Beneath The Candy Coating


BENEATH THE CANDY COATING

“...put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” – Ephesians 4:22-24

Bad habits are my daily nemesis.  I start off each day with determination, to only be met a few hours or days later with feelings of regret or disappointment.

If you are anything like me, we struggle and strain and vow to do better, only to succeed for a time and then revert to our old ways.

“Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” – Zephaniah 4:6

We can’t conquer these habits and temptations by ourselves.  We have tried might and power.  We need God’s Spirit to breathe life and fire back into our purpose and sanity back into our minds.

Father, we confess that we fight our flesh, but still succumb to temptation and the comfort of familiarity of our old ways.  We bring our disappointments, messes and mistakes —those things that to date have bested us. We lay them at Your feet, admitting that we are powerless to conquer any of this on our own.

We can dig forever, but no amount of shoveling can dig us out of the pit we are in.  We recognize that You are the only one who can deliver us. We submit ourselves to Your hand, thankful that our confession is met with Your mercy (Pro 28:13).

We can only will ourselves to behave differently for a season.  It requires a work of Your Spirit to truly change us, change our minds and to break the grip of these habits that ensnare us.

Deliver us from temptation—from the false gods we unknowingly worshipped in an attempt to comfort ourselves.  Remove the hook from our lip by which the enemy pulls us around.

We will always fight this battle as long as we continue to see what imprisons us as good. So give us Your perspective, Lord. Remove the enemy’s candy coating that lures us to swallow the poison of temptation.   We ask for a revelation of truth that exchanges our wistful longings for what harms us, with wisdom, strength and a desire for You and Your best (Ps 37:4).

We humble themselves before You and ask You to remake us for Your glory.  And as we let go of our old ways, fill our hands with good things and our hearts with more  of Jesus.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

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