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A Christian
Thought for the Month - January 2014
Thoughts for believers & seekers
Thought for the Month -
All Things New?
Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
We sat down and pushed our cups and plates around the table. I stirred sugar into my coffee – sorry, I’m just not sweet enough! John grinned at me and said, “You couldn’t have found a bigger muffin!” I looked apologetic and said a bit defensively, “Well there wasn’t much of a selection and your doughnut looked too sweet and even more fattening.”
You won’t know John; this was another country. John was out of work and so we took a time out while I was there to catch up over a coffee and cake that he insisted on buying.
“You know,” he started, “there are times when I wish God would wave a magic wand and start things off in my life all over again. “
“Sounds serious.”
“Well, I guess I’m just fed up. I look back and all I see is a broken home and divorced parents. I look at the present and I see no jobs available. I look to the future and wonder if there is one.”
“Wow, that does sound bad!”
“I’m sorry I don’t mean it to sound like that but, hey, I’m a Christian and we’re not meant to do this stuff.”
“Well we’re not going to avoid it. It’s just what the world is like. It’s what we do with it that counts.”
“Yes, but isn’t it also supposed to be what God does for us?”
“Yes, but isn’t sending Jesus for you so you can have a relationship with Him enough?”
“Well it’s a start, but surely there is supposed to be so much more. I mean, look, new year comes round and we all make new year resolutions, which says we all want something better than we’ve got? Right?”
“Right.”
“And the Bible talks again and again about Him making all things new. I know all this but I don’t seem to be on the receiving end of the ‘new’ stuff. I know right at the end in the book of Revelation Hhe talks about winding it all up and making it anew but I don’t want to have to wait for the end and for it to start all over again. I want ‘new’ now.”
“OK, but hasn’t that happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well you became a Christian and the Bile talks about that being made new by God when that happens, so you ARE a new person, a different person from what you were before you became a Christian. Yes?”
“Oh, yes! Yes, I can look back to that moment when I made that commitment and prayed and then suddenly it was all different. Yes, I know that but I want more!”
“Right. But I know you and I’ve known you since you became a Christian and I would say you are quite a different person now to what you were before. Is that right?”
“Well, yes, of course it’s right.”
“How? How are you different?”
“Well, I’m no longer a regular drunk. That’s pretty obvious I suppose. I’ve become very much more at peace with myself and Jemma says I’m a much better husband and dad because of it. I don’t get angry any more. The swearing went a long while back. I’m a more patient person these days and don’t get frustrated like I used to.”
“And why is all this?”
“Well I suppose it is because of my relationship with God. I talk to Him about stuff and I believe He talks back and guides and reassures me, and I know what the Bible teaches me about His loving me..... yes, and then of course it talks about His Holy Spirit being a new power source within me, so yes, I suppose there has been a lot of ‘new’, but I want more!”
“What sort of more? What do you actually want to happen that hasn’t happened yet?”
“I’d like a job to start off with!”
“Have you asked Him about that?”
“Er.... no... I suppose not.”
“Why not?
“I don’t know, I forgot I suppose. No, I’m going to be honest. I felt He let me down by allowing the firm I worked for to go bust.”
“So you wanted Him to override your bosses free will to stop him doing the stuff that made it go bust?”
“Well, if you put it like that, no, not really.”
“No, because you and I know that if He did that He’d have to override everyone’s free will to clear up every mess we make. Yes?”
“OK, I know you’re right but I just felt hard done by and I suppose I felt annoyed with Him and that’s not fair after all He’s done for me. I know that; I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you want to say sorry to is it.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“So why don’t we pray about this right now?”
“What, here in the middle of this coffee shop?”
“Well you don’t have to close your eyes, do you, so yes, why not right now?”
Which is how I came to be praying with a guy in a coffee shop on the second of January. Now you might want to call it coincidence but straight after we prayed John turned to me and said, “You know I heard the other day about a guy starting up a new business in my line of things down town. I might just give him a ring,” and when he did, the other fellow said, “Hey, you’re a real answer. I need someone with your experience. Come on down and let’s talk.”
When I got home a couple of days later I e-mailed him and asked him how it went. “Got the job!” came back the reply. New year, new start; can’t be bad!
Coincidence? Well all I know is when we stop praying the coincidences stop happening.
What’s next I wonder. It’s a new day! What am I missing I wonder because I haven’t talked to God about it, talked to the God who does make things new?
Rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
We sat down and pushed our cups and plates around the table. I stirred sugar into my coffee – sorry, I’m just not sweet enough! John grinned at me and said, “You couldn’t have found a bigger muffin!” I looked apologetic and said a bit defensively, “Well there wasn’t much of a selection and your doughnut looked too sweet and even more fattening.”
You won’t know John; this was another country. John was out of work and so we took a time out while I was there to catch up over a coffee and cake that he insisted on buying.
“You know,” he started, “there are times when I wish God would wave a magic wand and start things off in my life all over again. “
“Sounds serious.”
“Well, I guess I’m just fed up. I look back and all I see is a broken home and divorced parents. I look at the present and I see no jobs available. I look to the future and wonder if there is one.”
“Wow, that does sound bad!”
“I’m sorry I don’t mean it to sound like that but, hey, I’m a Christian and we’re not meant to do this stuff.”
“Well we’re not going to avoid it. It’s just what the world is like. It’s what we do with it that counts.”
“Yes, but isn’t it also supposed to be what God does for us?”
“Yes, but isn’t sending Jesus for you so you can have a relationship with Him enough?”
“Well it’s a start, but surely there is supposed to be so much more. I mean, look, new year comes round and we all make new year resolutions, which says we all want something better than we’ve got? Right?”
“Right.”
“And the Bible talks again and again about Him making all things new. I know all this but I don’t seem to be on the receiving end of the ‘new’ stuff. I know right at the end in the book of Revelation Hhe talks about winding it all up and making it anew but I don’t want to have to wait for the end and for it to start all over again. I want ‘new’ now.”
“OK, but hasn’t that happened?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well you became a Christian and the Bile talks about that being made new by God when that happens, so you ARE a new person, a different person from what you were before you became a Christian. Yes?”
“Oh, yes! Yes, I can look back to that moment when I made that commitment and prayed and then suddenly it was all different. Yes, I know that but I want more!”
“Right. But I know you and I’ve known you since you became a Christian and I would say you are quite a different person now to what you were before. Is that right?”
“Well, yes, of course it’s right.”
“How? How are you different?”
“Well, I’m no longer a regular drunk. That’s pretty obvious I suppose. I’ve become very much more at peace with myself and Jemma says I’m a much better husband and dad because of it. I don’t get angry any more. The swearing went a long while back. I’m a more patient person these days and don’t get frustrated like I used to.”
“And why is all this?”
“Well I suppose it is because of my relationship with God. I talk to Him about stuff and I believe He talks back and guides and reassures me, and I know what the Bible teaches me about His loving me..... yes, and then of course it talks about His Holy Spirit being a new power source within me, so yes, I suppose there has been a lot of ‘new’, but I want more!”
“What sort of more? What do you actually want to happen that hasn’t happened yet?”
“I’d like a job to start off with!”
“Have you asked Him about that?”
“Er.... no... I suppose not.”
“Why not?
“I don’t know, I forgot I suppose. No, I’m going to be honest. I felt He let me down by allowing the firm I worked for to go bust.”
“So you wanted Him to override your bosses free will to stop him doing the stuff that made it go bust?”
“Well, if you put it like that, no, not really.”
“No, because you and I know that if He did that He’d have to override everyone’s free will to clear up every mess we make. Yes?”
“OK, I know you’re right but I just felt hard done by and I suppose I felt annoyed with Him and that’s not fair after all He’s done for me. I know that; I’m sorry.”
“It’s not me you want to say sorry to is it.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“So why don’t we pray about this right now?”
“What, here in the middle of this coffee shop?”
“Well you don’t have to close your eyes, do you, so yes, why not right now?”
Which is how I came to be praying with a guy in a coffee shop on the second of January. Now you might want to call it coincidence but straight after we prayed John turned to me and said, “You know I heard the other day about a guy starting up a new business in my line of things down town. I might just give him a ring,” and when he did, the other fellow said, “Hey, you’re a real answer. I need someone with your experience. Come on down and let’s talk.”
When I got home a couple of days later I e-
What’s next I wonder. It’s a new day! What am I missing I wonder because I haven’t talked to God about it, talked to the God who does make things new?