Renewed Each Day

2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV  

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 

Each year we have to renew things. I just renewed my driver's license and my vehicle registration. I renew the auto insurance, homeowners, and flood insurance as well. Then there are the magazine subscriptions and my Web site domain names. And the list goes on and on.

We renew them so they do not expire and we can keep receiving the benefits or not get any penalties. 

We do things for our bodies to attempt to renew them or at least keep them going according the the latest ideas from the medical profession. We go to the gym and take vitamins to supplement what we may not be receiving in the food we eat. 

No matter how much we try, our bodies are perishing. The only finish line for these mortal vessel is death. As believers, we are promised that we will not see death. But this is not speaking to the mortal body. It speaks to the spiritual body that will live for eternity with Christ.

As that mortal body deteriorates daily, our spiritual man is renewed day by day as it continues to grow as we become more and more Christ like in our thoughts and actions. His mercies are new each morning.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT) 

The Called

Luke 5:32 NLT 
I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.

I heard a pastor say recently that unless you know you are a sinner there is no way you will know that you need to be saved. And how true that is.

We can talk to someone until we are blue in the face and never get them to want to know Jesus; to want even to come to church with us. If they believe their life to be perfect, why would they want to change it?

It is easy for us who believe to expect others to want the same. Fact is to them we are the strange one. Our definition of fun differs from theirs. It is not about our taking time to go to church on Sundays. It is about our not wanting to do all they do on the other six days of the week anymore.

Until they hear that still small voice calling, they will not be convinced of any need to know Him. That convincing does not come from the words we speak. It comes from who we are and the Love of Jesus we project as we live our lives.

Are our lives producing fruit evident to others?

When They Ask

1 Peter 3:15 NLT 
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

Most would have a lot to say if they were asked about their football, baseball, or hockey team. And all they do is watch the games on television. Rarely do they have the opportunity to actually see a game live.

We can even spend long periods of time telling all about the jobs we have had and perhaps the one we have right now. We can go on and on sometimes from a positive aspect and for some the reverse.

As believers we are in the marketplace and the workplace daily. As we allow the light of Jesus shine through us, they will ask us. Are we ready to explain who Jesus is to us as quickly as we are the statistics for our favorite team or the latest gossip about work?

Rules

Colossians 2:23 NLT  
These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person's evil desires.  

We live with rules everywhere we go. How many have said to their children something like "When you live in my house you live by my rules!"?

There are rules in church and rules in school and rules everywhere we turn. They make clear what we can and cannot do according to those who made up the rules.

And the rules are always in a state of flux; always changing or being added to. Seldom are any removed from the list and the list gets bigger and bigger.

I have often said "You cannot legislate morality." No matter how many new laws or rules the governing bodies pass and impose on us they never change the populations evil desires. Who we are deep inside does not change just because we are told to change. Not even when there are penalties if we don't.

After a while we accept the new rules and even forget when they were enacted. We go with the flow being like everyone else. But who we are does not change no matter how strongly we believe in the rules.

The guiding force in our lives is either evil or good. Only God can change us so that under pressure we follow Him. Satan and his evil ways were defeated at the Cross. He can no longer control us or our actions, unless we decide to bend to him under pressure.

"Father, God thank you for sending Jesus to save me and be Lord of my life. Thank you for the encouragement and guidance of Holy Spirit each day of my life. Thank you for making me more Christ like each day so I follow Your ways and live up to your standards. In Jesus name I pray."