FOCUS ON REMOVING THE OLD SELF AND ITS PRACTICES GO WITH IT

I am planning a sermon series on Paul's letter to the Colossians to begin the new year at Sardinia Baptist. It will be killing two birds with one stone: a number of sermons plus material for my dissertation.

Colossians as a whole - with Paul's emphasis on the interplay between knowledge and change in the Christian's life - is the Scriptural basis for my ministry project.

My key verse comes in Chapter 3:

9 Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

An initial observation:

"Practices" is a translation of the Greek word "praxis", which itself has been adopted directly into English, meaning deeds or actions. 

It's worth noting that, although most believers I know who take holiness seriously tackle bad behaviors one by one, Paul says we are to take off "the old self" as a complete unit - and the practices go with it. 

This is a major shift in framing.

We aren't just whacking away at the bad habits. Paul has already said in chapter 2 that various "religious" approaches appear to be worthwhile but don't actually rein in the "indulgence of the flesh". 

In other words, they don't get to the heart of the problem.

For the believer, the old self has been replaced by the new self - and that makes a world of difference.

Or at least it should.  

JANUARY IS FOR EXPERIMENTING

In the midst of small talk over the last few days, several people have asked me if I plan to make any New Year's resolutions.

I don't know how to answer because I don't really think in terms of resolutions these days. The connotation of that word "resolution" is of making a commitment and then screwing up the appropriate amount of willpower to follow through with it.

And it's common knowledge that the majority of the population has no interest in making resolutions and, of those who DO make resolutions, the majority of resolvers quietly wave the white flag by the end of January. 

So I have reframed resolutions for myself. I have had enough success with creating and sustaining new habits now that I view January simply as a good time to evaluate my life and determine what new habits could currently benefit me. 

And then I experiment to figure out what is most effective and sustainable.

This year I am focused on my morning routine. 

My problem is that these days the only truly consistent aspect of my morning routine is almost entirely negative: mindlessly scrolling online. 

To fix that problem, for Christmas Melissa gave me a bedside alarm clock. Now I can set morning alarms while leaving my phone in another room. It will no longer be the first thing I reach for. 

Beyond that, I know the categories which need some daily action - Scripture, prayer, exercise and writing - and now I need to experiment a bit with the best content and ordering of these. 

It may require getting to bed earlier. 

Without the pressure of some formal "resolution", I have the freedom to do some experimenting and it turns into a fun and interesting process.