For those of you curious about my series on the parsha, I am still continuing it when the reposting of my Learning to Love series is complete. Lord willing, I will be caught up on the parsha by then too.

This Is Now

This is where one road ends
And a new one begins. 
This is where my past stops.
This is where I turn to my fears
And remind them Whose child I am.
This is where I shut my ears
To the voice that weakens me
And drop the weights of temptation
I need not carry.
This is now.
Now, I am driving my car.
I am at work and attending school. 
I am not that far.
Now, I am cooking lasagna,
I am washing the dishes,
I am in the shower.
I am not far from my wishes.
Now, I am brushing my teeth,
I am pulling down my covers
And turning out the light
While my sleepy thoughts hover.
Now, I am listening to a mockingbird sing
Before my alarm interrupts.
I am looking in the mirror
To be faced with the corrupt.
Now is where I take my resolve
So that ugly voice will dissolve.
This is where one road ends
And a new one begins.
Now.

Day 19

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17).

If you’re anything like me, you are troubled by your past mistakes. You failed at it before, so why should you expect to succeed next time? Why not save yourself more embarrassment and forget about trying again? Stick with what you know you can do. Stay with the simple things.

What is your weakness? One of mine is being seemingly unable to consistently invest in relationships. I know people are not meant to be islands, but then why is it so hard for some? Satan and the fallen angels want to keep us from our identity and mission, and they use our shortcomings against us to that end. So Satan accuses me about how I’ve let people down in the past so that I will not speak truth into someone’s life or show them God’s love now.

Revelation 12:10 tells us that Satan accuses us before God constantly. If he dares to go before the throne of the Creator to accuse his children, how much more does he accuse us in our own thoughts?

For me, it’s a battle I must face every day, because the enemy will not stop attacking until he is overthrown on the last day. But the Word says I can resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). You can rebuke him like Jesus did in the power of His Name (Matthew 16:23, Mark 8:33).

We are Jesus’ brothers (Matthew 12:49). We are children of God (Rom. 8:17). We are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). We can confidently come before God with anything (Hebrews 4:16). And He does not condemn us (John 3:17). We’ve covered the basics. Now let’s press on.

If you enjoyed this material, please leave a like or comment on my blog, share, and you can purchase my book, Learning to Love: A Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions, on Amazon. Until next time, God bless.