Sunday, November 18, 2012

Children of Light


“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)

Putting off the old self…

Change isn’t an easy thing, and even as Christians we tend to be stubborn and return to our old ways of thinking and behaving when we are feeling vulnerable or pressure is building up. We are all trapped in the flesh, and even though we have been saved, our new nature is in constant conflict with our old nature in search of pleasing God. Putting off the old and putting on the new is a daily conscious commitment that comes as a result of the desire to live close to Jesus and have His life rub off on us so that we can experience qualities of love, joy, peace, and patience when we are tempted. Because of Jesus, our thinking has changed and the thoughts and deceptive desires that seep into our heart have been made new! We must put on the new nature, head in a new direction, and experience a new way of thinking!

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator and become like Him” (Colossians 3:10)

Putting on the new self…

Regardless of circumstances that get in our way, we only need to think about how turning on a light can bring change to the attitude of our minds in any miserable situation. We need to open our eyes and make necessary changes in our hearts to allow God’s light to brightly shine. He said that we are the light of the world, so we better keep our attitudes and words in check and do our best to make sure our light is shining! As Christians, our purpose in life is to put on our new self and push back the darkness around us by allowing God’s light to brilliantly shine through us. Romans 12:2 says that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and a large part of the transformational experience means that we have to replace our old attitudes with new attitudes that are based upon His word. We must choose joy over depression, love over bitterness and light over darkness. God gives us His light freely, and His light shines through our approaches, words, and deeds. Our responsibility as Christians is to have lives so transformed by His presence that everyone can see His light shining through our acts of kindness, patience, understanding and love.

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” (Isaiah 60:1)

Our old way of life is completely in the past, and we have the possibility of doing something entirely different and living a different kind of life because we have been renewed by the attitudes of our minds. Our new self is in the likeness of God, and we should put on our new nature and let it brightly shine for everyone to see!

Linking up this week with Spiritual Sundays, Winsome Wednesday, and A Sheltering Tree
 

24 comments:

  1. It is truly amazing how God does a miracle in our lives. We are a new creation. So thankful for His love, mercy and grace.

    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

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  2. Hi Denise,

    Your post made me think about when we lie awake in the dark, the darkness can make us see things that are not there, or mormal things can look like something more menacing...when we turn the light on, we can see the truth.
    I slo like how you pointed out that we can CHOOSE joy over depression, God always gives us a choice...the world does not, but God always does!
    Thanks for sharing this message...you are a light in a dark world, dear sister in Christ!
    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a Blessed week! Warm Hugs~ Lisa

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    1. Thanks Lisa; your comments are always such a blessing of light to me!!! Hugs to you too!:)

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  3. I am so thanful for your postings every times!

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    1. And I am thankful for YOU Jedidja! Blessings and warm prayers friend! :)

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  4. I am truly appreciating God's mercy and kindness daily. Blessings to you Denise and thank you for sharing.

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  5. Hi Denise,
    I appreciate that you always seek to glorify the Lord and point people to Him and to follow Him. Putting off the old self sure can be a hard thing to do, but well worth it. Christ came to set us free so we do not have to be a slave to sin. The things He instructs us to do bring about good things. You are right, He is the light of the world. It is wise to follow and obey.
    I pray you have a happy & blessed Thanksgiving,
    Ken

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    1. Thanks Ken; we are so blessed to have renewal and grace!! Happy Thanksgiving to you my friend....blessings and joy!! :)

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  6. Hi Denise, sometimes we don't see the work the Lord has done in us until we look back and see where we were a year ago. Great reminder that we don't have to go backwards and that the old is gone and we are being renewed and changed daily.
    God bless my friend
    Tracy

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    1. Ha; true Tracy; would never want to take a step backwards, only continue to move forward! Love you my friend! :)

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  7. So many "put off and put ons" in the Bible. Thankful that we have the Holy Spirit to help us.

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  8. Your last paragraph just really resonated with me Denise. The possibility to living differently is available to us.

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    1. Available and ready for us to put on! Blessings Wanda!

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  9. May the Lord bless the work you are doing with Him - encouraging others in His Word. Bless you!! May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week too!

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    1. Thank you for your encouragement too, and Happy Thanksgiving! Blessings and love!

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  10. This is a great reminder today that we are here to let the light of Jesus shine in and through us so that we can go and make disciples of all nations! Cute website!

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    1. Thanks for visiting Kelli; blessings as you let His light shine!

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  11. Thank you for this very inspiring post. I agree that we can all leave the past behind and start totally new, we just have to let God take over of our lives... and ask Him to create a new spirit within us. Thank you for the wonderful message :)

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    1. Thanks Lea; what a relief when we finally do let Him take over! :) Blessings my friend!

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  12. Hello and peace from God
    to you and your family

    Jesus reminds me to send you a greeting
    Isaiah 58 verse 11
    God bless you and your family
    Greetings from
    Jan Samuel

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    1. Hi Jan; so nice to hear from you! What a beautiful verse full of God's promise and love; thank you for sharing and thinking of me. Blessings to you and your fmnily too my friend!
      Denise

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  13. A stirring call to choose light from darkness. I want others to be drawn to Christ who lives in me. I enjoyed your artwork, too. Thank you for linking to Sharing the Shelter. I hope you come and share again.

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