Today is Old Stuff Day.

It could be that scruffy bit of blanket that you have carried around since you were a toddler. Or maybe it’s the love-worn Teddy bear with the torn ear and the missing eye. Or it could be that stack of treasured “art” from preschool featuring the stick people with big heads and mismatched faces. Whatever your secret stash may be, we all have old stuff that we just can’t part with lying around in the closet, a desk drawer, or in the basement.

To be sure, old stuff can become quite valuable, like antique furniture, vintage cars, and jewelry that have been passed down from generation to generation. But when it comes to that old pair of jeans with the holes, or the ratty sweatshirt, old stuff is, well, just old. It’s valuable only to the owner. And eventually, there comes a day when the old has got to go!

Spiritually speaking, we also can carry around a lot of old stuff—old habits, old attitudes, and old sins. And unless we get rid of that old stuff, our lives can become quite cluttered and sometimes even messed up. The good news is that Jesus offers us a chance to get rid of the old and become totally new! It’s true. As Christians, we are brand-new people on the inside. We are not the same anymore. When Jesus becomes our new Master, we have new attitudes, new habits, and a new way of living.

Why not celebrate Old Stuff Day by taking an inventory of yourself? Are you still holding on to old habits that aren’t very Christ-like? Maybe you have an old attitude that you know needs to be changed. Ask Jesus to help you get rid of that old stuff and bring in the new!

What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17).

To Do

Get a sheet of paper and on one side write “Old” and on the other side, “New.” List the old attitudes, habits, and behaviors that you had. On the other side, record what has been new since you began following Jesus.

Also on this day . . . .

Today is National Banana Cream Pie Day.

1904—Dr. Seuss (actual name Theodor Seuss Geisel) was born.

1976—Walt Disney World logged its 50 millionth customer.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.