“If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of you mind” (Ephesians 4:21-23).
We find the basic theme of Ephesians 4 in the phrase, “living the new life.” We’ve admitted a heart problem, identified the root of the problem, and God, through His grace, has remedied the problem. Now what? Where do we go from here? This week we will seek to learn, through Ephesians 4, how to keep on living our new life in Christ. We know from experience that this doesn’t happen overnight. However, from time to time, we should take inventory. If we are walking with Jesus every day, we won’t have to worry about new problems or a relapse resulting from old ones. Reassessment is necessary to see how far we have come since our last checkup. Maybe we still need to make some changes.
Spiritually speaking, we must put off the old. If our lifestyle hasn’t changed one bit since we found the Lord, we have some problems. If we are still clinging to old habits that could be affecting our heart condition, get rid of them. Allow God to recreate us in His image. This doesn’t have to be a painful procedure—unless we refuse to let go of the “old man.”
Sue Winchester
Missouri
PRAY TOGETHER: “Lord, I praise You today for the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. May we ever keep our hearts tender toward You. Amen.”
