Trapped by an Old Way of Thinking

You and I tend to stick to doing things the way we’ve always done them.

In the office where I work, you will hear people use the phrase “it’s how we’ve always done it“. What they are really saying is that they live by an old covenant –an old set of rules.

Sticking to how we’ve always maintained our home is easy.
Sticking to the way we daily perform our job duties is easy.
Sticking to the traditional norms of our church that’s easy.
Sticking to the popular behaviors of our society is easy.
Sticking to how we interact with our family and how we treat our spouses is easy.

Sticking to the old way of thinking is easy and requires little effort.

Accepting a new set of guidelines does require change.

We can always improve the way “we’ve always done it.”

I know when you hear the word “covenant” your thoughts immediately think old. Most of us associate it with the Old Testament of the Bible, but the basic thought here is this; it’s all too common for us to become trapped by the old way of doing things even when a newer, better way exists.

The scripture tells us that God has given us a new covenant, a new set of rules to replace the old set. This new set of rules is nothing like the original set. In short, the old covenant God had in place was directed at cleaning people up on the outside. In order to cleanse ourselves for God’s use, people had to perform certain rituals and functions to atone themselves. However, in God’s new covenant the focus is on cleaning the inside -a man’s heart.

“Common” is trying to clean up the outside what can only be fixed from within.

You don’t have to be trapped in the old way when a newer, better way exists.

It’s time for you to try a new way of maintaining your home –improving your personal life.

It’s time for you to go the extra mile on your job –doing more than what’s expected.
It’s time for you to change your religious traditions to have a relationship with God directly.
It’s time for you to alter your behavior and forget about what others might think.
It’s time for you to commit to the relationship where you’ve been riding the fence.

It’s time for you to accept a new covenant, a new set of guidelines for your life.

Questions: What old set of rules is holding you back from a better way to live? What are you correcting outwardly that would be better served by an inward cleaning? Leave a comment.

No Longer Common in Scripture

“It [the new covenant] will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them,” says the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:32 NET)

It’s all too common for us to become trapped by the old way of doing things even when a newer, better way exists. It’s time for you to accept a new covenant, a new set of guidelines for your life.

iPray Everyday

iPray: Lord, I’ve been doing it [whatever it may be] this way all my life and didn’t know there was a better way to do it. I pray you surround me with Your favor as I try this new thing you’ve placed in my heart to do. In Jesus’ name.