My very first blog post summarizes my prayers and desires for this blog, so here it is:
2 Corinthians 5:17 – If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come.
Revelation 21:1-5 – Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “BEHOLD, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEWS.”
Greetings everyone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. My name is Kevin, and I am the pastor of the church Urban Grace.
However, first and foremost, I am a sinner whom the Lord Jesus Christ has made a New Creation in Him. I was a wretched and depraved sinner from conception, and even though I grew up going to church, it was not until winter break of my freshman year in college at UC Berkeley that God, in His undeserved grace and mercy, chose to set His redeeming love upon me. During that winter break, God opened my eyes to see the depth and heinousness of my sin and sinfulness. But God also opened my eyes to see the height and breadth of His love for me in sending His Son Jesus Christ to live the perfect life I didn’t, to die on the cross the death I deserved as a sinner, to resurrect from the dead in victory over sin, Satan, and death, and to cover my sinful life with His righteous life. In His grace, God gave me the gift of faith to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation, and in Jesus Christ, I was made a new creation.
The church I pastor, Urban Grace, is not a group of “good” people. They are not a group of self-righteous people. They are a group of sinners, like me, who Jesus Christ has made into new creations, like me. Together, we are a group of sinners who are new creations in Jesus who are committed to love and serve one another and the world around us.
In Revelation, we have God’s glorious picture and promise that He is making all things new. But, until that day comes when everything is made perfectly new, we live in a time period called the “now, but not yet.” So right “now,” in Jesus Christ, I am a new creation, but I still live in my sinful body in a sinful world. I am “not yet” fully and perfectly a new creation living in my new, imperishable, resurrected body in the new heaven and new earth. As a church, in Jesus Christ, we are right “now” a group of new creations, but we all still live in our sinful bodies in a sinful world. We are “not yet” fully and perfectly new creations living in our new, imperishable, resurrected bodies in the new heaven and new earth.
Therefore, my prayer and desire in this blog is to reflect on this time period of the “now, but not yet,” seeking to grow in sanctification as new creatures through the Word of God. They will be reflections of a new creation both personally in my own life, and corporately, as I pastor a body of new creations. They will be reflections of confidence as Philippians 1:6 ensures us that “God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” But they will also be reflections of challenge as Philippians 2:12-13 calls us to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
I have listed two websites on the right that I pray will be helpful. CCEF is a ministry called Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, and they are one of the best ministries helping people grow in sanctification, from the inside-out, in the context of community in the local church. And since the local church is the context for sanctification and the focal point of God’s plan for displaying His glory to the nations, I have listed 9Marks, one of the best ministries helping churches reflect the character of God.
I follow your blog and love it! I will check out CCEF. I am a peer counselor at Life Centers and hope they will have encouraging resources to use when meeting the women and men who come for guidance. I also nominated you as a worthy blog to follow by the Candle Lighter Award and Tell Me About Yourself Award. You can find more at the following…http://jeanneschkeryantz.com/2012/01/24/thank-you-rhonda-and-jeanne/
praise the lord , i had impressed by your blog . i have ministry in India in our city , please support us