"The OLD Me is Ready for NEW!"

 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creature; OLD things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

Far too many of us, are stuck in the same old routines, forgetting that Isaiah said, “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a NEW thing…” Then Paul takes us into the New Testament with this statement, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become NEW.” And nothing is clearer then Romans 6:4, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in NEWNESS of life.” Did you catch that last part? “Walk In NEWNESS…“! Walk implies ACTIVITY. Notice also that “Walk” is PRESENT TENSE, not walked, like an old activity, but “Walk”, as in TODAY, RIGHT NOW, CURRENTLY, NEW!  

AS OVERCOMERS, YOU ARE TO WALK IN NEW VICTORIES EVERYDAY! DAILY WAVING A FLAG OF VICTORY IN THE DEVIL’S FACE! With that said you have to ask, if “NEWNESS” is supposed to be so EVIDENT in the life of a believer, WHY ARE WE SO CRAZY-GLUED TO THE “OLD?”  

                

Listen to what Tony Evans writes: “Every day you get out of the same OLD bed and go to the same OLD bathroom to look at the same OLD face in the same OLD mirror. You go to the same OLD closet to choose from the same OLD clothes, then sit down at the same OLD breakfast table to eat the same OLD breakfast. Then you go to that same OLD garage and get into that same OLD car to head down that same OLD road to that same OLD job. There you work all day for that same OLD paycheck, next to those same OLD people, supervised by that same OLD manager. Then you get back into that same OLD car and head back down that same OLD road to that same OLD house. Once you are home you sit down in that same OLD chair to watch that same OLD television. At the end of the day you go to that same OLD bed and sleep that same OLD way, so you can get up the next morning and start that same OLD routine all over again.“               

In case you didn’t know, THAT IS NOT THE MENTALITY OF AN OVERCOMER! OVERCOMERS ARE DAILY IN HIGH PURSUIT OF SOME NEW CHALLENGES TO OVERCOME!  

LISTEN, GOD DID NOT CREATE US, AND HE MOST CERTAINLY DIDN’T REDEEM US, TO LIVE A PURPOSELESS EXISTENCE! OVERCOMERS DON’T EXIST—THEY LIVE AND THEY LIVE NOT JUST ABUNDANTLY—BUT MORE ABUNDANTLY! For the Bible declares, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, AND THAT THEY MAY HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY” (John 10:10)  

WHAT IS CURRENTLY AROUND US IS NOT ALL THERE IS FOR US! GOD HAS AN AWESOME CUSTOMIZED PLAN FOR EACH OF US! WE SIMPLY NEED TO SEEK IT, FIND IT, AND LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST!                  

The Scripture says, “No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put NEW wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins are ruined. But they put NEW wine into NEW wineskins, and both are preserved.”  

When something is PRESERVED it means it’s, “KEPT, MAINTAINED, AND PROTECTED“. And what’s being “KEPT, MAINTAINED, AND PROTECTED?” YOUR NEWNESS! UNDERSTAND THAT THE OLD CAUSES DAMAGE, IT TEARS, IT DESTROYS, IT PULLS AWAY, IT SEVERS, BUT THE NEW IS PRESERVED!  

IN A NUTSHELL: IT’S TIME TO BREAK-OUT OF THE OLD, AND BREAK-IN TO THE NEW!                 

Overcomers, crush that devil under your foot on this current level, then lift it and put it on the next level and the next devil and attain your next New Victory!                 

Homework Assignment: Read and keep in mind these Revelation Promises to the Overcomer:                  

Revelation 2:7, “He who is able to hear, let him listen to and give heed to what the Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To Him Who Overcomes (Is Victorious), I Will Grant to Eat [Of the Fruit] of the Tree of Life, Which is in the Paradise of God.” (AMP). 

                

Revelation 3:5, “He Who Overcomes Will Thus Be Clothed In White Garments; and I Will Not Erase His Name From the Book of Life, and I Will Confess His Name Before My Father and Before His Angels.” (NASB).   

              

Revelation 3:21, “He Who Overcomes (Is Victorious), I Will Grant Him to Sit Beside Me On My Throne, As I Myself Overcame (Was Victorious) and Sat Down Beside My Father On His Throne.” (AMP).   

              

Revelation 21:7, “He Who Overcomes Will Inherit These Things, and I Will Be His God and He Will Be My Son.” (NASB).       

           

Grab a hold of these promises and you will never again settle to live the same ole same ole life again!

“We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in NEWNESS of life.” (Romans 6:4 AMP)

IT’S NOT ENOUGH THAT IT’S DEAD—YOU HAVE TO BURY IT!

LISTEN: You can’t afford to let your past infect your present or sabotage your future! That’s why certain things that refuse to be healed, must be forsaken and forgotten! There are people praising God in Church every Sunday who lie awake in the privacy of their homes, digging up bones, picking at scars and reliving old memories. You need to accept that some issues will never be resolved, and if you let them, they’ll take up residence in your head and in your heart! [The what if’s? The should have’s? The maybe’s?] These will all drive you nuts…if you let them!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.”  

So straighten yourself up and straighten yourself out! You Will Not Stay This Way!

I do thank God for the Apostle Paul though. Because he was honest enough to admit that he still struggled in certain areas. Unlike those with a Pharisee spirit who condemn others for doing the very things they do themselves, Paul confessed, “But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.” (Romans 7:17-20 MSG).

Thanks Paul, from the rest of us who mistakenly thought that once we became Christians, there’d be no more struggles! Thanks for helping some of us who thought that once we became Bishop, Pastor, Elder, Teacher, Prophet, that the struggles would be over. That once we reached our 20 years saved, 15 years in ministry, 10 years healed and 5 years delivered, that the struggles would be over. Well, I’m here to serve notice on you: The Struggles Are Not Over! They continue! That’s why we were told to “Fight the good Fight of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12). Not that we fought (past tense) the good fight. But this is a Current and Continual battle! YET, it’s one that doesn’t have to defeat us. 

I remember watching a boxing fight with my dad many years ago. And one of the guys was beaten BAD! I said ‘why don’t he just lay down and stay down?’ My dad said ‘that’s hard to do when you’re a real fighter, because real fighters always have another round in ‘em. They know how to punch past the pain and obtain the prize. They may get beat up, but they won’t give up, until they get the belt. That’s a real fighter. And that’s why he can’t just lay down and stay down.’ I didn’t appreciate those words of wisdom then, but I do now. I’ve learned that daily if I’m going to win, then daily I’ve got to fight! And so do you! So keep your head up, your gloves on, and your feet moving! Because I’m persuaded there’s another round in you!

Listen, Paul continues to advise us. He says, “Consider yourselves to be dead to sin.” (Romans 6:11). In other words, stop pursuing dead issues; admit them, quit them and forget them! Instead of struggling to change what can’t be changed, let God’s transforming power sweep through your life and sever the ties between you and all those tormenting thoughts from your past. And by no means mistakenly think like others have. Because your past is not just what happened 20 years ago, 15 years ago or even 1 year ago. What happened 60 seconds ago is still considered the past! Many of us aren’t just wrestling with decade old stuff, but we’ve got stuff that happened this morning, and our day hasn’t been right since! Let that thing go! You can’t go back and change it or rearrange it, so let it be. Cry a River, Build a Bridge, and Get Over It!

Think about it: If you keep looking in the rear-view mirror, you’re going to eventually crash into something ahead of you! And I would hate for that to be your blessing, your miracle, your breakthrough, your season or your way out! You don’t want to damage what’s before you, by daydreaming about what’s behind you! Sure, you have to utilize all the mirrors on your vehicle to some degree. But keep in mind, the main one is looking straight ahead out the windshield! Looking, anticipating, ready, expecting, seeking for what yet lies ahead! SO…“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG).  

Adjust Your Focus On Your Future! The Vision For Your Future Will Always Look Distorted When You View It Through Eyes That Can Only See The Past!

Warning: Paying Attention to Your Past, Will Cost Your Present a Pretty Penny and Your Future a Fortune! Don’t Bankrupt The Blessing Before You!

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24).

In New Testament times capital punishment was sometimes carried out by tying a murder victim’s body directly onto the perpetrator. That way wherever he went, he was literally weighed down by his crime, with no way to escape the stench of decomposing flesh. Eventually, the bacteria-filled corpse infected him too, and he died an agonizing death. In other words, his Cause of Death was ‘Carrying What He Did In The Past Into His Present!’ People of God, Get Your Past Off You Before It Kills You!

Some days Paul felt the weight of his old nature pressing in, reminding him of things from his past that he couldn’t change or eradicate. Recognizing how past events can color the present, Paul describes himself as “a wretched man,” and asks, “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” The fact is, you can’t move ahead with “the old man” still clinging to you; you must bury him or he’ll kill you!

However, even Death doesn’t have the Finality that Burial does! You see, part of coming to closure involves disposing of the body! 

Truth is: Funerals are for the Living; they give people an opportunity to accept that their loved one has gone on and the relationship as they knew it is now over. So, as you embark on a New Day with a New Perspective and New Determination, isn’t it time you stopped carrying the past (your yesterdays) around on your back? We can all see what you’re carrying is dead, so why can’t you see it?! Do us all a favor and take that thing to a burial site and bury it! Surely you don’t want to go into 2021 with the dead stench of 2020’s residue! You’ve Smelled OLD Long Enough!

Paul says, “Present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead.” (Romans 6:13). In other words, refuse to let old memories negotiate a deal with the new you! Bury them, and do it today! You can’t afford a secret love affair with a corpse! It’s time for an epitaph, not a revival! Let That Thing Go Today!

An ‘Epitaph’ is ‘words written in memory of a person who has died, particularly on their tombstone’. It’s Greek origin means ‘over’ or ‘at a tomb’.

Tell yourself, all my past issues I’m taking to the tomb TODAY and I’m burying it! Yes it hurts, it’s disappointing, it’s caused me severe suffering and pain, but TODAY I’m burying it! The actions were painful, the words were hurtful, the thoughts were discouraging, but I’m burying it TODAY! I refuse to let it hang around in the funeral home. TODAY, I’m packing it up and finding an available plot, and if not, I’m fed up enough to dig one myself! One way or another this thing is being buried TODAY!

Saints, Whatever You Do, Know That You Don’t Have To Stay This Way! You Don’t Have to Settle For This! You Don’t Have To Accept This! NO! Change Begins With You, And Your Change Begins Today! The Old You Will Not Enter The New Year, The New Month or the New Day! Enough Is Enough!

Albert Einstein said it best: “Nothing Happens Until Something Moves” And That Something Is YOU! Get To Moving Out of the Old and Into the New…TODAY!

With that thought, Paul admonishes us once more: “…let’s just go ahead and be what we were made to be…” (Romans 12:4 MSG). 

Listen: We’ve been delaying and denying healing and deliverance and growth for far too long now! Let’s just get on with becoming the new and wonderful person God has already crafted us to be. Let’s move from who we were to who we are meant to be!

 
Wave goodbye to 2020 and high-five 2021! 

Look in the mirror right now and tell yourself: THE OLD ME IS FINALLY READY FOR NEW! Past…Rest In Peace! Future…Get Ready For Revival!

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine 

#EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged #ShareTheWord

“Don’t Wait Until Thanksgiving to Thank HIM!”

 

Read: 1 Chronicles 16:7-36

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34 AMP)

We often think of Gratitude in terms of Gain: Someone gives you a ride to work. A neighbor cooks a meal when you’ve had surgery. Your boss notices your hard work and gives you a raise. The kids clean up the house or your husband cooks dinner. For these things (no matter how rare or how often they're done), of course You’re Grateful! And if you remember your mother’s upbringing, you promptly write a thank-you note or better yet, open your mouth and Tell Them Thank You!

However, it’s even more astonishing to witness people Overcome with an Attitude of Thanksgiving in Dire Circumstances: For example, think of the parents of a terminally ill child who praise God for each day of their daughter or son’s life. How can they possibly visit the cancer center, watch them take needles every day for diabetes, or wait endlessly on the list for a transplant, and yet still praise and thank God for life? You might even be baffled by a family’s ability to be thankful in the midst of disaster, weeping with joy that even though their house and possessions have been destroyed by flood, fire or earthquake, their family has survived, and for that alone they are thankful! 

I’m always amazed by people who can Thank God Regardless of Their Situation or Circumstance. Those who possess a grateful heart even after their car has been repossessed; those who still come to the house of the Lord with praise on their lips even though they’ve been evicted from their own house. I’m in awe of those who receive “death notices” from their doctor’s appointments and yet they go out and still gratefully visit the sick and shut in. It’s mind-blowing those who can preach a message after receiving a pink slip! Or those who can attend a wedding, with gift in hand, and a smile on their face, even though they just received their divorce papers in the mail. Believe it or not, there are people who are Really Just Grateful! Why? Because they know that even when their lives change, their God doesn’t! He is Consistently Faithful, and that They Refuse to Forget!  

“O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless His holy name! O my soul, bless God, don’t forget a single blessing!” (Psalm 103:1-2 MSG)

That’s when your thanksgiving is for real, when someone can look at your life and see not a thing you should be thankful for and yet you continuously offer God your praise, worship, exaltation, adoration, jubilance, gratitude and thanksgiving...ANYHOW! In other words, God has been so good to you already that if He doesn’t do another thing, He is still worthy of your thanksgiving! 

But even deeper than Gratitude for a favor, or thankfulness in the midst of misery, thanksgiving can be viewed as a Testament to an Enduring Quality in Someone we Admire and Respect. For instance, David celebrated God’s divine attributes with a heart of pure Thanksgiving. With great fanfare, the ark of the covenant had finally arrived in Jerusalem and taken its place into the tent David had prepared for it. After the offerings were made and the feast was over, David’s gladness spilled over into a great song of jubilant thanksgiving.

Consider the countless reasons you have to be Grateful. Has something brought great joy to your life? Consider the attributes of those you love; your husband’s faithfulness, your wife’s generosity, your friends’ trustworthiness, your parents’ goodness, your child’s tender heart. Aren't you Grateful? Or do you get so caught up on the negatives that it completely overshadows the positives? 

Truth is, God has been better to us than we could have ever been to ourselves, and better than Any of Us Deserve! Just take a moment to reflect on His provision for you to have a place to lay your head; food on your table; clothes on your back; transportation (by any means) and traveling mercies as icing on the cake! Reflect on how He’s healed you, saved you, delivered you, protected you! Reflect on how many times He stepped in right in the nick of time! Reflect on how He’s kept you in a right and sound mind, despite the chaos around you! Reflect on how He’s kept you in the midst of the mess YOU put yourself in! The list could go on forever, because that’s just how good He’s been! No matter how you look at it, The Lord has been Good to You! You Owe Him a Grateful Heart!

This week is the perfect time to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.” Don’t wait for the Thanksgiving DAY! After all, the Lord has abundantly blessed you, and He didn’t wait for a holiday to do it, so why would you wait until a holiday to Thank Him? 

Start by expressing Thanks for some of the things David included in his prayer:

“God’s Wonderful Acts…” (vs. 9, “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; meditate on and talk of all His wondrous works and devoutly praise them!” AMP);

“His Miracles…” (vs. 12, “[Earnestly] remember the marvelous deeds which He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He uttered [as in Egypt],” AMP);

“His Salvation…” (vs. 23, “Sing to the Lord, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation” AMP);

“His Glory And Marvelous Deeds Among All Peoples …” (vs. 24, “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all peoples” AMP);

“His Holiness…” (vs. 29, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come before Him; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in holy array” AMP).

Everything About God is Worthy of Our Praise! Let us not allow anyone or anything to rob us of the gift of a thankful, grateful heart! No matter what your situation is today it can always be worse! 

Believe it or not but someone is standing online at a soup kitchen grateful, while you throw half-eaten food in the garbage for which you didn’t even say grace over to thank God for His provision. Someone is grateful to have enough coins to put in the bus to get from point A to point B, and yet you mumble and grumble about the gas money you Do Have to put gas in your car. Someone is grateful that Medicaid/Medicare covered enough of their prescription cost that they could get their necessary meds, while you fuss that you have to go and pick up your meds of which your health insurance covered in full. Someone is grateful to wake up even if it’s alone, while you roll over next to an imperfect spouse who loves you perfectly, and yet you’re ungrateful. Someone is excited that their child came home from school safely even through a rough neighborhood, while you have yet to give God thanks for your straight A student, in a private school, in a good neighborhood! There is always someone somewhere that would love to be in your shoes, but while they are in their own (no matter how painful), they are walking with God…Grateful...ANYHOW!

There are people pushing their entire lives around in a shopping cart that are still thankful; there are people sleeping under the bridge in a cardboard box that are still grateful; there are people standing on the bridge who are thankful God sent someone right on time to talk them off it before they took a leap to their death; there are people riding the subways to stay warm who are still grateful for a little temporary heat and shelter; there are people who had a half-eaten butter roll from the garbage can this morning, and knowing that it will be their only meal for the day, they still thank God for something to eat. There are people singing God’s praises in the hospital; people are worshiping Him while enduring chemotherapy; radiation and dialysis; people are thanking Him even as they go into surgery; people are grateful to Him while struggling through rehab; people are adoring Him behind prison walls as they’re so grateful to Him for saving, healing and delivering them right where they are; people are eating His every Word passionately even as they sit alone in the nursing homes with no one to visit them but the presence of the Lord; people are sick and shut in, and still they have praise on their lips and worship in their spirits. 

Surely, you can think of a reason also to give God thanks?

Are you getting this? Being thankful has nothing to do with a holiday; being thankful should be a believer’s everyday way of life. Because truthfully, we have so much to be grateful for! After all the mistakes, fumbles, failures, flaws, bad choices, and sin-filled days and nights, God still loved all of us so much that He would send His only begotten Son to save such a wretch as we were, and still are! How can we not be thankful? How can we not be grateful? Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; we’re placed in the palm of the Father where no man can pluck us out; we’re kept securely in the midst of the Father’s Will where there is safety; we have Heaven as our hope and home. We indeed have much to be grateful and thankful for, and none of us should ever need a holiday or calendar to tell us that!

We should all sing with David, “Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice; and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigns!” (vs. 31 AMP) Because despite any of our circumstances, the Lord yet rules and reigns and treats His children as the sons and daughters of a King, which they are (even when they don’t look like it or live like it). We need to stop complaining, grumbling, murmuring, because the Lord loves us, looks out for us, and lives in us, who wouldn’t be grateful for that?

So, Today, no matter what happens, Give God Thanks! Remember: No Matter What Road You Travel Down In Life, No Matter How Bumpy, Or How Many Times You Feel Detoured and Even Derailed…GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL! YOU WILL REACH YOUR DESTINATION! So Why Not Enjoy Jesus Along the Journey?! Give Him Thanks Always, For All Things! 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “THANK [GOD] IN EVERYTHING [NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES MAY BE, BE THANKFUL AND GIVE THANKS], FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU [WHO ARE] IN CHRIST JESUS [THE REVEALER AND MEDIATOR OF THAT WILL].” (AMPC)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1.       Do you think your friends and family would characterize you as a grateful person? Why or why not?

2.       What are the characteristics of God for which you are thankful?

3.       How often do you remember to thank God for His work in your life and in the world around you? 

4.       Are you a complainer? If so, what are you going to do, starting today, to change your behavior?

5.       When something “bad” happens, do you still thank God? Do you still trust God?

6.       Who are 5 people you are grateful to have in your life? Do they know you’re grateful for them?

7.       How do you show your loved ones your gratitude for them?

8.       How has someone shown you gratitude that you will never forget?

9.       What is your favorite Thanksgiving Scripture?

10.   If you had to express your thanks to God in only 3 words, what would they be? (And no it can’t be thank you Jesus)…lol, surely you can be more creative than that!

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

Psalm 100:1-5, “Shout with joy before the Lord, O earth! Obey Him gladly; come before Him, singing with joy. Try to realize what this means – the Lord is God! He made us – we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Go through His open gates with great thanksgiving; enter His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is always good. He is always loving and kind, and His faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation” (TLB);

Colossians 3:16-17, “Remember what Christ taught, and let His words enrich your lives and make you wise; teach them to each other and sing them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, and come with Him into the presence of God the Father to give Him your thanks.” (AMP)

HOMEWORK: READ: Psalm 136:1-26

“Thou Who hast given so much to me, give me one more thing – A GRATEFUL HEART” (George Herbert)

“There’s always a blessing to thank God for; the ones you are aware of, and the ones that you are not. Be grateful to God every day.” (Author Unknown)

“Sometimes I just look up, smile and say, ‘I know that was You, God, thanks!’” (Author Unknown)

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say thank You?” (Dr. William Arthur Ward)

“I am grateful to God for all His many untold blessings upon my life.” (Lailah Gifty Akita)

“Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day.” (Craig Barnes)

“Dear God: Today, I woke up. I’m healthy. I’m alive. I’m blessed. I apologize for all my complaining. I’m truly grateful for all You have done in my life.” (Author Unknown)

“The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” (Mother Teresa)

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?” (Gilbert K. Chesterton)

“Gratitude is Thanking God After it Happens. Faith is Thanking God Before it Happens.” (Mark Batterson)

Much Love, Dr. Shermaine 

#EnjoyTheRead #BeInspired #BeEncouraged #BeEmpowered #BeChallenged #ShareTheWord #BeThankful