Ephesians 4:20 – 24 “You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 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.”
Doesn’t it feel great to wear a brand spanking new outfit? I don’t know about you, but whenever I have new clothes, I feel special. I feel sparkly, fresh, and new, simply because I’m not wearing the old worn out things that have been in my closet for years.
Paul compares our new way of thinking, as Christians, to new clothes. He tells us to take off those old rags! Throw them in the trash and burn them. We have something better, something sparkly and new. Why would we ever choose to wear old stained, ripped, stretched-out, faded things when we have beautiful new things to wear? In the same way, why do we cling to our faulty, faded, worn out way of thinking, when God has offered us a shiny new way of life?
Friends, God is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We all know that royalty always has the very best, the very finest. When we become His children, He wants us to look like His children! He wants us to dress ourselves as royalty would dress. When we continue to think and act and live like we did before we knew Christ, it is like wearing faded hand-me-downs when He has provided only the finest new garments.
As children of God, we need to clothe ourselves in righteousness and holiness. The way we do that is by continually examining our attitudes, and fine-tuning our thoughts to match His. The more we stay in His Word, the more we stay on our knees in prayer, the more we will know His thoughts. And as we become more and more familiar with His thoughts and His ways, we will find that our thoughts and ways will naturally, gradually reflect Him.
God loves us more than anything. He wants only the very best, the very finest for His children. He has offered us that, but it is up to us to take it. We make the choices, each day, about what our minds and our souls will wear. We can dig through the rag box and dress like paupers, or we can take advantage of the finery He has laid out for us in His Word. I don’t know about you, but I know which I prefer . . .
Dear Father, Please help me to truly put away my old way of thinking, as I seek to clothe myself in Your righteousness and holiness.
Amen
Because of costly Internet conncetion I am unable to cooment on each post. But i want to thank you for the inspiration
It is always a joy to have you here, Amrita, even for a quick visit!
Renae, will you and your readers join me in praying for ‘Mrs Fox’ who is having surgery today? Go here to see how bravely she’s dealing with it:
http://teawithmrsfox.blogspot.com/2008/03/self-pity.html
Can we pray for successful surgery and a speedy and complete recovery?
Absolutely, Jackie. I’ll do that now, and I know everyone else will too. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Dear Father, Please be with ‘Mrs. Fox,’ a young woman who is bravely dealing with cancer. I have no idea if she knows you or not, but I ask you, Father, if she doesn’t, that she will know You through this experience. And if she does, I pray she will know You better. Please show Yourself to her through healing, strength, comfort, and peace. Please be with her family as well, as they deal with this awful thing that keeps coming back. We ask for her complete healing, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and that You will be honored because of it.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen