Jesus wants to do something new, but we must step forward to allow Him to work.   ~~~   Are you still living in last year? It’s a new year! Aren’t you ready to step into something new? No not really. I’m good. Have you ever felt that way? You’re not alone. Something new doesn’t always feel good at first does it? This new month of the new year I’m focusing on the word NEW throughout scripture at lifeword.org. Today I’m looking deeper at the way we often want to hang on to what is old. The problem with that is we find ourselves trying to control the NEW thing God is doing or wants to do IN and through us. Why in the world would we want to control what God is doing? Usually because it requires us to throw off the old and familiar. Sometimes we get stuck don’t we? I’m not ready for something new. I’m not ready to move on. I’m not ready to take down my Christmas tree and twinkle lights. I want it to still be Christmas where we’re all in PJ’s eating way too much and watching movies. Let’s just stay a bit longer in last year. Last year is comfortable. I’m familiar with it. It’s worn in like a good pair of vintage jeans, and those are hard to come by so let’s just leave it be for a while ok? The struggle is real. Jesus ushered in something new. While God’s people had longed for the awaited Messiah, they weren’t ready for the WAY He came to save the world. It didn’t look like they wanted it to look. How in the world could GRACE be enough? People wanted to control the gospel then and many still do today. But when we add to it or take away from it, it never ends well. It’s a rebellious and disobedient spirit. The old way and the new way never fit together. Matthew 9:16-17 ​​“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” Here in chapter nine of Matthew, there is a conversation happening about fasting. The law only required one fast a year. The Pharisees had added to that to require twice weekly fasts, because they thought they knew better. Remember the control part? Jesus and his disciples didn’t follow that. Some wanted to know why. He uses a metaphor, which I love. You don’t sew unshrunk cloth on an old garment. When you wash it, the patch will shrink and tear away. The new doesn’t work on the old. You also can’t pour new wine into old wineskins, they’ll burst during the fermentation process. The new doesn’t work IN the old. Here’s the truth he wanted them to see. Jesus ushered in a NEW covenant of saving grace through faith. This covenant wasn’t anything to add to the law, HE was fulfilling the law and bringing something new. Salvation is a NEW nature. The holy spirit reNEWS us to walk in the spirit, in a NEW way, not in the old ways of the flesh. Ephesians 4:22 tells us we are to throw off our old sinful nature and our old way of life. When we do that, the spirit then can renew our thoughts and attitudes. We put on a NEW self, a new nature, that should be evident in how we live each day. You don’t meet Jesus and then walk away the same. No. You walk away changed and NEW. Jesus wants to do something new in your life, but to step into it, you’ve got to stop looking back and take a step forward. Let go! It’s a new year and a new day. Give thanks for what was and move into what Jesus has for you today. Yes it may be uncomfortable, but water walking wasn’t meant to be. That’s the truth! Today, move and follow Jesus into something new this year! A great adventure awaits. I’m Lori Cline.