The Old Has Truly Become New

Just waiting to be transformed.

📚 Devotional Credit:
From In Christ by E. Stanley Jones

📷 Photo Credit:
Image courtesy of Unsplash

Today’s reflection from E. Stanley Jones paints the stunning before-and-after of our spiritual rebirth. Before Christ, we were not just flawed—we were formless, void, and stumbling about in darkness. But the Holy Spirit did not leave us there. He hovered over the chaos of our lives and brought forth a miracle—order, purpose, light, and life. We didn’t just receive a moral touch-up or better habits. We became new. Entirely new.

Yet this newness doesn’t mean we lose our humanity. Our basic human faculties remain—our desires, our longings, our capacity to connect and create—but they are no longer hijacked by the false world of sin and self-exaltation. They are reoriented and reenergized by Christ’s indwelling life. Our self, once enslaved to selfishness, is now a servant to the Spirit. Our creativity, once driven by lust or fear of man, becomes a channel for birthing beauty, hope, and healing in the world around us.

This isn’t just psychological growth or moral improvement—it’s divine transformation. The new creation is not a metaphor; it’s a reality birthed by the miracle-working Spirit of God. The old dominion of sin is gone. The new has come. And this miracle can happen in anyone. No one is too far gone to be reshaped by the breath of God.

This is the wonder of the regenerated life—not just a cleaned-up version of the old self, but a redirected and re-purposed vessel of glory. The same drives that once pulled us toward darkness now propel us toward the light of the kingdom.

🖋️ Personalized Journal Entry — Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

I hovered over your emptiness and called forth light. I moved across the chaos of your soul—not to condemn you, but to create something entirely new. You were stumbling in darkness, but I have made you a child of light. What once enslaved you no longer defines you. What once motivated you now submits to Me.

You still carry the faculties I gave you from the beginning—desire, creativity, sexuality, longing for community—but now they are no longer twisted by sin’s false story. They are Mine again. I have reclaimed them and reshaped them. Where selfishness once ruled, now My love reigns. Where shame once silenced you, now My voice speaks through you. Where the world once lured you to conform, now you are conformed to My image.

This newness is not your doing—it is My miracle. You did not evolve into a better person. You were made alive, raised with Christ, seated with Him in heavenly places. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which I prepared beforehand.

You are not who you used to be. So walk forward not as one fixing the old but as one who is already new—trusting Me to express this new life through you.

📖 Scriptures: Genesis 1:2–3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4–11; Ephesians 2:1–10; Titus 3:4–7; Colossians 3:9–10; Romans 12:1–2; Philippians 2:13

🔍 Real-Life Analogy

Imagine a dusty, cluttered garage. For years, it’s been used as a dumping ground—filled with forgotten tools, broken furniture, and old boxes that no one wants to sort through. Then one day, someone opens the door, flips on the light, and begins the work. Things are hauled away. Surfaces are wiped clean. And slowly, that garage becomes a fully functional workshop—a place of creativity, order, and purpose. It’s the same space, but its function and focus have been completely transformed.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit didn’t discard who you are—He reclaimed and repurposed you. You can trust Him today in ordinary moments, like responding with gentleness when interrupted, or creating something beautiful instead of complaining. Yield to His life within you and say, "Lord, I trust You to live Your life through me in this moment—right here, even in the mess or interruption.” That’s what it means to walk in newness of life.

🙏 Prayer of Confidence

Father, I thank You that the old no longer defines me. You’ve made me new—not symbolically, but miraculously. My soul rejoices in Your re-creative power. Even my basic drives have been redeemed and redirected by Your Spirit. Today, I rest in the truth that I am no longer stumbling in darkness but walking in Your light. I embrace this new creation reality and yield every thought, motive, and action to Your purpose. Thank You for not discarding me, but transforming me from the inside out. In Christ, I live. In Christ, I move. In Christ, I have my being.