A few days after my last blog, I found myself battling the exact thing I had blogged about. While I won’t make this my platform for confession, (although I did share with a couple of people what I had done), I will say that even as I was doing it, I knew better. Hopefully I’m not alone when I say that. I think we all find ourselves at times giving in to that temptation- whether it be lying, gluttony, gossip, even the act of just not doing what we are supposed to do, or worse. We, like Paul, struggle with doing what we are supposed to, and not doing what we should.
I tried to justify my sin, and to some, they may even think it was no big deal. But I knew what God had said to me, and I disobeyed anyway.
That was brought back to mind today when I saw this:

Now, I haven’t researched cicadas, and don’t know the process of their shedding... maybe I’ll do some research later! But immediately when I saw it, I was reminded of Scripture.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says “if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.”
Romans 6 tells us we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ!

How often do I find myself hanging on to my old self, just like this cicada. I watched him for a little bit, and he continued to hold on to his old shell.
Over and over again, I find myself doing the same. Are you like me or am I alone? Why is it so difficult to let go of some of our old ways? Or maybe we do let go for a while, only to find ourselves right back where we started. It’s the continual struggle- the battle of the flesh.

I’m also reminded of familiar yet powerful verses that God uses in my life several years ago: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free....If the Son has set you free then you are free indeed.”

I think therein lies the answer. The Truth! We must be ever leaning on the Truth.
I will confess here a different sin, that I also confessed to Jason yesterday. I was getting ready to leave for the weekend, and asked, “Have you seen my Bible?” I think you know where this is going... obviously I hadn’t read it much this week if I couldn’t seem to find it.  Oh, I had used my Bible app on my phone a couple of times, and read a devotion. But spending valuable time in the Word had not been a priority. Instead, it was lesson plans, housework, long hours at work and other things that I easily let fill my time.
If I’m not walking in the Truth, I’m much more likely to be hanging on to the ways of the old man.
Maybe I’m not alone. Maybe we can all lift each other up as well and “encourage each other all the more as we see the Day approaching.”
I know I sure need it. Do you?