Morning

December 19

Jeremiah 31:31-33 ³¹"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. ³³"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

"This is the new covenant in my blood," Jesus said. (1Corinthians 11:25) He has made the new covenant. It is not based on the blood of animals but on the blood of the sinless Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The first covenant is the one made on Mount Sinai. It depended on the obedience to the laws and rules of God. There was no way the people could keep it. God had to become a man and keep it for us. Jesus is the only one to keep the conditions of the old covenant.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature." 2 Corinthians 5:17a(KJV) When we are in Him, the law is in our minds and on our hearts, not the letter that kills, but the Spirit that gives life. We sometimes think of the new covenant as a ticket to heaven, but God looks at it as the transformation of our thoughts and desires. Taking on the mind of Christ and sharing in His obedient heart is salvation. It is salvation from sin in this life every moment we live in the Spirit, and it is salvation through eternity to come. As children of God, we begin to resemble our Father. He is indeed our God, the LORD of our lives. We are indeed His people, the sheep of His pasture. The husband relationship is restored, because we are the bride of Christ. We need never fear divorce, for the LORD is our Righteousness. I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine.

Consider: Are you living in the New Covenant with a new heart and mind?