In Christ, a New Creation
A new day dawns over forgotten borders—just as in Christ, the old boundaries fall away and a new creation begins.
In today’s reading, Bob Hoekstra draws our eyes toward the radical transformation that happens when we are brought into union with Christ. The old distinctions—heritage, upbringing, religious background—are rendered meaningless in the eyes of God when compared to what He has done in us through the new birth. In Adam, we were defined by human traits and categories. But in Christ, we are no longer defined by what we once were. We are made entirely new—born again into a spiritual family where Christ is all and in all.
The emphasis of the devotional is that being in Christ is not just a change in status or affiliation—it is the creation of an entirely new being. Old labels no longer define us. Christ Himself is now our identity, and His life flows in us and through us. Human differences do not matter anymore in the new covenant; what matters is that we are part of a new creation, shaped by grace, joined together by the Spirit, and indwelt by the very life of Christ. This is the richness of the Christian life: not a better version of the old, but something brand new altogether.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Holy Spirit’s Voice Through Scripture
I have made you new. Not patched, not improved—new. You once bore the image of the man of dust, but now you bear the image of the Man from heaven. The old things passed away, and behold, all things became new. I did not merely forgive your sin; I recreated your spirit and sealed you with My own presence.
You were once dead in trespasses and sins, walking according to the course of this world, but I made you alive together with Christ. I raised you up and seated you with Him in heavenly places. You no longer live under the shadow of who you were in Adam; you live in union with Me, rooted and built up in Christ.
The world still sees differences—circumcision or uncircumcision, Jew or Greek, slave or free—but I see My Son in you. He is your life. He is your peace. He is your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I do not count you according to the flesh. You are of My Spirit, born from above, joined to My Son by faith, and I have poured My love into your heart through the Holy Spirit who dwells in you.
Drink deeply of Me. Draw from My life within you. Let the former categories fade away, for I have written a new name upon you, and that name is Mine.
Scriptures woven in: 1 Corinthians 15:49, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:1–6, Colossians 2:6–7, Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:4, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 2 Corinthians 5:16, Romans 5:5
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for placing me in Christ and making me altogether new. I refuse to view myself—or others—through the lens of old identities. You have defined me by Your Son, and that is more than enough. I rest in the truth that I am not merely improved or fixed—I am born of Your Spirit, and Your life now flows through me. As I walk through this day, I celebrate that my worth is not measured by background or performance but by Christ in me, the hope of glory. I trust You to express His life in me as only You can.
Devotional Credit
Devotional insight adapted from Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra.
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