Remaining in Christ

 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.

Even if you don’t make New Year’s resolutions, a new start can be a welcome thing. 

 Anytime can be a chance to leave behind past mistakes and have a renewed purpose. We are already a few weeks into the new year. Are you already beating yourself up over some New Year’s resolution you’re having trouble keeping? 

I’ve found that if I give my best effort I can usually keep up with a goal for about 2 weeks. After that everything seems to fall apart. I’m learning that the key to new things is so simple. I need to remain in Christ, like it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is not about a list of dos and don’ts. It is a relationship that must be cultivated over time. A relationship takes intentional activity to make it more that it was at first. Your relationship with your best friend is different today than the first day you met. If you’re making a marriage work, then you are putting effort into it and it is not the same relationship as the day you said, “I do.”

But our relationship with Christ is also not about throwing out all rules and regulations and doing things our own way. The Bible is God’s word-  and in the Bible we have been told how to remain in Christ. We have to read the Word to know how to follow Christ better!

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In his presence, a book of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and loved to think about him. Malachi 3:16

If you are walking with Christ then you should be talking to others who are following Him. Thinking about Jesus more is easier when you have people around you who are talking about Him, people who love to think about Him. This verse in Malachi says that the Lord listens to that conversation among believers and writes it down. I want to be living the kind of life that the Lord wants to write down and remember what I say. That is an amazing thought!

Here’s another perspective on who we should be hanging out with:

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.

Proverbs 13:20

Have you been walking with wise people? Do the friends you are always around love to think and talk about the Lord?



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