HOW HAS SALVATION FROM THE LORD CHANGED ME?

BIBLE PASSAGE:
John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and
peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler
of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from
our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever
and ever! Amen.
(Revelation 1:4-6)

MEDITATION:
The book of Revelation is often thought of
as the prophecy of the return of Christ.
However there is something interesting in Revelation 1:6:
    it tells us that Jesus Christ made us to be “priests”.
What does that mean to us?

When we are made “priests” it means we are clothed
in righteousness and our lives have been changed.
Old habits that are considered unrighteous
have been exchanged for new righteous habits.

We all have unrighteous habits
that we need to get rid of when we become Christians.
And through the Holy Spirit, we are given the power
to “clean house” as our lives are renovated, and we
increase our desire to please God over pleasing ourselves.

We cannot strive for, or earn these new righteous habits;
they are byproducts of the Holy Spirit actively living in our lives.
We have a responsibility to allow these righteous habits
to become active in our lives, if we expect to have a positive
impact on pointing others to the Lord; this is a form of
witnessing, as we prove to others that our faith is real.

Our actions must match up with our words
in order to prove that our faith is sincere.
There must be a distinction between
the lifestyles of believers and non-believers.

The need to deal with anger, bitterness,
and violence is evident in our society today.
God instructs us to replace them in our own lives
with kindness, compassion, and a forgiving heart.
    Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling
    and slander, along with every form of malice. Be
    kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving
    each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
    (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Paul tells the Ephesians (and us)
that when we are saved, it is time for action.
We are to make a conscious effort to
change from who we were, to who we are now.
    You were taught, with regard to your former way of life,
    to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its
    deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your
    minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God
    in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

He also tells them (and us) that
when we were saved, we came to know Christ in a new way.
    You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.
    (Ephesians 4:20)
When Paul says “come to know Christ”, he isn’t referring
to the conversion experience itself, but rather the training
after conversion.
In other words, after we are saved we become a ‘work in progress’.
Part of that progress is replacing unrighteous
habits with new habits that are pleasing to God.

ACTION:
What changes have you made after becoming a Christian?
Are you still holding on to
some unrighteous habits of your pre-Christian life?
Paul says you should never grieve the Holy Spirit.
    And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom
    you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
Whenever you are still doing things that displease God,
you are grieving the Holy Spirit.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for not replacing all of my
unrighteous habits with righteous ones. I know that I am
no better than You; remind me that since You forgave me,
I should have a forgiving heart toward others. Teach me
to be kind and compassionate to others and to develop the
ability to encourage them and to lift their spirits. Help me
to consider others ahead of myself.”

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