“And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24, AMPC (emphasis added)
I wonder how many times have the truth of this verse made sense to me before today. It’s like when I read my devotional, the Lord just illuminated and breathed life into it. Let’s take a moment to focus on the emphasized parts of the verse.
Constantly renewed—Just like with human relationships, we have to choose to seek the Lord by being diligent in His Word, daily and without ceasing. If there is one way we could be thwarted, it will happen because of spiritual defeat. As King David said in Psalms, we also need to hide the Word in our hearts so it can take root and grow, bearing much spiritual fruit.
Put on—This assures me that no matter how much my thoughts or feelings contradict my faith, I can choose to yield to the new nature God’s grace has given me through faith. We don’t have to surrender to sin and use excuses like, “I’m only human,” or, “That’s just the way I am,” or, “It is what it is.” Jesus Christ died so that we could BE free. He arose so that we could LIVE free. We have a choice to make, and I’ve made mine (putting and keeping on my new nature in Jesus Christ).
True righteousness and holiness—We see in the New Testament that we can have a form of godliness yet denying its power. We can look good, act good, sound good but be so far from the truth! This is done because there is no real heart change nor has there been the denial of self. Let this not be our reality! Through Paul, Jesus Christ is imploring to us to choose to be transformed by God’s Word instead of conforming to this world system. But we have to make that decision.
Renew the spirit of your mind and be strengthened to live for and in Jesus Christ.
Love,
