Reading your Bible for Today December 31

December 31: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

KJV Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Devotion:
Yet another year comes screaming to an end – where do they all go? What has happened to each of those years? How much have we done? How much have we not done?

We can thank the Lord we have a Saviour who is just and faithful to forgive us of our sins. No matter what time of the year, day, night, whatever, He is willing and able to listen to us... But there is coming a time when there will be no more chances to get it right, there will be no more asking Him to forgive us. Just like this is the last day of the year and we cannot hope to get all the things we have not accomplished done in this last day, Christ will be returning on the appointed time. But unlike our calendar where we can see the end of the year approaching, we do not know when He will return!

When we accept Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we take on a new life; we are “born again” into a new life which is always with Him. A Life where He will never turn His back on us for all eternity! He gives us the ability to go out and show others who He is, what He means to us, and what a wonderful Saviour He is. All we need do is to grasp those gifts and use them for the purpose they have been given to us! How many have received gifts at Christmas and have yet to use their new gifts? Maybe you were saving it until the right time or too scared to open it in case you break it... An unopened gift is a useless gift!

Of course there are going to be some gifts which need to remain unopened until they are required, but we will have unwrapped them! But God's gift to us was His Son. A means by which our sins may be forgiven and by which we can have eternal life. That gift has to be opened and used immediately because we do not know when it is that it will be too late!

Points to Ponder:
Have you opened all your presents this year?

How much have you used God's new life that He gave you?