Dress up in brand new festive clothes for 2015! - New Year's Eve

God paid the supreme, final price to bring us back to him. He gave his Son, to suffer the ultimate sacrifice of the cross, that we will be able to leave the foolish and destructive life within the kingdom of the world and start living in the Body of Christ – the Church and the Kingdom of God.  Jesus conquered the enemies who want to pull us back into darkness. The Lord wants to clothe us with festive Christ-like living that frees from the slavery of our weak human nature, our mistakes and our offences of the past.

This is Paul’s message in 2 Corinthians 5: 16 – 21:  "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Everything old has passed away. Everything has become new.”

It's never too late to make new beginnings. If anyone is in Christ, everything old has passed. Everything is new through the grace of God and by faith in Christ. The new beginning starts with believing that God has made us a new creation and it starts with the power of God through which we put into practice to be the new person that God calls us to be. It starts with a prayerful resolution to behave, to act, as God’s new creation.

Paul tells us about the new behaviours of anyone who is in Christ in Romans 13:13: "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Putting on our festive clothes means to put on the risen Christ and celebrate his fresh grace, mercy and holiness every day as we enter through the open doors the Lord gives us in 2015.   And the Bible says that this is the rule of thumb: “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime!”

We are called to trust God for new beginnings in 2015, based on his sacrifice, victory, faithfulness, holiness and his loving promises for our lives.

I wish you a prosperous new year in the Lord, celebrated in truly festive clothes that only can be the Lord Jesus Christ.