Last weekend I spent time with a new friend and her son. And their crested Gecko, Tripod. Affectionately called for his three legged overcoming. My first impression? He was sick and pale looking, unlike other geckos or lizards I’d seen. Was he even alive?
As they picked him up they showed me he was shedding. Old skin came off, little by little. A new, vibrant green body lay underneath. The icky, dry, and dead skin layer uncomfortably wrapped around his body waited for complete removal.
Guess I’ve never seen a lizard shed the old and reveal the new.
Yet, the whole thing was natural. Just as God intended.
Layer by layer, the old Tripod self died. Some say human cells regenerate so much that in seven years there’s a completely new you. BTW – I looked this up and it’s not exactly true. However, it is interesting to think about.
Our cells do change from day to day though, with a limited life span. God created them to be used and replaced until the final day when our entire body expires. And the most fully new you will rejoice in Heaven, fully renewed forevermore. Or, sadly for those who don’t trust in Jesus during this life time, retire to Hell. Never to be renewed again.
Until then, for the old self be stripped off, we must choose to renew our minds. Capture our thoughts, deeds and motives and lay them before our Maker. The lover of our souls.
Those doubts which crept in the other day seem to keep coming. Especially in the tiring and tough seasons. Sometimes the old self is caught up in old lies.
None of us escape the tactics of the enemy. And the more we pursue the heart of Christ, and the more we stand for His truths, the more we might experience the play of the enemy on our minds. All the more, we must allow our skin to shed.
Believer – we must actively put on the new self every single day.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.~ Colossians 3:9-10
When life becomes blase’, and we stop noticing where our thoughts run, we risk missing out on the God’s best for us, because we’ve stopped looking.
When life is challenging and we give in to the lies, we miss out on the glory of knowing Him and the beautiful rest found in being known by Him.
When life is filled with empty happiness, we miss the fullness of joy and hope buried deep within, which carries us through every season.
But we can choose. And in this choosing we put on new life.
We choose to believe again. And again, and again, and again.
That He is good, no matter what. That the enemy seeks to devour. That we can fight the enemy & win victoriously because God is stronger and His ways are better.
That He knows our deepest desires and has not forgotten us. That His desire for us is to know we belong to Him. That He longs for us to know how much He loves us.
That He has the power to do what man & the enemy of our souls cannot. That He is greater and more holy than we could imagine. That in His light, no darkness can stand.
That He rose victorious from the grave and calls us to rise – with him. In new life.
Dear friend, no matter where life has you today, choose to put on your new self.
Choose to believe again.
Thank you for joining me in #31DaystoBelieve as we pursue what we believe and how it impacts our lives.
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May we learn to #livewell.
with love,
Jolene
Love the pic of the gecko. And so much THIS: “That He knows our deepest desires and has not forgotten us.”
Oh man, me too. And that gecko turned out to be a lot of fun to watch. He woke up after the shedding and we found him to be quite hungry.