Mornings With Jesus 2016: 14-Day Reading PlanSample

Sometimes I think when Paul was telling the Corinthians that they were new creations (the old has gone and the new is here), some of them didn’t feel very new. Like me. Sometimes when my kids disobey me, I get upset and yell and my voice raises an octave or so. It’s not pleasant. For me or anyone else.

When we are in Jesus, we can’t hide from who we are or what we have done. It all hangs out there. It’s ugly. But He can’t work on that area in our hearts if we keep it to ourselves. And for some reason, He keeps on loving us. Even when we yell. Slipping into that old skin of anger and selfishness and self-righteousness is so much easier than asking Jesus to make us new.

But in order to be a new creation, we have to be willing to invite Him into the heat of the moment and say, “Okay, what does being ‘new’ look like in this moment?” Instead of giving in to the rush of emotion that overwhelms us, what would it be like to feel the rush of His presence, holding us steady, leveling us out with His peace and self-control? Being a new creation is a daily business. Sitting with Jesus, letting Him see us for who we are, is an ongoing process. Letting Him work out His grace in our lives is like oxygen. We have to have it, every moment of every day, to live the new life that He has for us. So . . . let the grace flow and the good, new work begin. —Susanna Foth Aughtmon

FAITH STEP: Sit and breathe deeply, thinking of Jesus’s grace as His oxygen in your life. Meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:17, reflecting on each section of the verse.