Today Daily Devotional

If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here! — 2 Corinthians 5:17 I have always loved the idea of starting fresh, shedding old habits or mindsets that no longer serve well. I remember the first time I truly felt like I was walking into a new identity. It wasn’t something I could see right away, but as I look back, I can see that was a turning point in my life. I had come to faith in Jesus, but the real transformation didn’t come from that—it came from the Holy Spirit’s work in me to let go of the old and walk in the new. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that anyone who is in Christ becomes a new creation. The old self—the shame, the regrets, the wounds—are gone. We often try to hold on to old identities, old mistakes, or old labels that others have put on us. But the truth is that when we are in Christ, we have a new identity. We are not defined by our past. We are not what we did before. We are who the Lord says we are now. It can be hard to accept this truth, especially when we are so used to carrying the weight of our past. But the good news of Jesus calls us to walk in the freedom of our new identity. And today we can take that step. We can embrace the fact that the old is gone, and the new has come!  Lord, thank you for giving me a new identity in you. Help me to let go of my old self and to walk confidently in the new creation you have made me to be. Amen.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! . . .” — Isaiah 43:18-19 Change has a way of making us feel uneasy. It often comes with the uncertainty of the unknown and the discomfort of moving away from what we’ve always known. I remember a time when I faced a significant change— leaving a job I had held for years. It was a step into uncharted territory—and, if I’m honest, fear gripped my heart. The comfort of familiarity had a strong pull on me. But I’ve learned something valuable over the years: God doesn’t just call us to new things; he prepares us for them. In Isaiah 43:18-19, God calls us to let go of the past and recognize that he is always doing something new. God promises to make a way for us in the wilderness and to provide streams in the wasteland. Though the path may seem unclear, God is already at work before we even realize it, and he has our best interests in mind. Embracing change isn’t always easy, but it is always good when we trust that God is leading us. We don’t have to have all the answers, because God holds the future. When we lean into his promises, we can take that next step in faith, knowing that God is with us in every change. God, help me to trust you in all the things you are doing in my life. Give me the strength to let go of what is familiar and to embrace the new things you have for me to do. In Jesus, Amen.

We proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. — 1 John 1:2 After coming through the Christmas season, we stand today on the verge of a new year. In many homes Christmas decorations are coming down, and Christmas parties are over. Perhaps, like me, you are thinking of the year ahead, imagining and dreaming what God may have in store for you. As we look ahead to the new year and new seasons ahead, we also do well to look back at what God has done for us. Many years after Jesus had brought salvation by dying to pay for our sin and rising to new life for our sake, the apostle John wrote about his own experience as a follower of Christ. We can picture John looking back on what had happened to him when he first encountered Jesus. “The life appeared,” says John, and his words express the wonder and amazement he experienced when the Word of life came to him one day and changed his life (see Luke 5:1-11).Though we have not encountered Jesus in the same way his first disciples, like John, did, we still have an amazing story to tell. We have fellowship with the Father because Jesus, God’s Son, has come to make him known. Through faith in Jesus, we experience forgiveness of sin and new life, restoring our relationship with God.Christmas brings us joy for what God has done and offers hope for what lies ahead. May your life, today and in the coming year, be filled with the joy of knowing Christ the Savior. Lord Jesus, as you became one of us so many years ago, stay close now and in the years ahead. Deepen our joy in knowing you. Amen.

“At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” — Luke 21:27 The Christmas season looks back to the time when the Son of God first came to live among us and to bring us salvation. But this season has a forward-looking aspect as well. Christ has come, and Christ is coming again. As we turn the page on our Christmas celebrations, we can also be filled with anticipation for Jesus’ return.Jesus spoke to his disciples about the anguish and uncertainty of human existence in this world. Natural disasters, wars, political unrest, personal disappointments, sins we have committed, and wrongs we’ve suffered from others—all these things are a part of the “anguish and perplexity” we face in everyday life here on earth. But Jesus has promised that he will return—as the Lord of all creation. And on that day our redemption will be complete.Though we celebrate Christmas as a season of promise, new life, peace, and hope, in reality our lives here on earth are full of troubles and doubts.But Jesus the Savior has come into this world, and we have the promise that he will come again. “Lift up your heads,” he says to us, in effect. Christ offers hope and confidence to all who look to him, giving assurance of a future, full life that will never fade (see Revelation 21-22). May that hope be yours today. Lord Jesus, you came as a baby to bring the glory of God near to us. By the power of your Spirit, help us look forward to the day when you will come again to live with us forever. In your name we pray. Amen.

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. — Luke 2:39 I like to have the Christmas season continue as long as possible. In our home we often keep our Christmas tree up into the first week of January. But eventually the decorations have to be stored away. Then the house looks rather plain and ordinary again, as if something important and beautiful is missing.The Christmas story in the Bible has a similar sort of plain ending. Joseph and Mary returned with Jesus to their hometown. Nazareth was a small, relatively unknown town where Jesus grew up and lived for about thirty years. We know very little about what happened in those decades—except that Jesus and his parents and younger siblings lived there.The story of Christmas reminds us that no matter how plain and ordinary our lives may feel at times, Jesus has come to us. Nothing can change that fact. The Son of God has come, and nothing can be the same again.Maybe you have heard of the book The Everyday Gospel: A Theology of Washing the Dishes. It points out that we need to look for God’s presence in the ordinary things of life. Every moment of our lives is an opportunity to experience God’s work of shaping our hearts, inviting us to repentance and to new life in Christ.Where do you see the Lord at work in everyday life? Holy Spirit, we need to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. Help us to see his work and presence in everyday life. Amen.