Do you have any bad habits? Something you like to do but in the back of your mind you know you probably shouldn’t be doing? Maybe it is something you do quite regularly (except when your wife is watching!). I have a few of my own which I am not going to mention here (I’m not crazy). Have you ever driven faster than the speed limit? Or have you “forgotten” to completely stop at stop signs, especially when no one is looking? Have you snuck into work late, careful that no one notices? Little things; inconsequential. Right? How does this fit in with being a “new creature”?
NEW CREATURES LIVE NEW LIVES
Are your bad habits affecting your relationship with Jesus? How about your relationship with fellow believers or even your own family? Change is tough; that is why we need HELP. Martin Luther King used to close his talks with the old slave’s prayer: “O God, I ain’t what I ought to be and I ain’t what I’m going be, but thanks be to you, I ain’t what I used to be.” New creatures live new lives.
NOT WHAT WE USED TO BE
If we are in Christ, then we are not what we used to be. Paul says in Colossians 1:21-22, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death, to present you holy in His sight without blemish and free from accusation.” Yes, halleluiah! We are new creatures in Christ, and we stand before God as His holy children.
TRANSFORMATION
But that doesn’t change the fact that we still live in these old bodies, and we are still able to commit any sin which existed before our day of salvation. The difference now is, WE HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT! We can choose not to sin by relying on His power through trusting in His strength! It’s a whole new world of hope and redemption. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 4:22-24: “You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” That is what it is all about, putting off and putting on. This is a spiritual wardrobe change. We put off the old self that kept us from being faithful to God and put on the new self that brings us closer to God. That’s called TRANSFORMATION!
WAYS TO BREAK THE OLD
Now, I can’t begin to tell you what you need to do to bring about change in your life in a one-page devotional. But let me say this: the best way to break an old habit is to start a new habit! For example, why not consider attending the Discipleship Training Workshop on Wednesday, September 9 to learn how Jesus taught His disciples. That would be one way to “put on the new self”.
How about spending more time studying the Word of God, as a group or in your own private study time? What about focusing on personal time of meditation and prayer? By making a habit of studying the Word of God, you will focus less on the distractions of this world. You might continue to “slide” through stop signs, but I guarantee your spiritual life will flourish! As a new creature in Christ, you will grow!