Making Anew

“With a new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” –Eleanor Roosevelt

Even after God renamed Jacob “Israel,” for years he still went by Jacob.  After his name change in Genesis 28—tragedy struck his daughter, his sons sinned, idolatry was rampant in his camp, and life wore him down—so he needed reminding.  God told Jacob to go back to Bethel (the land which God had already given him), dwell there, purify himself and build an alter (Gen. 35).  There, God reminded Jacob of who he was: Israel, a man whom a great nation would come from.  The lesson for Jacob is true for you and me, too: Whenever we forget who we are in Christ, we must go back to the places we first experienced Him.  Let's get our hearts right with God, put Him first, and He will make us anew.     

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Cor. 5:17, NLT)