Renewal
Posted by: forthright <forthright@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Going straight to the Cross
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Investor seeks tired, worn-out souls for quick
turn-around.
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COLUMN: Field Notes
Renewal
by Michael E. Brooks
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be
weary; and they shall walk, and not faint"
(Isaiah 40:31).
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though
our outward man is perishing, yet the inward
man is being renewed day by day"
(2 Corinthians 4:16).
Earlier this year I spent a few days in one of the
tea growing areas of northeastern India. As we
traveled through the tea gardens I noticed many
barren fields, and dead tea shrubs. The local
people told me that this portion of India is
losing many tea estates and the once huge export
business is decreasing. It seems that the industry
was begun by the British during the colonial
period and the tea plants are now more than 100
years old. Production has fallen off, some plants
are dying, and the industry is failing. Why not
replant? Some are doing so, but most cannot. They
lack the financial resources for such an
investment.
Does that not remind you of life? We begin with
great energy and enthusiasm, full of innocence,
and abounding with resources. But life's
experience soon begins to age us, sin corrupts us,
and we find ourselves aging, less productive, and
dying.
Cant we just start over? Change bad habits, make
new relationships, gain skills and attitudes that
will revitalize us? Some do, at least partially,
through job changes, education, and other self-
help measures. But ultimately we all fail, because
we simply lack the resources. We need help, an
"investor," to give us the necessary ingredients
to make the changes that are essential to
profitable lives.
Enter the Good News of God's intervention through
Jesus. Renewal is His gift to us. What we cannot
do for ourselves, what we cannot earn or pay for,
He does by grace.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved us, through
the washing of regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
Forgiveness from sin, freedom from guilt, new
purpose and worth - all these are Christs gifts
to us, available through simple obedient faith. He
constantly renews us, equipping us for
productivity and eternal joy. If we will "wait
upon the Lord," He will give us strength.
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