Only God Makes New
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there .” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
With the beginning of a new year, we seek the hope for something new. We are tired of what we endured in 2020. Can we get out of the doldrums and get something new and better? So many times we see things marketed as new. Marketing something as “new” marks it as better or superior to what the product was before. Companies love to advertise their products as being new even when it merely is a minor change in its ingredients. The image of something being new marks it as being more desirable.
Often times we doubt that something is really new. We tend to agree that the writer of Ecclesiastes is right. “There is nothing new.” Outwardly something may look new but a deeper analysis shows it is a new look to something old. Only God makes new. We human beings can only reconfigure whatever already exists. We can’t create out of nothing. Only God can.
Jesus told his disciples in “Matthew 19:26, “With humans this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Human beings have no capacity to create new. But with God a new creation is possible. Ecclesiastes was right about nothing being new, but then Christ came. With Christ’s resurrection, we have the potential to become a new creation. Not since the Genesis creation was there anything new. With Christ, the impossible happens! He brings about the new creation. “The old has gone, the new is here!”
Growing up there were things I wanted to change about myself and I attempted to do so. These were mostly superficial things. I never really changed much. But when Christ came into my life, things really began to change. My heart was transformed. I stopped going out with my fraternity brothers and getting drunk. I started going to church. I got rid of my foul mouth. I was motivated to read the whole New Testament through (twice!) in just a couple of months.
At CCDC we see a lot of people dealing with impossible situations. We have many who come with a sense of personal failure. Poverty and homelessness bring a terrible feeling of disappointment and discouragement. Our message to them is that Christ brings them the hope of new life. With Christ the changes they need are possible. The only way I can face the folks who come to CCDC with such difficulties in their lives is with the hope Christ gives. I believe Christ can do the impossible. He can change people. He can change situations. He can transform defeat into victory. He can make something new and truly better out of people. I never look at a person who struggles with addiction or other issues as hopeless. I know Christ can make a difference In their lives. Christ can do something new that can turn around their lives.
gives us another example of God making things new. “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Our hope is that God can use CCDC to do “a new thing” in the Near Eastside community. CCDC has a unique mission that is different in its approach by combining meals and spiritual ministry. We are so grateful for your prayers and financial support, which has enabled us to make a difference in the lives of those we reach out to with Christ’s transforming power.
Each week we have volunteers who bring the hope of Christ to touch the lives of others. With the concerns for Covid-19 , we take every precaution to guard the safety of our volunteers. We look for more volunteers to help serve since we know there are those who for medical concerns cannot come to serve. Please sign up at our website circlecitydinnerchurch.org.
May God’s Peace be with you,
Pastor Jim and Debby Riley