"You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by
its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24
With the so-called entertainment of this day, the world makes
it very difficult, on the Christian, to "be made new in the attitude of
[our] minds" Yet this is what we are called to do. Verses 25-31
lists things we must "put off": falsehood, don't sin in your
anger, don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, don't give the devil
a foothold, don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, don't grieve
the Holy Spirit of God, and get rid of ALL (emphasis mine) bitterness, rage and
anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Whew!
what a list? Can you relate to any of these? Unfortunately I sure
can, and I am so grateful that the Heavenly Father gave me a
"Helper" (Jn. 14:16) and did not leave me to fend for myself (if
you're born again you have the "Helper" indwelling you too).
God, being gracious, has given us the power to "put off" all the
above, through His precious Holy Spirit with whom you (every born
again believer) were sealed for the day of redemption (verse 31), we are to
replace these old attitudes with (verses 31- 5:2): speaking the truth,
speaking only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen. We are to be kind and compassionate
to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
We are to be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and live a life of
love, just as Christ loved us. All this seems impossible, and in our own
strength it inevitably is, but we severe the Creator of the universe who has
made sure that He did not leave us with out the ability to follow through with
what HE has called us to do.
Though the world around us may try and pull us down, let us remember that
we have a relationship with the very one who Created this world and all it
contains. Let us place our focus on Him, being imitators of our
Father God who loves us dearly.
Have a joyous day in our
Lord!
April
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The above
message is sent to you as an encouragement from God's heart, His word.
Please pass it on to friends and family. To add yourself or a loved
one to the mailing list reply to
[email protected] Subject: "add
to" (to be removed indicate "remove")
Encouragement
From The Heart Website is currently being updated. Our God is
Awesome!
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/1483/encourag.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++