“to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.” – Ephesians 4:22-24

Recently I installed disc brakes on the 1972 Ford F100 pickup I’m restoring. For those of you who don’t know, there are two kinds of brake systems on vehicles: the old drum brakes that came standard on cars from the early 1900’s until the mid 1970’s, and the modern disc brakes that are much safer. So, I found a company that makes a kit to modernize my old truck. I was so excited to put on all those shiny new parts. However, I underestimated the time it would take to remove all the old parts first…the parts that had been on there, rusted together, for the last 51 years. I spent several days pulling, hammering, spraying, soaking, scraping, and tearing things apart. None of it was fun. I made an absolute mess and tore my hands up just as much as the old parts. The funny thing is, once I got all that ugly work done, it only took a few hours to put the new parts on.

This is a great illustration of our Christian walk. When we first come to Christ, we are excited for all the “brand new” stuff we are adding to our lives. We can’t wait to buy a new Bible, go to church, pick out a devotional, or join a Bible study. The problem is, we forget all the ugly, dirty, difficult work that must be done to get rid of the old stuff. There is a whole life of rebelling against Christ that must be dealt with. And even when we do realize it, we don’t want to do it. This is so much the truth that many of us have walked with Christ for years, or maybe even decades, without getting rid of the ugly parts of who we used to be. The truth is, just about anyone can show up at church or buy a Bible, but it takes a true relationship with Christ and the powerful work of the Holy Spirit to address the ugliness of who you used to be.

Heavenly Father, we ask that, through the example of Jesus Christ, You show us the ugly, broken, dangerous parts of our life that need addressed. Then we ask that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, You would give us the will and the strength to remove that junk from our lives.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon