Tucked in a remote passage of scripture are the words of the prophet
Isaiah; "Take note: The earlier predictions of judgment have been
fulfilled. I'm announcing a new salvation work. Before it bursts
on the scene, I'm telling you about it." (Isaiah 42:9 The Message
Remix) In effect God was saying through the lips of Isaiah that since
the "former things" or the "earlier predictions" that he had prophesied
had come to past, gave legitimacy to the "new things" or "new salvation
work" he was declaring for the future! The point is that throughout the
entire Biblical record, God is revealed as a God of "new things, new
covenants, new beginnings, new creations,
and always new
tomorrows.
It is a shame to
see folks get stuck in the past and begin to regress and lose the joy of
the ever evolving progression of God’s plan for their lives. The Bible
declares that we can become a new creation in Christ. It speaks
specifically of new songs, new mornings, new hearts, new garments, new
wine, new heavens, and a new earth. In fact, even in the closing words
of the Bible, God finalizes His eternal agenda by declaring, "Behold I
make all things new..." (Rev 21:5)
The newness that
I am speaking of is not the hyper liberalism in the culture today that
is peddled as "progressive" and ground breaking. In fact, New Age
philosophy is not new. It has been around since Nimrod. Paganism is
ancient. Immorality and lying is as old as Lucifer. Murder is as old as
Cain. Theories of evolution can be traced back to the culture of Moses.
God is way ahead of those that embrace ideas that may be politically
correct but are morally corrupt.
Newness can also
come from rediscovering that which may be old. Several years ago, I took
my motorcycle, nicknamed "Elijah the Honda," for the first time to the
north Georgia mountains. I am convinced that this little haven of beauty
is one of the best-kept secrets around. Even though I have a bigger bike
now, I still love riding down secluded roads, going to places that I’ve
never been before. Each turn of the road always seems to bring something
new.
For example,
just imagine a mild autumn afternoon with blue skies. As you leave the
hustle and bustle of the screaming metro traffic behind, the suburbs
begin to crack open a fresh and new view ahead. Then you begin to
notice that it is getting quieter as the cosmos opens up before you
revealing eclectic paintings of beauty and wonder. Finally after
exiting quiet and cozy small towns, suddenly the mountains beckon to you
from the horizon. Then suddenly all is quiet. Except for in my case,
the steady cadence of a throbbing VL-1500 motorcycle engine. Oh yeah,
it’s old but yet it’s new!
On one occasion,
I remember passing ghostly images of half-seen houses, barns and trees.
I drank in the pungent earthy autumn smells and was lost in the beauty
of God’s creation; in the wind, the motion, and the freedom. Frankly,
the experience was as delicious as your favorite homemade pie and
intoxicating as vintage wine without the side effects. I was struck with
the futility of trying to capture such beauty because I knew that no
camera could capture the total experience including the panoramic
display of the green grass, the falling red and brown leaves in front of
brilliant blue skies. I felt God finally say to me, don’t try to capture
the experience. Just capture the moment. Savor the beauty because I have
many other new splendors to share. Saint Paul had some of those new
paradise experiences also, one of which he could not put into words.
His conclusion
about the splendors of God was the same as mine on that fall day and
that being: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love
Him." (1 Cor. 2:9) Consider, if God can overwhelm me with new sights of
nature and new songs of choirs here on earth where our perceptions are
limited by disease, intellect, time, space, and gravity---imagine what
He has in store in the realm of the celestial where our bodies will be
changed from mortality to immorality. (1Cor. 15:51-57)
