BIBLE PASSAGE:
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must
no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
(Ephesians 4:17)
MEDITATION:
Christianity is not just another religion.
It is the life of God living within and flowing out of the believer.
Other religions leave us the same as we were before, but the wonderful
thing about the Christian life is that it will completely transform us.
What is the soul of man? Is it the same as his spirit?
Does knowing the difference really matter?
Understanding the relationship between spirit and soul
is important if we expect to live a victorious Christian life.
But what part of us is actually changed?
The spirit is that part of us which takes on the nature of God.
When we are “born again”,
our spirit is instantly transformed into the image of God.
According to the Word, when that happens we should
immediately start the process of changing our soul.
The Bible calls it “renewing the mind (aka ‘soul’)”.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
Our soul is our mind, our will, and our emotions.
Spiritual growth is a result of
how much our soul has been changed by the Word of God.
Nothing is wrong with our spirit if we are born again;
the life of God is in there and we have the Holy Spirit living within us.
But the problem is, we are hindered from living a spiritual life
by a soul (mind) that thinks like the world instead of like God.
This is true because our ‘will’ determines our actions.
Once we have been born again, the Bible instructs us to put on the new self,
which is created in righteousness and true holiness similar to God.
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)
This means that our ‘soul’ is to take on the same image that is in our ‘spirit’.
This happens through the process of changing our mind, our will,
and emotions to understand and walk in the ways of God.
To live in God’s perfect will we must renew our mind
and we must learn to live from the inside out.
That is vital to living a victorious life.
Some try to live their life from the outside in, which means they are
trying to change their spirit, rather than allowing the spirit to change their soul.
When we are born of the Spirit, we are to conform to the image of God’s Son.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
(Romans 8:29)
You and I ought to act just like Jesus.
The only thing that stands in the way is our soul.
Without a renewed mind we will find it difficult, if not impossible,
to walk and act like Jesus.
ACTION:
When we allow the spirit to change us from the inside out,
others will be able to see and understand the depth and sincerity of our faith.
For instance, consider the drinking of alcoholic beverages.
We can debate all day about how much is too much, or if once in awhile doesn’t
hurt anything or anyone, but the important question is,
“How does the lost person (and Jesus) feel about a Christian drinking?”
If a lost person believes it is wrong and sees a Christian drinking,
then he or she will think the Christian is no better than he or she.
They will consider the Christian as a hypocrite
who doesn’t really believe what he or she professes to believe.
Our actions could have an eternal impact on a lost person.
Our personal justification for our actions
could result in a lost person spending eternity in hell.
So where do we draw a line in the sand?
Jesus drew His line when He put aside His own selfish desires (avoiding the cross)
in favor of what is best for us, and what is in obedience to the Heavenly Father.
Do we do that for others, or do we still cling to our own selfishness,
regardless of how it impacts others?
There is a well-known basketball coach with a reputation for not using profanity.
When he asked another former coach to give a pep talk to his team, and he used
a lot of profanity, the players looked at their coach like, “What’s going on?”
If their coach had known the former coach would use profanity,
then he would have chosen someone else to speak to his team.
The team saw a dramatic difference between the two coaches and
more than likely, they were distracted by the language of the former
coach and paid very little attention to the content of his pep talk.
The good news is, they had a greater respect for their own coach
when they witnessed the contrasting image of the former coach.
We can have a negative impact on others
when we continue to be changed from the outside in.
But when we are changed from the inside out, our life becomes
a testimony of our belief and faith in the one we claim to be following.
When others see us, they should be able to get a glimpse of our Savior.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for creating in me a new spirit when I
surrendered my life to You. Forgive me if I have failed to allow Your
spirit to transform my soul. I now realize that the amount of my
spiritual growth is determined by how much my soul is transformed.
Help me to allow the renewing of my mind to change me from the
inside out, so that I will grow in my faith, and my life will become
a testimony of my faith in Your Son, Jesus.”
blog: UTVOLWOODY.WORDPRESS.COM
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