Day 24

HOOK: Isn’t it great when you get new clothes? You feel cleaner, newer…perhaps more stylish, and it’s nice! Suddenly wearing the same clothes you’ve been wearing for a long time doesn’t feel the same anymore and you prefer your new ones.

BOOK: Today I want you to read some powerful scriptures God inspired Paul to write about putting off the old, and putting on the new. First read Ephesians 17-32 then Romans 13:8-14.

See if you can fill in these blanks:

In Epheseians it says You were taught…to put off your _____ self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made ______  in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the ______ self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

In Romans Paul talks about putting off the deeds of __________ and putting on the armor of __________.

Paul says “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

TOOK: Sometimes we can fall into the trap of believing that the Bible is full of a bunch of rules we must follow OR ELSE…if we think we can do any of this on our own we will do nothing more than be obsessed with rules and never get anywhere God wants us….the truth is, while God’s standards haven’t changed and we are to strive to be like him, we have this amazing gift called Grace because of Jesus that allows us to put on love and this fulfills all the requirements of God’s law. We put on love by clothing ourselves with Jesus Christ himself…nothing else comes close and nothing else will help you overcome your sinful nature.

Think about how you’re doing with the media fast so far. Are you simply “putting off” secular media and all the while thinking about how badly you wish you could gratify your desires to watch your favorite show or listen to your favorite music? Or are you also “putting on” Christ? It’s not enough to just remove the old clothes, we need to replace them with the new…and that’s Jesus himself. If you don’t put on the new you’ll inevitably dress yourself in the old stinky ones again. How can you clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus today?

Don’t be satisfied with just putting off the old, put on the new--that’s Jesus. Talk to God, read his Word and listen, sing to him, play for him, and be honest with him about how you’re doing and your desires. Ask him to replace your desires with his. Thank Him for who he is and ask him to love the world through you. Go ahead… your new wardrobe is waiting!!