A New Day!

Two Sundays ago Chris Whitworth brought an encouraging piece at the afternoon service that seemed to so fantastically coin the moment and shed some light on the true nature of God…

“Before the service, a group of us were praying - for the service, for the church, for the New Year, for the city and beyond. As Tim and others were praying in tongues, I felt that God was bringing two scriptures to my mind - the first, from Hebrews 13:8 - was a proclamation that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever"; and the second, from Isaiah 43:19 - was the call to "See, I am doing a new thing!" It struck me that there's a contrast - almost a tension - between these two scriptures, and yet as we as a church go into a new year, and a new season together, there's something important to be taken from considering those two short verses in the light of each other.

Jesus Christ, our Rock and Salvation, is the same yesterday, today and forever - His grace and love are steadfast, our salvation in Him assured, as they ever have been, and as they ever will be - but in our relationship with Him, God seeks to do new things. He doesn't want us - individually, or as a church - to be the same as we were yesterday, or last week, or last year, and nor should we be seeking after things that took place in the past - but rather we should be expecting to see God doing new things - indeed, God is calling us to see - to recognise - that He is doing new things, even now.

This isn't to say that, as we stand at the start of a new year (and indeed, a new decade), we shouldn't look back and give thanks for what we've seen God do, nor that we shouldn't take time to enjoy where we are at now, either - but we shouldn't be holding onto the past as our ideal for now or looking backwards for the model of what we should be today. We should instead be expecting to see new things; to hear and tell and be part of new stories; to follow new paths; and to find new ways to be and to love and to show love - but always standing steadfast with Christ at the very centre of our being: yesterday, today and forever.

CLC Admin, 14/01/2010