Things to do and places to go!

Romans 8:12-14 says exactly what is on my heart for 8/13 and 8/14. Take a look at the Message version:
"So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go." MSG

I give that passage a resounding "Amen!" This is my soapbox, if you will, and I think understanding and living out this truth is key to living a surrendered life in our Lord. When He comes into the equation of our life, his Holy Spirit trumps anything we used to believe about ourselves and who we used to be. If we are to believe God's word - and I do - we know that He calls us someone new. We are not the old person. In Christ, we are someone new; a new creature, with new and right desires.

While we may be someone new, we have to believe it and learn to walk in that new identity. Without that adjustment in our thought and actions, we will continue to believe the lies Satan has told us for so long. Renewing our minds through spending time with God, reading and studying His Word, praying and asking God to change us, helps us live as God intends us to. We don't have to live like we used to. Jesus died so we wouldn't have to!

So why do we hang on to old hurts , habits and hang-ups? God's Spirit shows us a better way. It's time to leave the old self behind, where it belongs, and believe we are who God says we are. As new creations, we've got things to do and places to go.