“Replace The Old-Embrace The New” Philippians 3:13 Heb. 12:1

“Replace The Old-Embrace The New”

“…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 3:13b

We are now a week into the New Year, 2020 will represent a clean slate with no blemishes. Unless we bring old sinful behaviors and active sins into this new landscape, we can have a better year, with less regrets and more planting and harvesting of good seeds. We can “run the race” (cf. Heb. 12:1) with victory for the glory of the Lord. So, here’s what each of us must do. We must do a careful inventory of life and see where the “old man” attitudes need to be replaced with “new man” activities and actions. It will take the Lord’s help to see them and the Lord’s grace to confess and forsake them. Then, we need to replace them with the new ways of the Lord. It is His will we want in these areas.

It is understood that a strong spiritual desire is necessary to even want to make these changes. A Christian must seize the opportunity and the motivation that the New Year brings to them. The “same old—same old” is just wrong! It is time to replace the old with the new.

It needs to be understood that Christ stands ready to help us. The Father’s helping hand is ready also. All God needs is a • willing vessel. Let me give some examples of the old ways that blight your past and need to be replaced: laziness, temper, negativity, lustful thinking and a critical spirit. Living the new • life in Christ, versus the old life of the flesh should be everyone’s goal. That will make the days of 2020 far better and spiritually productive. — D.B.

Prepared by Roger Fulk, from the “Baptist Bread” January 8th, 2020 devotional by author DAVID BROWN, Pastor, Central Baptist Church, Decatur, IL . With permission from Tim Green, editor Baptist Bread.