"Look I am making everything new!"

What do you think when you hear the word new? Maybe a new car or the new iPhone, the truth is we all love new stuff! In Revelation 21:5 Jesus says, "Look I am making everything new!" hence forth where I got the name of tonight's post. For the past 6 days I was serving the people of Indianapolis on a mission trip and the theme verse for this week was Revelation 21:5. At the beginning of the week I really did not grasp the verse, my attitude and heart did not seem to be in the right place. It was much easier to see the negative things going on, rather than the work of God through all of our lives. I am so happy to say though I am finally able to embrace the fact that Jesus is making everything new in our lives. New relationships, new life, new
attitudes, new hearts, He can make anything and everything new and chooses to do so every day.

New Life:
Last week I got to be a part of something very special. I got to be present when one of the girls who came on the trip in our group got to except Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Before she had made her decision God was telling me to pray for this little girl, so before she went up to pray with Lindsey I talked with her about the cross and prayed that God make himself the center of her life one day. When I was told she wanted to accept Christ my first reaction were instant tears. As our youth group, Lindsey, Pastor Matt and Monica surrounded Hannah to pray there was nothing else to do but cry. Not tears of sorrow but tears of joy that this little girl was making the best decision of her life and I was there to witness it. Everyone around her cried and prayed for her, right before our eyes we witnessed Jesus making everything new. He gave Hannah new life that night, and we were all there to see her smiling face as she ran into His open arms and embraced her new 'daddy'.
New Relationships:
This has been the biggest area I have experienced Jesus making things new in the past two weeks. Reconnecting with an old camp counselor and being able to pick up as if 5 years didn't separate us at all. Being able to find someone who truly understands my story, being able see God working through her in big ways. In 4 short days we were able to pray together, catch each other up on our lives and worship. There were many moments that wouldn't have been possible without our amazing God.
Being able to mend a friendship that seemed would never mend. Looking under the stars and letting down every wall I had left and speaking my mind, being honest with her. Within an hour we were able to laugh and talk about life as if nothing had ever happened. He has made this friendship stronger than it was to begin with, with encouraging words and sarcastic jokes. Our stories are not the same in much respect but I am able to learn from her in all aspects. Not only as He made this friendship new but He has made our communication new. I used to not want to verbalize anything when we talked now I am able to verbalize virtually anything if I just let down my walls and remember that she's in my life for a reason and hasn't failed me yet.
Though things are moving slowly I  having been praying so much that Jesus make my relationship with my baby sister Mariah new. I just hope in the coming months that we are able to come closer to each other in a Christ centered relationship. 
New Heart:
Prayer is a powerful, powerful weapon in this world. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 it says that "though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, the have divine power to demolish strong holds." On this mission trip I got to witness and experience the power of prayer; praying for other and also being prayed for. Last week the one thing I asked God to make new was my heart, that it could start healing and be forgiving. Wednesday night I got to pray with someone one on one. I was already very emotional after Hannah accepted Christ, but by the end of the night I was so emotionally drained I had no tears left. While being prayed for I listened to every word and every word made me a bit more weepy. That was not the last time I was prayed for that night but that night my heart felt like was opened up to everything around me. I let everything out, and in places that I never thought I could find peace I was slowly able to. My heart was not worried about what the world around her thought, it wasn't worried about pain, it was filled with an overwhelming love from a father who calls me back when I wander.

Jesus is making everything new in your life right now as you read this. Something in your life is being made new. Find the newness in all that you do. Encourage a friend when times get hard, take time out of your day to remind someone how much you love them. You are made new by a cross, by a crown of thorns, by the lamb of God, by a man who died the death of a criminal out of love for you, and He is making all things new.