Self-inflicted Injury

Ephesians 4: 25

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

Now that we have put on the new self that Jesus bought for each of us, we are to interact with each other in the holiness that He has provided. Look, it is time we stopped acting like the devil, especially in our relations with one another. But, do you know what it takes for us to stop acting like the devil? It takes surrender. God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, has provided everything we need in order to overcome the world and the ways of the world, but we have to receive it.

We need to bow our knees to our God. Yeah, He is my best friend, but He also is God Almighty, The Great I AM, the creator of heaven and earth. We need to humble ourselves and deal with our egos once and for all. Settle this question once and for all, who is going to be the God of your life, you or Yahweh? If you decide you are sincere about giving your life to the Lord, then you need to find humility and bow your knee and your ego to Him. When you sincerely yield to Him then He is able to help you to walk as Jesus did. But you are the one who must take the necessary steps. That is why Paul importuned the Ephesians to “put on the new self.” Even though Jesus had already bought and paid for the new self for each of us, Paul knew that it was going to take an act of will from each and every devotee of Christ to become Christ like.

Jesus will help you with every single thing in your life but you must bury the old man. Let that old cuss die and quit digging him up each time someone bothers you a little or every time it is inconvenient to walk in truth and holiness. Make a commitment that you are going to live, walk, breathe and speak in holiness and truth.

Lastly, if we are in Christ Jesus, then everything you do to or for your brother, you have done to Jesus because we are all of one body, His. How then do you sin against yourself to your benefit? You cannot. And when you are kind and generous to your brother, you have blessed yourself. Let us put away the old self and begin to really see the world and each other through the eyes of our dear Lord.

There Go I

Titus 3: 3

For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

Paul gives us the perfect example for being patient and kind with others, ourselves We once were just as painful to be around as the unlovely are to us now. I praise God that we are growing and learning to be more like Christ but let us not lose sight of where we were before His grace moved in our lives. We demonstrated all of the undesirable traits above and probably a few more. Now as we are learning to be more like Christ we must learn to love and be kind to people even while they are in an unenlightened state just like Christ was generous and forgiving with us. I do not say that it is always easy but by focusing our attention on those qualities God would have us develop we come up just a bit higher. Set your sights on the heights. You will bless those around you.