a construction site. As he approached, he asked a gentleman with a rather glum countenance who was working on the project, “What are you doing here?” The man responded, “I’m building a wall. I’m a bricklayer.” From there, he proceeded down the sidewalk and crossed paths with another bricklayer working on the same site, only this one looked a little happier. Again, he asked the man, “Sir, what are you doing?” This time he responded, “I’m building a church, isn’t that lovely?” Finally, he encountered a third worker, also laying bricks and cement,

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Springs and Rivers

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” – Isaiah 41:18 God is going to bring springs and rivers to the deserts of your life. Let’s believe this today. I want you to personally hear this passage of scripture spoken by our loving Father in Isaiah 43:18-19: “Forget the former things. Don’t dwell on the past.” We are not to dwell on the things lost or the past in a way that cripples our life. God continues, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” God is stirring our hope. Even in the desert of your life, there’s a spring of water coming up. At times the picture of our lives appears good on the outside, but on the inside, you feel

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Cut Down But Never Destroyed

“The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.” – Daniel 4:26 I asked you to read Isaiah 11 a few days ago, and you may recall that in that section, Jesus was referred to as a shoot that grew from the stump of Jesse. Several times in the Bible, the word “stump” is used to indicate anything that is dead but will be restored, such as God’s people and the arrival of their Messiah. Because a stump retains its roots, it is always capable of regrowth and rebirth; but, it must remain planted! Perhaps you believe you’re a stump and that you’ve been hacked down. You perceive your life as a useless form sticking out of the earth for others to stumble over as a shadow of your previous self. However,

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The Anti-Fragility of Jesus

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” – Galatians 3:26,27 After discussing how love is anti-fragile, I want to continue our conversation focusing on God’s anti-fragility, more specifically Jesus and the early church. Jesus Christ exemplifies what it means to be resilient. More people followed Him when others cursed Him and lied about Him. More people talked about Him when they said He was sent by demons. They grew jealous as He grew in popularity, and eventually crucified Him; but little did they realize, that was the worst thing they could have done! Why? Because new life spilled into the universe as a result of His death and resurrection! Everything shifted at that point, and time was snapped in half like a twig. Because the veil was broken in half, history

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Holy Healing

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” – John 12:24 Today, I’d like to share with you about the Paschal Mystery, an ancient Christian principle that we don’t often discuss, unless perhaps during Easter. In essence, to become Paschal is to become anti-fragile, and this occurs when we recognize that in our salvation, we were given the gift of redemption, not just of our souls, but also of all of our earthly circumstances. This means that whenever we are hurt, attacked, or have a dream die, if we respond in faith, fresh life will eventually emerge from the unpleasant experience. Things that die in Christ come back to life with even more strength! You were given death when you were baptized into Christ. Did you realize that?

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Born Again

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” – 1 Peter 1:23 One of the most amazing things that ever happened on Hour of Power was when Evel Knievel shared his testimony and got baptized. In case you’re too young to remember, he was a daredevil who did all kinds of crazy motorcycle stunts and performances in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. He was super famous and uber wealthy, and he had everything a person could want from a worldly standpoint. Well, he called my Grandpa Schuller up one day in 2007 and asked if he could come on the show to share his story. Turns out he had become a Christian, and he was eager to let everyone know how his life had changed. Though he revealed many powerful things during his 20-minute-long interview that morning,

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New Life

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” – Matthew 22:37   Do you want to be strong? Have a strong mind. Do you want to love the Lord? Love Him with your mind. Dedicate your life to cultivating good thoughts and your life will bear good fruit. If you allow your mind to run wild, your whole life will be like a garden that has run wild — barren, full of weeds, and abandoned. Your mind is the beginning of a new life in Jesus. That’s why Paul always tells us to put on the mind of Christ. We must be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Prayer Thank you, God, for my expertly created mind. Help me to love you with the entirety of it. Reflection How can you love the Lord with all of

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