July 9: The old has passed away

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.   (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

If you are living by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been reconciled to God (there is peace between you and Him). In the past you were lost and separated from God, but now, through faith, you’ve been brought back. Nothing separates you; you’re a son or daughter, and God is your Father. You’re a new creation in Him. The sins of the past have been forgiven, the death grip of sin has been broken, the Holy Spirit is at work in you, and you are being set free from all that held you back and separated you from the amazing presence of God. You are a new person in Jesus. You’re not perfect, but you are in the process of being reshaped into the person God always meant for you to be.

If all this is true, the message of reconciliation (peace with God) has now been entrusted to you. You are God’s ambassador to people who are still far from Him. Look for ways to communicate this message of peace to your family, relatives, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Allow Jesus to make you into a powerful witness for Him, and remember, every witness first has to see something firsthand. 

God has already reconciled the world to Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus — now He is waiting for people to respond and accept what was done on the cross. The great message of reconciliation (peace with God) is that God placed on the Lord Jesus, who had no sin, all of our sin so that we would be innocent and pure in His sight. Someone else — Jesus, the Son of God — paid our debt, endured our punishment, suffered for our sins, so that we could  receive a full pardon.

If we are reconciled or reunited with God, the opposite also has to be true, we are alienated from the devil.