Morning Devotional 092625 Release Your Old Life

Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room

September 26, 2025 

1 Peter 1:3-7

3 May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ be blessed! On account of his vast mercy, he has given us new birth. You have been born anew into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 4 You have a pure and enduring inheritance that cannot perish—an inheritance that is presently kept safe in heaven for you. 5 Through his faithfulness, you are guarded by God’s power so that you can receive the salvation he is ready to reveal in the last time. 6 You now rejoice in this hope, even if it’s necessary for you to be distressed for a short time by various trials. 7 This is necessary so that your faith may be found genuine. (Your faith is more valuable than gold, which will be destroyed even though it is itself tested by fire.) Your genuine faith will result in praise, glory, and honor for you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Good Morning! Rejoice in God!

By God’s grace and mercy, we are given a new life. We often don’t consider the magnitude of this gift. When I reflect on my life, I recall times when I was in a “dead-end” job and just wanted to start over and make a new career decision. Actually, I did change careers a few times, and it was invigorating to release the drudgery of my old job and begin a new, fresh one. 

It is scary to walk away from a job, a paycheck (even a bad one), and start a new venture. You’re unsure of how it will play out, but you hope for the best. 

God gives us the gift of a new life. By choosing Christ, we are called to walk away from our old life and be reborn in Christ. Yes, that is scary, too, but in accepting Christ, we are joining with God. God is merciful, compassionate, forgiving, and loving. Through Christ, we can let go of all that pulls us down and embrace all that is lovely. 

Just like leaving an old job, we worry about falling back into old habits and finding ourselves back in the mess of our prior existence.

The Good News is that God will save us from ourselves as many times as needed. We just have to humble ourselves and ask for forgiveness. Let go of those things that weigh you down and accept the hope, peace, love, and joy of Christ.

Loving Lord, you bless us abundantly! Life is hard, and we hold on to our misery. Thank you for offering us a new way. Thank you. We love you, Lord! In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen

Thought for the day: Enter into your new life filled with possibilities. 

Let go and feel renewed! Pastor Liz