Monday July 30, 2018
by colinscanvas
Ephesians 4:21-24
21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
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To renew is to give fresh life. The people of Ephesus struggled just as we do today with leaving their old life behind. In todays scripture, verse twenty three, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.” Paul is very purposeful in his wording. We are called to renew, not to repair.
The definition of repair is – to fix or mend (a thing suffering from damage or a fault). After we give our lives to Jesus we are like 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “… if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” We don’t have to worry about fixing anything, Jesus has already paid the ultimate price!
When I first started my walk with Christ I found myself trying to repair a lot of damage in my life. I wanted to be a perfect Christian. I wanted to be sinless. The cool thing about Jesus is He doesn’t call us to be sinless! He calls us to sin less.
Remind yourself of this throughout your day. We are all going to fall short, probably often, but we need to know we don’t need to fix ourselves. We are fully renewed in Jesus Christ. All we have to do is allow the Spirit to work in our lives, leave our past behind, and put on our new nature, created to be like God.
Do I try to repair the damages in my life?
Do I realize the renewal that occurred when Jesus entered my life?
Dear Lord, help us to stop trying to repair what has already been renewed. Teach us how to live in the present and leave the past behind. Thank you for all you have done, are doing, and will do in our lives. Amen.
Have a great day!
C. Lyman
