8/29/2011

That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which rows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, Ephesians 4:22

This verse describes the results from having heard of the Lord and being taught by Him (vs. 21). The more time that we spend meditating on Him and allowing Him to work through us, the more we become like Him. We start taking off our former conduct and the person that we were earlier in life and allow God to keep teaching us. I have seen here at Potter’s Field that if I allow God to show me things I need to give up or change my perspective on, it is because I am open to Him talking to me. For example, God has really been showing me how everything that I own or am given is ultimately His. God has really been convicting me to give to Him as others give to me….because ultimately every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord. I feel like the Lord was trying to show me this earlier but I needed to be willing to be taught by Him and open because He is always speaking.

I was also struck by the phrase “to put off” our former conduct. I have heard this phrase numerous other times but it really struck me to completely take off the former self. I find that I can still have parts of my former self in the back of my mind. I strive to go forward but am I completely taking off everything that I am holding onto?

 For example, if I were to put in a daily life situation, I could relate it to wearing a sweatshirt on a hike. As the day progresses and it gets warmer, I decide to take off my sweatshirt. I would then put it in my backpack and continue hiking but I still did not remove the sweatshirt completely from myself. I want to make sure that as God reveals things to me I want to remove it by completely throwing the sweatshirt off down the mountain instead of putting it in the backpack for safe keeping.

8/30/2011

“…and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind,“  Ephesians 4:23

Renewed….the verb renew can mean to be both improved and repeated. I was thinking what it means to be repeated in the Spirit of my mind. When I think of my mind having the Spirit be a part of it, it reminds me of my conscience. The armor of God describes the Bible as the sword of the Spirit. I think this verse is referring to continually reading the word of God throughout the day every day which in turn will improve our minds to be more like Christ and ultimately affect our conscience.

When I read the Word of God, I want to make sure that I ask the Lord to not only speak to me but to shape my mind to be more like His. I want my convictions stronger, my confidence in who He is, and what is of Him more solidified in my mind.  This next week, I commit to ask God to renew the Spirit of my mind each time before I read His Word.

8/31/2011

“….and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness, and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

Here it says that the new man or a believer was created according to God. God’s first and foremost desire was to have man full of His righteous and holiness. He is the only one who came make something truly righteous and holy. Often, when I see the mistakes I have made, I think, really, is there hope for me to truly be like Christ. I can be surrounded by amazing people, leadership, and teaching and still struggle with wrong motives or thoughts because I am human. It just shows how human I really am in my own strength, but here it says that God created “the new man” in true righteousness and holiness.

I came away with hope and expectation for what God will continue to do in my life, for He promises that He will be faithfully complete the work He started in me until the day of Christ Jesus. This can only come through constant surrendering to God. I have to be willing for Him to transform me every day more into the likeness of Himself. Every day, I want to continue to ask God to make me more like Himself acting in true righteousness and holiness.

9/1/2011

 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25

When I read this, my immediate reaction was “Oh, this is a good reminder but it doesn’t really apply to me because I don’t struggle telling the truth.” Then I thought about it on a more daily and practical basis. How often do I say that I am doing good but inside I am down about something. It is not honest; I want to work on this. More often than not, I am having a great day but I don’t let a lot of people know if something is going wrong. I need to work to be more transparent and open with those around me. I don’t want to put up a wall trying to protect myself because as a body of Christ we are to be open and honest with one another.

I want to apply this to my life by working to be honest and open with those around me.

9/2/2011

“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Ephesians 4:26

When I first read this verse, I was struck by the phrase, “Be angry”….be angry?.... but the following phrase is critical…and do not sin. Anger is a natural part of life but it is how I deal with this anger that is the real issue. Do I meditate on how mad I am in a situation or do I ask God for His strength to help me deal with the anger and to gain His perspective?

Do not let the sun go down on your wrath. This is a verse that was instilled from an early age in my home. It was always shown and expected that before I went to bed that I work out any conflict I might have had between myself and one of my siblings or parents. This totally affected my relationships. If I didn’t work out the situation the night before, it would carry into next day until I finally worked it out. A little issue can quickly turn big if I didn’t work it out the night before; the quicker the better.

I want to apply this to my life by making sure that when I get into conflicts, I want to remember that the quicker I work it out the better. Anger is a natural feeling it just depends on how I respond in situations.