New Habits
Read 2 Peter 1:3-11
View the Sept-Oct, 2012 Issue
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.
- Ephesians 6:15 (NRSV)
I purchased new shoes recently. From experience, I know that wearing new shoes the first few times can be painful. They may be tight or pinch a little, giving me sore toes or even a blister. But this time, as usual, I endured the pain because my old shoes were torn and unusable. I expected that eventually the new shoes would become as comfortable as the old ones had been. This experience reminds me of how I feel in following Christ. My attitudes or behaviors sometimes need to change. But like what happens when I lay aside old shoes for new ones, the process of changing to reflect Christ’s attitudes and behavior is not always easy — or comfortable. Yet I choose to press on until the new habits God desires to instill in me are a comfortable and ongoing part of my life.
The Author: Julie White (Oregon, USA)
Thought for the Day: As I walk with Christ every day, my new life will fit better and better.
Prayer: Dear God help us to be open to change as you create new life in us. We pray as Jesus taught us, saying, “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”* Amen. *Luke 11:2-4 (KJV).