Walk of Life – Day 1 – January 2021 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs

NEW BEGINNINGS – A NEW SPIRIT

Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Proverbs 1:23

Good bye 2020…not a very pleasant year for most of us. Many of us went through difficult times, lost jobs, lost loved ones, felt lonely, depressed, dejected, disappointed, frustrated, and so much more. It was the year of a pandemic that literally turned our lives upside down. Yet, in the Lord Jesus, every cloud has a silver lining, after night there is always day, and for every stormy and rainy day, there is always a bright, colorful, beautiful rainbow. Never lose heart my friend, the Lord promises newness of life. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new (II Corinthians 5:17).

Ezekiel 36:25-27: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”

All of us have this habit of getting new clothes for the watchnight service, for us and for our families. We gift close friends and family and also all those who help us in different ways. As we enter into another year, it is important to put behind us the past and look forward to something new. New year resolutions last maximum for the month of January and then slowly wane away. The newness should be not in our outward appearance but in our heart and our spirit. When we are renewed in our spirit, we will be able to face the new challenges in a much better way. To receive this new heart and new spirit, the principles are laid down in the above passage:

The Lord must restore us: “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24 NKJV)

The Lord lays this against the Ephesian church ” You have lost your first love.” Just think of the day you accepted the Lord Jesus and how zealous you were for His Word, His house, and His commandments. The relationship you had with Christ then and now, has it improved or has it deteriorated. If it has deteriorated, the Lord is in the restoration business. Come to Him, he will restore you.

The Lord must cleanse us: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” (Ezekiel 36:25 NKJV)

I love this illustration by Watchman Nee. He says, someone told him that they read their Bible daily but forgot everything. So what is the use of reading? Watchman Nee asked him ” If you kept pouring water in a bucket of holes, what would happen? He said, it would be clean.” The illustration is quite clear, if you read the Word of God daily and confess your sins whenever you are convicted, you can ensure that the vessel is always clean.

“Having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

This is a beautiful picture of what the Lord has done for us. He calls us, cleanses us, and puts within us the Holy Spirit so that we can obey His commands and be productive for the kingdom of God.

So why are we not experiencing the fullness of God in our lives and in the church? I believe the reason is because we’ve allowed our hearts and spirits to grow cold.

First, the Lord is promising a spiritual heart transplant. The spiritual heart that will beat inside of you will long for spiritual things, not the things of this world. This heart will be filled with the Lord’s love and compassion. This heart will speak about the things of the Lord and will be totally focused on the Lord Jesus.

Second, the Lord promises us the constant fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We need to be careful to not grieve or quench His spirit. The Lord gives us the Holy Spirit, a new breath of life to assist us in our time of need. Literally, God is giving us breathing assistance and keeping us spiritually alive through the Holy Spirit, and keep us going through those critical times until our transformation is complete.

And so as we look to start this New Year, let’s do so by asking God to give to us a new heart, a cleansed heart, and a renewed spirit through a genuine Holy Spirit revival in our lives and in the life of the church.

New Year Resolution: Lord, let me be renewed in my spirit and walk in newness of life, putting away the faults and failures of 2020 and looking forward to a Christ-centered 2021 lived only in the will of God.