Verse of the Day 7/22

Through the Bible - Psalms 39-41, Acts 25

 

Good morning,

The other day I quoted C.S. Lewis who spoke of the tempation to hold on "to the lifeline which connects me with my things temporal."

For today's verse we'll go to Ephesians 4 where we are told to "put off your old self and put on the new".  The NLT speaks of our old self as our nature, to be concerned with ourselves to the point of greed and lust.

 

Eph 4:22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception.

 

23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes.

 

24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness — righteous, holy, and true.  NLT

 

This old nature is to be replaced with the likeness of God, we should imitate what we've learned of Jesus who was was the Word made flesh and dwelt among us - John 1:14.

 

Hebrews 1:3 (New Century Version)   The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word.

 

In the New Testament Bible commentary I read that "The likeness of God is something made by God, but put on by Christians through their response to the gospel. God calls his people to co-operate with him in becoming what he has called them to be. You might say that we are called to grow into a new suit which is too big now, but will one day be a perfect fit. This growing into the new nature or likeness of God is something that applies to individuals but also to the Church as a whole. As the Church is the body of Christ, it must corporately show the likeness of God to the world, as Christ also showed the nature of God. As individuals, each member of the Church must also be transformed, and so take his or her place in the body."

 

Are you "growing into your new suit, or still trying to hold onto the old one?   May we be growing into the new suit day by day.

Day by day,

Day by day,

Oh dear Lord,

Three things I pray,

To see thee more clearly,

Love thee more dearly,

Follow thee more nearly,

Day by day.

 

Blessings,

Mike

Living as Children of Light

Ephesians 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

 ²⁰You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. ²¹Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.   NIV