Make the Switch

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

—2 Corinthians 5:17

It was 1:35—for years. The hands of that old clock were stuck. It was time for a change. And Easter was the perfect season to make the switch.

I removed the clock from my living room wall and replaced it with a beautiful hand-crafted cross. I received the cross in exchange for a donation to Teen Challenge, a program which “provides successful recovery for women, children, young men and families with destructive, abusive and addictive lifestyles through mentoring, education, training and spiritual direction.”

The wood for these crosses is handpicked from old, discarded horse fencing from the Teen Challenge Northern Virginia farm. Cut and stained by the students, the crosses are a reflection of what happens in their lives. They come into the program broken, but as a result of Christ’s work in their lives, they become new.

Is it time for a change in your life? Have you found yourself in a cycle of destructive behavior? Have you been repeating the same mistakes, going ‘round and ‘round again like the hands of a clock?

Easter is the perfect season to make the switch, whether we answer yes to all of those questions or not, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). 

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10)—the oppressed, the beat-down, the broken. He came to give hope to the hopeless.

You are not stuck.

Pour out your heart to Him (Psalm 62:8).

“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.’

Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT).

Do not delay. Confess your sins to Jesus and commit to Him today.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Jesus paid the penalty for our sins by His work on the cross. He offers forgiveness and new life today if only we believe and accept this gift of grace.

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Your old life passes away and all things become new. You are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), an heir of God (Romans 8:17).

“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

There’s a saying that scrolls along the bottom of the wall paper beneath the cross in my living room. “There’s no place like home.”

This Easter make heaven your home—there’s no place like it. And it’s as easy as A-B-C. Please pray with me today.

Dear Jesus, I Admit that I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and Ask for Your forgiveness (Romans 10:13). I Believe in You as my hope of salvation (John 3:16, John 14:6). I have Become a child of God (John 1:12, Revelation 3:2). I Confess You as my Lord (Romans 10:9).Thank You for Your indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15)!