Daily Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV
Eph 4:22-24 KJV
(22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
(24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Rom 13:14 KJV
(14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Eph 4:20-21 KJV
(20) But ye have not so learned Christ;
(21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Today’s Devotional is FRESH START
The “old man” that we have to “put off is clearly our previous way of living. If it is not completely gone, let’s do so by faith in the living Spirit. It doesn’t take long for a poor man to get a new suit of clothing and his rags are gone. It takes no time at all to remove bad habits, thoughts, speech patterns, and other unworthy behaviors. It is possible to do it right now.
Let us do more than that, “put on a new man,” which refers to the life of Jesus Christ. It is the ideal in the likeness God and was created by the Lord through His life, death, and resurrection. To live this life, we need to have the help of the Holy Spirit every day. At the moment of our regeneration, He entered our hearts and has been with us every since. Although we may not have realized His entry, we believe it because 1Co_6; Rom_8;9; Eph_3;16. My part is to start each day by saying, “Thou art in me, O Spirit of Christ,” before I lift my head from the pillow.
If the Holy Spirit is not grieved, He will witness to our Sonship; He’ll enthrone Christ in our life as King; He’ll keep our self-life in place of death; He’ll give us a hunger for God’s things; He’ll give you power in witnessing. To have a blessed Christian experience that is strong and joyful, we must not grieve the Spirit. Although I don’t believe we can grieve Him away we can limit His grace and work through insincerity, nursing an unforgiving spirit, over-reaching or fraudulent dealings, impurities of speech or love failures. A number of cotton threads may tie us down so that we are unable to move our arms. We must not grieve Him with such inconsistencies.
PRAYER for Today
Fulfill in me, O God all the desires of goodness that Thou hast placed in my heart. Complete the work of faith so that Jesus Christ can be glorified in you. AMEN.