The Pursuit: Chasing After Your New Life in ChristSample

“New Life v. Old Life“ How are you doing on breaking your old habits? That old way of life may be catching up with you right now. That happens to all Christ-followers. Stop and think for a minute about how long you have been living life the old way. You have spent your entire life up to that point learning to get away with as much as you can. Now you understand the consequences of those actions and you have allowed Jesus to pay for your sin. But those old habits are still there and they die hard. You are not the only person to ever deal with this problem. Notice how Paul opens up these verses. Why do I do wrong things and not do right things? Have you been asking yourself that question? Truth is, we have two natures living in us. One nature wants to do things that please God and honor God. The other nature wants to do things that are wrong in God’s sight. In other words, you are a war zone. So, what can you do? First, take a few minutes to think about what drags you back to old habits. Is it a friendship? A relationship? Is it a song or movie? Do you have things at your house that you need to get rid of like a stash of porn, drugs, or alcohol? Second, you need to deal with whatever it is that tempts you. You may need to end a friendship or relationship or at least add some new friends that follow God. You may need to get rid of something that tempts you. Finally, you need to tell the person holding you accountable about your temptation. Remember, we talked last week about not going it alone. Take a few minutes to pray. Ask God to help you to deal with temptation. Thank Him for forgiving you when you fail. Maybe this week you would memorize another verse from the Bible, one that reminds us of who we are in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).