Daily Devotional – 3/15/12 “Shed the old!”

Have you ever wondered why a snake shed his skin? I’ve thought about it but never looked it up until this morning and this is what I found. Now, before you read this I must let you know that it speaks right to my spirit and the way God was taking me this morning with this devotional. See, I had already given it a title before I even started writing and then he dropped, snake, in my spirit. Please don’t get me wrong thinking that I am referring to anyone as a snake but I’m sure there were some things you did in the past that made you feel as low and dirty as one, but who am I to judge? But this is what God is given me and I must be obedient. For in my searching, I found that a snake shed their skin to allow for growth, as well as to remove parasites along with their old skin. Isn’t that something? I know you’re wondering how this ties into a devotional, but go with me. When you accepted Christ into your life, you become a new creature because he took all of the old stuff you used to do, all the old things you used to be and all the bad places you used to go and threw them into the sea of forgetfulness – thus shedding your old skin. All the dirt folks threw on you, God removed when he shed your old skin. All of the scars you got from being drug through hurt and pain by family and friends, God removed when he shed your old skin. All the hate folks spoke over your life; God removed it when he shed your old skin. All the tear stains, on your skin, from crying yourself to sleep at night; God removed it when he shed your old skin. (I don’t know about you but I feel something stirring in my spirit) See, when you shed your old skin you’re taking off all the things folks thought about you, you’re taking off all the old stuff you used to think about yourself and you’re stepping into the new skin that has no scars, no bruises and it shines like gold. The new skin fits you perfectly because it was made just for you. Yea, you used to be a drug dealer, so what, now deal in the works of the Lord. Yea, you used to be an alcoholic and drug addict, so what, now you’re addicted to being a better Christian. You used to lie on folks and with anybody who smiled at you, so what, now you lie at the feet of Jesus because he promised to give you all you need. You used to steal from folks, stores and whatever you could get your hands on, so what, now you steal away to study God’s word. This means you’ve shed the old skin and stepped into the new skin that’s free from all the mess. In the bible, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” But it’s when you’ve accepted Christ! See, it doesn’t matter that folks don’t believe that you’ve changed because your actions will show it. Once you’ve put on the new skin, your walk isn’t the same because you no longer walk with a limp. Your talk isn’t the same because you no longer talk like you don’t have sense. Your living isn’t the same because you no longer live like you have no place to go. Your giving isn’t the same because you no longer walk pass folks that are begging on the street. Yea, when you put on the new skin, everything about you looks new. You don’t have to change the color of your hair for folks to see the change because they’ll see the glow from your new skin. This glow is the light of God shining from your heart. God said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” You’ll have the light of God shining through you! Humph! I find this as great news because as I kept reading about the snake it says when the old skin is shed, however, it doesn’t look exactly the same as its replacement. It takes on a nearly transparent appearance. This goes back to what I said before, the light of God shines through you, for all to see, when you put on your new skin.

So why are you holding on to the old skin? You know that it’s time for you to shed it because it’s dry and cracked all up yet you’re still trying to make it look new but you can add all the lotion to it you want, it’s still old. You know that you’ve outgrown the club scene but your friends keep calling you to go and instead of being honest with them you keep going. You know you want to go to church on Sunday’s but you’re too afraid of what others will think, so you stay home. You don’t want to drink and smoke any more but you keep hanging out with the same crowd and every time they pass a bottle or joint around, you take it. But child, if you want to make it to the place that God has prepared for you, you’d better let the world go. See, when you shed the old skin (the world), you get the new skin (God) and he promises in Genesis 28:15, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” When you shed the old skin, you get strength and protection because Psalm 28:7 says, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.” When you shed the old skin, you get joy. Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” When you shed the old skin, you get the Holy Spirit and with the Holy Spirit you have direct communication with God even if you never mumble a word because Romans 8:26 says, “At the same time the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t know how to pray for what we need. But the Spirit intercedes along with our groans that cannot be expressed in words.” This alone is reason enough to shed the old. You have to stop holding on to messy things, messy folks and messy situations that keeps you from doing the will of God. You’ve got to get out of the old patterns that you’re in that keep pulling you back into the world. You’ve got to stop trying to hold on to the old skin in order to receive your new skin. If the person you’re with isn’t down for your change, that’s ok because you can’t change folks but you can allow them to see the change in you and once they see the change, they’ll have to make the choice of changing to match you or leaving and if they leave they weren’t yours to begin with. Let go of folks or things that you’ve borrowed because if you have someone blocking the true blessing God is trying to send you, how would you get it?