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Senior Living - January 18, 2017

 

What Baggage Are You Carrying?

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11

Many Christians today treat their spiritual life like motor homes. You see, the motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of our normal life on wheels. A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now he can park a fully equipped home in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line, and electricity.

Many people buy motor homes with the hope of seeing new places and getting out into the world. Yet when they deck it out with the same furnishings as their living room and never set foot outside of it, nothing really changes. They drive to new places, set themselves in new surroundings, but they’ve only carried along their old baggage!

Real life in Christ begins when we let go of the comfortable patterns of our old life and embrace a newness of life that, while it may be different, is so much better.

Maybe today you’d have to admit that you’ve carried your familiar old habits with you into your relationship with Christ. You’re hanging onto those old habits because they’re just comfortable. Don’t treat your spiritual life like a motor home. Instead, make it an adventure, living each day fully dependent on God to meet your needs!

Prayer Challenge

Pray that God would help you break free from old patterns of negative behavior and live a new life in Christ.

Questions for Thought

What are some old patterns of behavior you’ve carried with you into your Christian life?

What would it look like for you to let go of those old behaviors and live fully dependent on God for fulfillment?

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