Monday | December 26

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In light of the Advent of Jesus Christ the Son of God, and in hope for his second advent, we will spend the remaining days of December meditating on how he is making all things new. Specifically, we will use this as a time to think about how we can be made new. This part of the devotional will lead you through passages on change, and also lead you through “The Common Rule Habit Planner,” which is a resource for rethinking your ordinary habits and rhythms. This way, by New Year’s Day, instead of having a few unattainable resolutions that you’ll forget by January 5th, you’ll have a renewed vision of who God is making you, and you’ll also have some new habits and rhythms to put in place on January 1. The habit planner can be downloaded here.

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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 new.”

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Jesus has come, and he will come again. In the meantime, he is working to make all things new. This means something incredible - change is possible. It is real. We often lead our lives in a cycle of vague inevitability, like things have to be the way they are. The advent of Jesus Christ the Son of God means that way of thinking is totally wrong. You are not alone, you are not stuck, and you can change.

 

The last five days of this devotional will focus on renewal in order to help you get ready for the new year. The purpose is not to create a list of resolutions, the purpose is to see clearly that Jesus making all things new has implications for you in all areas of your life.

 

Begin this morning by (1) Reading the “Think Through Your Roles” section in the Habit Planner, and then (2) Listing five areas of your life that you want to see God work in. (For example, think of the roles that you play: parent, worker, spouse, son, friend, disciple, creator, guitarist, etc.) After you write them down, spend some time praying that God would bring newness to each place. Use this template to write them down.