Devotions: New or Old?

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

Ephesians 4:22-23 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

We have two options, two lifestyles, two places to reside: the old or the new. Before we met Christ, we were in the old life, the old man, the flesh. We lived according to what our flesh wanted, and while we may have been “good” we could not become better. We were stuck, bound to sin and death. But then Christ came. He freed us from that bondage and gave us new life. He revived our spirits so that we could live life and choose obedience to Him rather than being forced to follow sin. He gave us a new life, a new heart, a Spirit. Unfortunately, when we give our lives to Jesus and believe in Him, the old does not go away permanently. It is subdued but not gone. We have to choose to live in the new life by the Spirit. We have to choose to put off, to lay aside, the flesh which is corruption. How are we to be renewed? Through the Spirit’s renewal of our minds. We must seek the Truth in God’s word, believe it, and apply/obey it. This process will renew our minds, the way we think, what we believe, and gradually how we act. But we must seek it, choosing the new over the old. We will daily be bombarded with the temptation to give in to the old life, the old way of doing and thinking. We must reject it and choose to follow Christ in the new life He has given us. Which side are you on? Are you walking in newness of life and Spirit, or the old way of sin and death? Do you daily choose to follow the flesh or Christ?

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