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
You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22–24
Think
It’s a new school year. As you move into the year, you take with you what you have learned—all the information, the best of your study skills, and what you know you need to do to learn. Hopefully, you drop the bad routines and study habits from last year and start anew, prepared to make this a good year.
It’s a new year. You know what you have been taught. Now it’s time to use what you have learned about following Christ. Leaving behind the things that separate you from Christ, bring with you the best practices that you know draw you to Christ. It is time for you to live out your new self, the one that shows that you truly are created according to the likeness of God. You are ready.
Ruth Perkins Lee
Pray
Dear God, I’m ready. I’m ready to put on my new self. Help me to remember all that I have learned. Help me to keep learning. 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!
