Putting Off the Old Self, Putting On the New

“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”Ephesians 4:20-32 We are new creations in Christ. Time to leave to “old you” behind, discard the old habits and move along in you relationship with Christ. It’s hard leaving the comfort of old habits. They can be many, smoking, lack of exercise, your drinking buddies and any of our other daily routines that we’ve held onto for year because they have been comfortable. But they are not what God wants you doing. He’s given you a new life and wants to show you all the grace he has in store for you. You just first have to be willing to trust in Him and take a step. Bad habits almost become involuntary, trust me, I know! And it’s easy to dismiss them by saying, “oh well” or “I don’t like it either but I can’t help it...”Yes, yes you can. The Bible identifies many things that lead us into unhelpful patterns, such as complaining, over-eating, drinking, poor spending, gossip, gambling, wasting money, criticizing others, over-work, self-gratification and laziness. How many bad habits can you spot in your life? I have some for sure! But in the scripture above, we are told basically that everything with our old self has to go. Get rid of it. Spring cleaning people!I recognize that this is going to be hard. We get attached to our habits, don’t we? But it is so worth letting the Holy Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes and allowing Him to help us, as we put on a new nature.Whatever your habits today and whatever you are struggling with, know that God understands and has given you all you need to find your freedom.Be nice. Grace wins.