The Lord has given me my word for 2015! He confirmed this
word to me while on a mission trip to Kenya this summer. After I had stood before his
congregation and washed over them by quoting several passages of scripture, the
Kenyan pastor came to me and said, “You are doing a new thing!” For a month or so prior to this I
kept seeing the word “new” in scripture, in devotional books, and hearing it in
conversations. Once the pastor told me I was doing a new thing, I was assured
that this was the word God would use in the coming year to teach me more about
Him.
What I have discovered is that the Lord is the only one who
can truly give or create a new thing.
As I researched the word new in Greek and Hebrew and searched out its
English meaning I came to realize that there are many usages of the word. I
have focused in on two Greek words and their meanings. The first word refers to something
being new in relation to time, which means it is temporarily new. For example, the Bible refers often to
new wine. The new refers here to
the beginning of the wines fermentation process. It is new for only a short period of time. I bought a new car over a year ago and
I feel like it is still new, however it is not as new as it was a year ago! It has more miles on it, and it has one
little scratch on the back driver’s side door, which now makes it an officially
used car. Anything man creates is
temporarily new. But anything God
creates is entirely new, completely new, and always new!
The second Greek word refers to something being new as
inherently, absolutely, and qualitatively new. This new refers to something that is unprecedented, never
before known to exist. The Hebrew
word means new, recent, or fresh.
God always does something fresh, but His fresh never loses its
freshness!
“Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth;
will you not be aware of it? I
will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19
“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our
God. Many will see and fear and
will trust in the Lord.” Psalm
40:3
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature, the
old things passed away, behold new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
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| Will and Avery New Parents |
This year, to go along with my word “new,” the Lord has
blessed me with two upcoming “new” events! My son and daughter-in-law are expecting my first
grandbaby! They will be new
parents and I will be a new grandmother.
Then to top things off just a few days ago my daughter said, “Yes,” when
her boyfriend asked her to marry him. So we are now in the midst of planning a wedding to
celebrate a new marriage.
What I have learned about the word new from these two life-changing
events is that with anything new there comes a cost! I am going to have to save up to buy that precious new
grandbaby whatever her little heart desires! I am overwhelmed not only with the joy of a grandbaby and a
new son-in-law, but overwhelmed with the cost associated with both!
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| Geoff and Sarah New Marriage |
As I was calculating the costs involved in my “new” adventures
of 2015 I wavered on the edge of despair one moment and complete joy the next
moment! Then the scriptures of
“new” came to mind and I was reminded of what God was willing to pay for my
salvation. He loved the world so much that He willingly
gave up His one and only Son to be born into poverty, mocked and mistreated,
crucified on a cross in order to purchase us a new life. Not just a temporary life, an eternal
life spent with Him, forever new, with zero miles, no scratches, and no bank
account required. Now that is
worth singing about!
And they sang a new song saying, “Worthy are You to take the
book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with
Your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” Revelation 5:9
I am looking forward with great expectation to all the
“news” of 2015: a baby, a wedding, and fresh lessons from the hand of the One who
gives new mercies, new songs, and new hearts!
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