{Day 1} From Old to New

Today is day one of taking off the labels you, me and others put on ourselves and replacing them with who God says we are and who he created us to be. I hope this journey will connect with and challenge us to become deeper, more mature followers of Christ.

The transformation from our old being to our new being rarely happens over night. I feel that many times, this concept becomes nothing more than a cliche, or something we use to make ourselves feel good about what becoming a follower of His is supposed to do to us. Then we often find ourselves getting discouraged when the change doesn't happen right away. Let me ask you this: how often does the best work happen overnight?

Back in August, I joined the Hello Mornings Challenge. I was so looking forward to kicking the old habits (or lack there of) when it came to my bible study habits. Replacing them with new, daily, exciting studies. Unfortunately, that change hasn't quite happened. I am now a week behind. There's many factors that play into this, but when I opened up the study this morning, I couldn't help but laugh when I read a quote from today's devotional.

...being a new creation doesn't mean we won't war against our flesh.

That struck a cord with me. That's when it donned on me that it's okay if I don't always feel as though I am new, even if in my head I know it's true. All that matters is that I am continually taking steps away from my old self and putting on my new self with each step away. It is a life-long process.

So often I think we fall into this trap of thinking that if it doesn't happen in the exact moment we think it should that we have somehow failed. I know I tend to read in 2 Cor 5:17: "therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" thinking that it supposed to happen in the exact moment I accepted Him into my life, gave Him ultimate control.

So friends, I think it's time for these labels to be given a different perspective. Instead of focusing on the need to feel new right away, maybe we can look at the little things we can do that will help make us new each day. Maybe it's trying to see things from a better perspective. Taking our thought life under control. Quit buying into the lies that Satan feeds us and start looking into His truths to shape us into the new creation He wants us to be.

How about you? In what ways have you began to embrace your being a new creation in Christ?