NIV Once-A-Day At the Table Family DevotionalSample

Put Off Your Old Self

• What does it mean to “put off your old self”?
• How can you avoid temptation?

When we invite Jesus into our lives, we repent of our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. To repent means not only to be sorry but also to turn completely away from sin. To repent means to turn our backs to sin and our faces to God.

The minute that we invited Jesus into our lives, we became a new creation. But this doesn’t mean that our work (or his) is done. “Putting off your old self” is a continual process. We need to continue to turn away from sin and work to put evil out of our lives completely.

Sometimes this means that we need to break bad habits. Sometimes it means avoiding activities and situations that can lead us to temptation.

The Bible tells us that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Evil is very real, but Christians don’t have to fall victim to it. By relying on God and resisting evil, we can have peace in our lives and rest in God’s love.

Dear God, thank you for saving us from sin. Please help us to put off our old selves every day. Please protect us from temptation and help us to serve only you. Amen.