Anew is an adverb that means 'in a new or different and typically more positive way.'

Think about a holiday.  You still eat and sleep - but the experience and location is different from the normal. Think about change - change means different, and can also mean new.  The saying a change is a good as a holiday is a thoughtful phrase as it is insightful for our lives.

But God takes this 'new' concept and breathes His life into it - actually meaning something NEW... Paul says thing in Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

New things are everywhere in scripture - and what makes the new really interesting is that it is something to behold....  The prophet Isaiah records God speaking about the 'new' in  Is. 43:19

           Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

and again in Is 65:17

         For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.

But it is not just Isaiah - but also a motif throughout the New Testament.   Revelation encourages us to behold the new...

         And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  (Rev 21:5)

The work of Jesus is at the very centre of this 'anew-ness'  The writer of Hebrews refers to a new covenant or new deal - a new way to live and exist in Hebrews 8:13

          When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:15    He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.

and writes again encouraging us to not only behold but to practice and partake -  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.  (Eph 4:24)

So this new thing is something that is the very work of Jesus - something we must behold and something we must put on....

This April, let us be reminded that we need to BEHOLD the NEW, that we need to PUT ON the NEW
- and that GOD is in the business of the NEW.....in order that we might continue in the good things he has planned for us long ago!

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