“…put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24

It started when Katie took down the Christmas Tree. It seemed just yesterday we put the Christmas decorations UP! Too much, too fast, with not enough time to enjoy seems to be the theme of Christmas. We have a deal with the decorations. She does the inside, I do the outside. Pondering on what to do yesterday, the thought, ‘take down the Christmas Lights,’ hit me. Several times! UGH!!!

Putting the Christmas lights UP are WAY more time consuming than taking them down. Having done it for years, I have a system that works well and fast. But for some reason, I couldn’t get the engine of that job to start. The nudge ‘JUST DO IT’ succumbed far too easily to the, “Eh… maybe later,” idea. ‘Later’ fished around for some good reasons for support, but failed to pull any weight. Sooo!

As I expected, the job didn’t take long at all. Within half an hour, I was done. And I actually felt a sense of accomplishment and relief that I wasn’t being bugged about it anymore. That is until the NEXT thing hit my head! And the ridiculous fishing for excuses started all over again! It seemed that I hadn’t learned a thing! Maybe what I needed was a better, fancier version of ‘a round TUIT!’

When Jesus knocked on my old fleshy heart and wanted to take possession of it, I opened the door and welcomed Him in. It is a decision I have never regretted. I just didn’t realize the extent of what His ‘take over’ meant! Over the years, we’ve had numerous, and sometimes ugly discussions. In the end, He usually wins. But there is ALWAYS a NEXT TIME! Putting off and putting on is difficult!

I know we ALL have the same problem. But that doesn’t really help much. In the end, a crashing plane full of people will NEVER find a way to turn that experience into a party! With the Holy Spirit, my old self ALWAYS faces a ‘one on one’ experience. Until ‘He’ has Won! When He does, I always have the same feeling of accomplishment and relief. Put off… Put on! It’s a job that never ends!

How are YOU doing with that command? What are YOU needing to get ‘a round tuit?’ Cuz He’s waiting!