I want to center my thoughts today on vs. 16: “. . . yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” We spend a lot of time “dressing up” the outward man which Paul says is perishing. Many have special diets, go to gymns, don't eat meat, etc. But regardless of all of that, the outward man, the flesh, is dying and will eventually die. In the meantime, many, if not most, who profess Christ as Savior today are living “get by” lives. They are not actively working against the Lord. But they are not actively living for Him either. They may consider themselves to have what I call a “negative righteousness.” “Negative righteousness” says, “I am right with God because of what I do not do (referring to the sins they avoid). Some may compare themselves to other professed believers and consider that they do more good things or fewer “bad” things than others. Quite often they find that they are like the church at Laodicea, neither hot nor cold. If we are to go forward and be effective as one of the Lord’s churches, we must reveal to others the changed life of a child of God. Here are 5 activities that, if practiced daily, will make a great change in our lives for the Lord. We might refer to them as “habits,” but they should never be merely habitual. A habit is “an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.” It is something we do without giving thought to it. We should consciously strive to make these things a part of our everyday lives. If we will consistently do these things, we (and others) will see the change they can make in our lives in “the inward man.”

I. CONSUME THE WORD OF GOD DAILY.

II. COMMUNICATE CONTINUALLY WITH GOD -- I THESSALONIANS 5:17.

III. CONDUCT OURSELVES IN THE SPIRIT OF GOD -- GALATIANS 5:16.

IV. COMMIT TO GOD AND CARING FOR OTHERS -- MATTHEW 22:37-40.

V. SHARE JESUS WITH OTHERS -- LUKE 24:46-49 ; ACTS 1:8.