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!!

Day 15

Need a Do-over?

So you are exactly half-way through your media fast. Thinking back on the last 2 weeks, if you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently? Would you have asked your family to turn off the TV? Would you have asked your friends to change the radio station? Would you have spent your time differently at any point? I know I would. So let’s say you’re at the end of your fast and you could wave a special wand that would let you do it all over again, what would you do differently?...really, stop and think for a second or write down a few things you would do different…now, here’s your chance. You can do the last 2 weeks exactly the way you wanted to do the first 2, the first time. It is possible, and if you don’t believe me, believe God (see Matt. 19:26 and Phil. 4:13).

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my walk with God is that he does not expect us to be perfect, but he does require it (1 Peter 1:16). Not fair? If it were any other way, a relationship with God would not be possible. But the amazing news is God made a way, through Jesus. When God looks at you, he sees his perfect, spotless, sinless Son, who took your place on a splintery cross and he does not see every time you ever have or ever will mess up. Through Jesus, we have the biggest do-over in history.

God isn’t concerned about your past (Psalm 103:2) and he’s got your future under control (Jeremiah 29:11 and Matthew 6:34) so he wants you to let go and give him control. He wants you to live now. Jesus said “I have come that they have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Living is all about the present. You can’t live in the past or future. God in his amazing grace and desire to have a real relationship with you has given you the power to decide whether you will accept his offer. Do you accept? How will you live life to the full with God for the next 15 days?

-Jessalynn Greenblatt