PUTTING ON THE NEW SELF (part 1 of 6)

COMMENT:
When Paul tells believers to “put on the new self”, 
he doesn’t ‘leave us hanging’ to try and figure out what that means.
With the Lord’s guidance, Paul is given the wisdom to list a few of 
the areas where we should focus as we make our transition to the ‘new self’.
This is the first of a six part series of brief devotionals the Lord has 
given me for guidance and for sharing with others who have a desire to 
become the new person He wants them to be.
 
SCRIPTURE:
“…and to put on the new self, 
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:24)

MEDITATION:
Do you still get that cold chill 
and feeling of guiltiness whenever you tell a lie?
Or have you developed a lifestyle of lying, 
that has desensitized you from feeling guilty whenever you are untruthful?
You may have gone through a phase where you justified every lie you told, 
but now you don’t even feel the need to make excuses for them any longer, 
you just freely tell lies naturally without thought or guilty feelings.
Perhaps lying has become too easy for you.

You might be in a habit of lying to impress others, to hide the truth, 
to avoid getting into trouble, to try to take advantage of others, 
to prevent embarrassment, or for any other reasons.
You may think you are fooling others, 
but your ‘neighbors’ will soon discover that you tell lies, 
and as a result they know you cannot be trusted.

God’s people should be people known for their trustworthiness and honesty.
We live in a world where we cannot even trust those in positions of 
leadership who are involved in making decisions 
that affect our country and our lifestyles.
Have you ever tried to imagine 
how different our world would be if everyone told the truth?

Lying is not expected of those 
who have ‘put on the new self’ as one who has been ‘created to be like God’.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully 
to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25)

ACTION:
Pray,
“Heavenly Father forgive me for the lies I have told and help me to always 
be truthful and trustworthy in the future.”