TODAY IS…

a fine day to get rid of the old you.

“…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.”  Ephesians 4:22 NLT

Harsh words, indeed, and there will be many who will insist, “I wasn’t that bad.”

Most of us, though, will acknowledge the truths contained in that little bit of scripture. Most of us know that we did have a sinful nature; that our lives were corrupted by lust and lies. When we lay it all out on the table and look at it one last time before we get rid of it, we can see our behavior for what it was.

Our sinful nature is hidden by darkness, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible…” (Ephesians 5:13a NIV).

Once we have decided to embark on the journey that will change our lives on earth and guarantee us a place in the Kingdom of God, we will begin to see tremendous changes in everything we think, see, hear, and do. While we will always be sinners (there is simply no escaping that), we can leave our sinful nature behind us if we reach out to Christ and ask Him to help us do so.

Accepting Christ as our savior and “getting rid of the old me” does not make us perfect, of course, but it does bring us closer to the perfection of the Lord, and by maintaining that closeness through prayer, meditation, fellowship, and worship, we can continuously reflect that light which we have allowed to shine in our lives.

Even if someone has lived a lifetime with no love for God and has only one day left in life, it is better to “get rid of the old you” and live that one day in the light of the Lord than to never have experienced His love at all.

In other words, no matter how long we have worn the cloak of sin, we can shrug it off and rejoice at how good we look and how good we feel wrapped up in our new cloak of light.

For some of us, taking that step is difficult. After all, that cloak is comfortable – well-worn and broken in. But that is the nature of sin. That is satan doing his job, packaging his product to make it appealing. But do not be fooled. It’s time to change your wardrobe and discover just how wonderful you look in a wardrobe of God’s love.

Get rid of the old you today, and discover the joy that awaits in the new you.

And for those who have already done so, today is a fine day to pray for those who haven’t and thank God for His love for us all.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson