Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, the new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:16-19.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 128: The corn of wheat to fall into the Ground. Psalm 72:16: May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains; its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon; and may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth. And, John 12:24-25: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.

I love these excerpts from my devotionals today. From Hearing God by Dallas Willard: “Redemption – which is not only receiving the forgiveness of sins but also the reordering of one’s whole self and life – is an aspect of God’s creation. In fact, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). As the word of God in creation brought forth light and life and matter, so the gospel of Christ comes to us and creates in us new life.” And from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers: “It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that our LORD gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God – something of great value to His Father. Jesus is “bringing many sons to glory” (Hebrews 2:10).”

Sometimes I feel so helpless and overwhelmed with a lifetime of living that has heard the lies Satan would have me believe. He mixes in lies and doubts into the wonderful good that Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, has created all around us, including lies and doubts about one another. And today those lies have never been more evident as we see so much we cannot understand in the violence and hate and greed permeating our world. Life cannot flourish in darkness which is what the Scripture verse says about hating our life in this world, the ground of which is heavy-laden with the lies of the deceiver. Satan would have us languish in his prison of darkness but his dark prison cannot hold us in the light of God’s love and truth and as we turn to Him, the light of His love reaches deep and nourishes us and we begin to grow. The first Scripture verse above resonated so deeply with me today. Long ago at the very beginning of all of us Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say…?” Yes, God really speaks truth! And as we read His word written for us we come to understand just how awful our sins are that Satan would have us bound in forever. As we spend time with God in prayer throughout the day we come to share our own hearts and thoughts and in that sharing have room for His thoughts to speak to us. His thoughts to me this morning? Let My love in you counsel and lead you. Let My Spirit guide and teach you. Let My truth open life with Me in you. And in Me know peace and rest and hope.

***CLEANSING – Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid, cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Thy Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily magnify Thy Holy Name. Through Christ our LORD. Amen. Book of Common Prayer (1552).***