Back to School

Pause

Change is hard for everyone. Even when it’s obvious that doing something different is the better way to go, we always seem to encounter opposition. Sometimes that resistance comes from others, but often we find it welling up from deep inside ourselves.

God has something new in mind for us, but we have to decide that we are willing to go there. No kicking and screaming!

So get ready for something new. Hopefully, you will recognize its value and receive it—gladly!

Listen

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:7–8

Think

Our family recently moved. While we were excited about the newness of the change, we had to make some hard decisions along the way. We discovered that not all of our stuff would make the move with us. Some things simply would not fit. Some things would fit, but I was tired of keeping up with them. Other things that had once seemed so important just weren’t anymore.

Following Christ is a daily choice. When we make the choice to follow Christ every day, we discover a new way of life. Because we only have 24 hours in each day, we must make decisions in following Christ. We will find that what once seemed so important isn’t anymore. What fit before doesn’t fit now. As Paul said, in the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, we make space in our lives to grow and thrive in following Jesus.

Ruth Perkins Lee

Pray

Dear God, help me to prioritize. Help me to let go. Show me the newness of following Christ daily. Amen.

Go

Don’t be afraid.
The newness God is offering you is a
Very good thing!

Open your heart and mind to
The new beginnings God has in store.
Get ready for a change that lasts—forever!