If you’ve ever shopped for a used vehicle, you know the many things that determine the vehicle’s worth: number of miles, damage, worn out parts, etc. However, you can get it cheaper than a new vehicle. But let’s look at us as Christian humans. We had a previous owner, the devil, who had his way with us for awhile. But when we said “Yes” to the offer Jesus made to us, we became a new creation, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are like a brand new vehicle ready to serve the Lord and follow His way. The old us is gone, we are new! But we know what happens; our previous owner hangs around reminding us of our past and tempting us to go back to the “used car lot”, diminished value, worn out parts and damages. But we now are not only a new creation but we have been given power and authority, (Luke 10:19), to tell our previous owner he has no control over us. We can submit to God and resist the devil, (James 4:7).
However, too many times, we will feel bad about our past sins when the devil brings them to our minds and we ask God again for forgiveness. This reminds me of the old song by The Speers which says, “What sins are you talking about? I don’t remember them anymore.” They were erased, covered by the blood of Jesus! We need to take authority, resist, praise and thank God that we’re free. I wrote a blog post about this topic years ago: https://roadrevelations.org/2010/09/praise-beside-the-path. I know many, if not all, of us have been on this path and heard the taunting of the devil.
So when, not if but when, the enemy comes around reminding us that he used to own us and he wants us back, reminding us of all we did back then, submit to God, put on the full armor of God, (Ephesians 6), especially the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, and resist him and chase him away. We have a new and powerful owner. Let’s live like it.
