New Creations - Crosswalk the Devotional - January 19
New Creations
by Ryan Duncan
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” – 1 Peter 1:23
Have you ever done something embarrassing? I know I have. In fact, you could say my entire childhood (and a good portion of my adult life) has been one long string of embarrassing moments. I am still haunted by the memory of when I threw up during my English final, or the time I tripped while skiing and caused a massive, ten-man pile-up in front of the ski lift. The worst part is your brain never lets you forget it.
The difficult news is it’s not just embarrassing moments we seem unable to forget, it’s our mistakes. Many of us have done things in our lives that we regret. We’ve acted selfishly, or violently, and other people have been hurt because of it. The Devil loves to use our past mistakes against us; they are by far his favorite weapons. He will always wait until we’re vulnerable, then take our dirty laundry and rub it in our face.
It’s at moments like these that I always turn to 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 and reminded myself about the truth behind Christ’s ministry.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” – 2 Corinthians 5: 17-19
When we choose to follow Christ, our slates are instantly wiped clean. All the mistakes we’ve made all the stupid things we’ve done, embarrassing or otherwise, no longer matter to God. We may still have to accept the consequences of our actions, but we can take comfort in knowing that in God’s sight we are new creations. So do not allow Satan to guilt you with past mistakes, you are a child of God and he will never see you as anything less.
Intersecting Faith and Life: Take a moment to read your Bible and reflect on God’s words.
Further Reading
Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!
Stop Overthinking Your Marriage: The C.A.R.E. Method that Builds Consistency
We're celebrating our 400th episode and tackling one of the most important topics in marriage—consistency. If you’ve ever struggled with feeling like your efforts to improve your marriage aren’t working or wondered if all those small daily actions really matter, this episode is for you.
Today, I’m sharing my personal journey and my not-so-secret struggle with staying consistent—not just in my marriage, but in life! I’ll walk you through a simple, actionable framework that I created called the CARE acronym (Check-in, Affection, Reassurance, Encouragement) to help you build trust, commitment, and affection in your relationship. I’ll also give practical tips for daily connection, show you how to stay motivated when you don’t see instant results, and explain why the little things you do will eventually transform your marriage.
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