Old Dog, Renewed Habits

They say "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" and I tend to agree with that. But, is it possible to remind or teach an old dog to be who he once was as a pup?

Last week Peter Cottontail paid a visit in the yard and Francis the old dog didn't do a thing. He let the rabbit go about his business of hopping around nibbling on grass. Frankly this seemed odd to me as I began to wonder, "What the heck happened to you, dog?"

In his prime Francis would've chased that rabbit around playfully. Has he just wussed out on who he used to be, content with who he is now, an old dog?

A couple of hours later I let him out the backdoor and this time Francis chased that rabbit throughout the yard. (note:rabbit was unharmed)Yes, the old Francis was back and still as fast as ever!

Sometimes when we get older we tend to be content with who we've become and forget how we used to be. Could you imagine if you could bottle up, savor, and pull out, when need be, the excitement you had when first receiving Christ into your heart and that desire to be strong in the Lord and in His Word? To have that vigorous energy of wanting to not just know all about God but having that desire to be in His presence?

Mark Twain once commented that:

"The Christian's Bible is a drugstore. It's contents remain the same, but the medical practice changes."

This similar thought is what I had pondered after hearing the following passage of scripture the other night at church:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom.8:31)

What was driving through my mind was,"Why is it that we drive ourselves crazy in the time of need and forget this promise? And why do we forget how powerful God is?"

We are even reminded even further in the next verse how mighty God is:

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

The Word of God doesn't change but we do at times. We sometimes grow into this old dog content with being who we are and forget who God says we are:

Yet in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (Rom.8:37)

Sometimes it's good to remind ourselves who we are in Christ Jesus and to remind ourselves to: Have God's Word written on our hearts.