THE “RESTART” BUTTON

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      Two of my favorite times of the year are New Year’s Day and my birthday, for both seem to shout out, “Restart!”  Time to leave behind old attitudes, habits, and perspectives that grieve my Lord and Savior.  It’s no easy thing to do—transformation.  It requires (1) deep, deep dissatisfaction with all the manifestations of the old you—eg., those occasional outbursts of anger, hypersensitivity, bouts of critical spirit, and on and on.  (Let’s go “Old King James” here)—We “must needs” become seriously intentional about personal spiritual growth and (2) press on towards greater prayerfulness and a willingness to submit to the Spirit’s ownership!  “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  (Jn. 3:30)
      The urgency of submitting to our Lord’s tailor-made “school of transformation” is suggested by a comment I heard several years ago:  that if you are but 36 years old and (unbeknownst to you), your “life expiration date” is 37, then you, my friend, are from a practical standpoint VERY OLD! (or older than you realize).  Put any two ages in there; you get the point!
      Let’s face it, saints, it’s one thing to pacify our spiritual failings over time with declarations of “I’m just a work in progress!”  We say this while forgetting that “..every man is vapor.” Psalm 39:11(b). That said, we do wisely to have a made-up mind each day that we will not harbor a laid-back mentality toward our besetting sins, allowing them to become like “spiritual wallpaper” in these fleeting lives of ours!  Most of us love verses such as 1 John 1:9, and a growing Christian realizes their daily need of it; yet it presupposes another truth: “You cannot confess to God what you will not admit to yourself.” (Adrian Rogers)
So—are we all ready to admit that we’re all running out of time?!  Let’s daily hit that RESTART button!!
   
PRAYER:  Dear Father, help us to remember that each day we awaken offers a fresh opportunity to demonstrate that we belong to You.  Thank You, in Jesus’ name; amen!
By Denise Diggs