New heart, new desires, new life! You have a new life in Christ. So it makes sense to not dwell on your past, right? Instead, embrace your true identity in Christ.
This article by guest writer Deborah Smith, which appeared first here on Reviving Your Heart, tells a story of we all need to hear. Her story is used with permission. Part 3 in a 3-part series. Here’s part 1 and part 2.
Consider these three beautiful truths:
- Christians have new hearts.
- Christians have new desires.
- And Christians have new life!
So fear, we’ve heard Deborah’s story of overcoming addiction. Plus she shared how God developed new desires in her heart. Now let’s look at her new life in Christ.
There’s No Sense Dwelling on Your Sinful Past
We are not supposed to dwell on or glorify our sinful past. So I believe that God highlights those sins and reminds us that we were once slaves to those things for a reason. But thanks be to God that He came on a rescue mission. And we are now called “the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Listen, our lives are not to be characterized by sin. Indeed, We have new hearts and new desires and new life in Christ. Click & Tweet!
“The old has passed away, BEHOLD, all things have become new!”
John MacArthur says that “maturing means we will sin less but we will feel worse.” What he means is that we won’t be sinless (not this side of glory), but walking with the Lord creates intimacy and closeness.
Therefore, the light of Christ shines brighter and hits all the cracks and crevices in our lives. We have been given new hearts that have become intolerant to sin. More and more, we lose the ability to be okay with even the slightest sin.
So a harsh word becomes a big deal. And a good deed left undone becomes something that bothers us. No more “big sin and little sin.” God hates it all, and so do we!
Delighting in Your New Life
My friends, my desire is that if you are a woman who came to the Lord having had a very sinful and sorted past, that you would know that you are no less pure than the little six-year-old girl who came to know the Lord at VBS.
If you are the six-year old who came to the Lord in VBS, I want you to recognize that you needed to be saved and redeemed as much as the sixty-year-old ex-prostitute. And you should give God praise for that.
If you are a sister who did not come to the Lord as a virgin, you are still marriage material. Click & Tweet! And if you are a sister who has kept yourself pure and deeply desires a husband, know that you are fully new and complete in Christ alone.
If you are the one who had a child out of wedlock but are now part of the Bride of Christ, you are not disqualified. And if you got married at eighteen, have four beautiful children, and are still married to the same man, Christ must still have first place in your heart.
The truth is, Christian sister, we all have been washed in the blood of Jesus. And He says we are clean and that He is now our treasure. So go forth as a redeemed daughter of the King—glorifying Him with your new life!
Counseling Hearts to Hope,
