Devotionals for the Heart: New You

New Year, New Creation
A devotional by Karen Marstaller

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”

 – Isaiah 43:18-19a (ESV)

Whenever a new year rolls around, our hopes rise.

We want things to be different, to be better than last year, and so we dive into our self-driven improvements. Our resolutions sound remarkably like those from years past: lose weight, eat more vegetables, exercise more. We’ve all made them, and some of us have become healthier people because of them. But God’s way of making something new looks a little different from our way. He always focuses on our hearts.

When Jesus Christ came to earth, His aim was the cross, to die as the perfect sacrifice for our sinful selves. But there was more, so much more that He came to do. He showed us how to live life abundantly (John 10:10)! In all of Christ’s teachings, He points us to joyful, fulfilling life under the tender care of our Father in Heaven.

An archaic word “lovingkindness” accurately describes God’s perfect love for us. Not only is our Heavenly Father supportive, caring, and nurturing, He is also kind. His vast love for us is seen in His kindness. Sometimes His actions in our lives are revealed in circumstances that don’t always seem like kindness, but God wants our hearts to be transformed. He’s doing a “new thing” as Isaiah wrote, and sometimes His kindness is revealed in what may seem like a terrible ordeal.

Several years ago, my back suddenly “went out” just a couple of days before Christmas. Lying flat for the holidays was not on my agenda. Within days I was on a walker. School started back in January, and I wasn’t at my post. My classroom was given to a marvelous substitute, so my students were fine, but I wasn’t. In fact, anything but "fine" described the situation.

Staring at the ceiling didn’t do any good, so I started praying. That’s when I began to understand my Heavenly Father a little better. The time reading His Word and praying for people who needed His touch (which included me) brought me closer to Him and deepened my relationship with Him. During those days of solitude, I learned how kind He is. He taught me how to trust Him as my Father, something I’d never experienced.

The next few months were sometimes grueling, yet I look back now and realize how much He changed me. Yes, I had to go through physical therapy, and yes, I had to learn how to walk all over again. Same dilapidated body. Completely new heart.

God’s tender care and concern for us never changes, but He’s always ready to do something different in order to lead us into closer relationship with Him. We can trust His character, even when our vision narrows to a slice of blank ceiling above our heads, looking up from a place of pain and weakness. He’s right there with us, helping us to put an end to the bitterness, the Blame Game, or the countless “What if?” scenarios our minds tend to focus on when we’re hurting.

In Matthew 9:13, Jesus exhibited God’s lovingkindness when He told the religious leaders of His day to learn what it means to exhibit mercy in their ministry and not just legalistic sacrifice. The Pharisees were great proclaimers of sacrificial laws, but they missed Christ’s point. Jesus wants to create new hearts, and new attitudes in us. He wants to do whatever it takes. Sometimes a “new thing” to draw us closer to Him.

This year, my New Year’s resolutions look a little different from my usual ones. I’m asking my Heavenly Father to help me lose judgmental attitudes, to take in only the pure food of His Word the Bible, and to exercise His brand of lovingkindness in the relationships He has placed in my life. Lofty goals, for sure, but I’m not going in my own strength. The Lord of the Universe is doing something new in His time.

Let’s Pray: Dear Jesus, help us to let You do Your cleansing work in our hearts. Show us how You want us to live out this New Year 2022. Thank You, Lord. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

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Note from Alexis: Karen’s devotional message, especially the part about God working on our hearts, reminded me of Donnie McClurkin's song “Create in Me A Clean Heart”. Listen to it here.

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Author Bio:

Karen Marstaller is a retired high school teacher who spent most of her career challenging creative students to write. Her heart is for her readers. 

She writes to encourage them, to make them laugh, to show them that life is a beautiful journey, and regardless of their past, to show them that there is joy ahead if they will just keep looking.

Karen and her husband live in central Texas in a sweet little home that they completely remodeled. They enjoy spending time with their family, which includes seven precious grandchildren.

Most of all, Karen writes in obedience to the command to love your neighbor, to offer a cup of water to those who are dying of thirst, and to comfort others with the comfort she has received.

You can reach Karen by emailing her at this address: klmarstaller@gmail.com

Devotionals for the Heart: Newness

The Newness of You
A devotional by Glynis Becker

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

I believe in the new creation that Christ is working in me. I believe in my head that I have been made new, that I am different than I was before I began a life that followed Christ and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and comfort me.

But sometimes I have a hard time believing it in my heart.

I’ve been a believer for a long time. I grew up in a Christian home. I’ve been in church nearly every Sunday of my entire middle-aged life. I accepted Jesus and made a commitment to him when I was just seven years old. And although my parents will confirm that I wasn’t a perfect teenager, I never felt the need to rebel against the confines of my faith during those tough years that stretch us out into the adult we will become. I’ve pretty much been the poster child for the phrase “Good Girl” my whole life.

And it might sound surprising, but I often have to remind myself that this is not a bad thing.

Here’s what I mean: Because I never seemed to stray very far from the path Christ has for me, I am easily lulled into believing two very dangerous lies. The first lie is that I have somehow saved myself. And the second is that I didn’t need saving in the first place.

Why are these lies so dangerous? Because if left unchecked they lead to self-righteousness toward people and apathy toward the great gift we’ve been given. If we begin to believe that we have the ability to save ourselves, then we also easily find ourselves looking down on others. How arrogant and unloving we can become if we think others should be saving themselves as well!

And what happens if we get the idea that we didn’t need to be saved in the first place? We will lose the awe and wonder and reverence and weight of the enormous sacrifice God gave us through Jesus. May we never take that for granted!

Since the beginning of creation, God has been doing new and miraculous things in the lives of His people. Do you remember what He told the Israelites?

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” –Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

I believe that promise still holds true for us. Isn’t it exciting to think that God is at work all over the world and in each of our lives all the time?

So, do you feel new today? Maybe not, but remind yourself that God is constantly—daily, hourly, and moment-by-moment—working in your life, if you give him the space to do so. You can and should be different today, even in a tiny way, than you were yesterday.

And remember to have grace with those around you, as Christ works in their lives as well.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 

–Galatians 2:20 (NIV)

My Prayer: Thank you, Father God, for the gift of a new heart, a new mind, and a new purpose that mirrors Jesus’ redemptive work in this world. Let me see with fresh eyes the gift you have given me and help me lovingly share that gift and that grace with those around me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

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Author Bio: 

Glynis Becker writes devotions and inspirational fiction, hoping someday to have a published novel on her resume. She has co-written several screenplays, including Sinking Sand, which will be available in mid-September 2018 on DVD and digital streaming. 

Glynis, whose childhood was spent all over the country as an Air Force brat, has called South Dakota home for many years, along with her husband and two teenage children. 

When she’s not writing or reading, she is watching more television than she should and crocheting. 

You can find her at www.glynisbecker.com.