There is a question we ask ourselves every day. No matter who you are and what you do, you ask this question at least every day. What will I wear today?
We arise in the morning and put off our pajamas and then make a decision what to wear.
God in His Word uses this concept of putting off and putting on clothes in regard to living a successful spiritual walk.
A vital key to living a successful spiritual walk with our Heavenly Father is what the Bible calls the renewed mind. The picture God paints for us is to take things out of our mind that are harmful and put His things in our mind that will bless us. As you read these Scriptures note the word for “put off” and “put on” refers to the action of taking clothes off and putting clothes on.
Colossians 3:8-14:
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity [love of God], which is the bond of perfectness.
What is in your closet that you have hanging around? Do you allow yourself to hang on to “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and filthy communication out of your mouth” or have you cleaned your closet from these and have only the Godly apparel to put on such as, “mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering [patience] forbearance with everyone, forgiveness and most of all the love of God. Check Ephesians 4:22-32 for other items to either put off or put on in your closet.
Recently in our fellowship I challenged everyone to check what is in their closet and clean out the “old man” stuff and put on the “new man” qualities.
Check and see what you are wearing! Out with the old man; in with the new man, the Christ in you!
Agape,
Bob
Have you ever been reading God’s Word, the Bible and BAM, a verse jumps out at you and grabs your attention?
The latest “BAM” verse for me has been II Timothy 1:9.
The other day a group of believers were together talking about the things of God. When I shared II Timothy 1:9, one of the persons who was relatively new to the Bible, remarked with, “Wow, that is a game changer.” We were talking about having a purpose in life and getting the most out of being alive. It made an obvious impact on him.
II Timothy 1:9:
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to
our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was
given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
God has saved us, or rescued us and called us with a special, sanctified purpose. This was done not at our request but God figured it out special just for us before the world began. Another awesome point to see here is that it was given to us through Christ, the once and for all, perfect redeemer of all mankind. Wow, BAM, see what I mean!
If you want to expand this awesome revelation, read the chapter and see the context of which this verse stands.
Ah! What effect one verse can have in our life.
Agape,
Bob
PS1: What verses lately have been BAM verses for you?
PS2: Speak in tongues much!
What is the answer to a genuine Godly life?
Having lived over 50 years as a Christian I have witnessed many, many believers trying to be their best for God. They do good for a while and then they crash and burn and sometimes never recover to where they were before.
What can I do to truly stand for God, day in and day out, for a lifetime.
We all have our ups and downs, but what can I do so that I can recover quickly and get back “on the saddle” again?
Having worked with hundreds of people personally who are endeavoring to be solid for the Father, I have come to the conclusion of what it really takes to be a vibrant born again son of God.
The answer is…
Do you really want to know?
Would you change your life accordingly?
OK! Enough delay tactics; here’s what it takes to be your best for God over a lifetime:
Intimacy with God.
Yes, have an intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father. How do you do that? The answer is a 3 in 1 interwoven activity:
Spend time in His Word / Speak in tongues / Talk to Him and Listen to Him
Do we not with the people we love: hang out with them, talk to them, learn about them, and listen to them? With the Heavenly Father we express our love to Him by studying His Word about Him and praying to Him. Not only asking in prayer to get something, but to share how much we love Him and are grateful for Him. Of course speaking in tongues is prayer in the spirit (1 Cor. 14:14; Eph. 6:18; Jude 20); it is magnifying God (Acts 10:46); it is giving thanks to God (1 Cor.14:15, 17). What is most awesome, they are heavenly words, perfected by Him.
Now that you have the answer. Do these three things so that you will have intimacy with God.
Agape,
Bob
Do you remember playing sports with your friends and when they were choosing sides, you would yell out to the team captain, “Pick me, pick me!” Being picked on the best team is something we still yearn for as grown-ups. As we apply to schools, or jobs, or professional organizations, we are always trying to be chosen by the most beneficial groups.
I believe this even carries over in our spiritual life. We desire to know the true God and be on His side. For many religious seekers they work hard to be approved. For the Christian, we appreciate what Jesus Christ has done to redeem all mankind. We desire to be a part of the family of God.
Thankfully it is not about begging God to choose us, but it is all about recognizing the finished work of Jesus Christ so that we can be chosen in Him. We do not work for God’s acceptance. We simply believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and God raising Him from the dead, then we become a member of God’s family. Jesus Christ did all the work for our redemption before God. We chose to believe on Him.
Jeanie, my wife, was inspired to share this antidote: “God fights our battles; we celebrate the victories.” In other words, God wants us to trust Him and His Word, knowing that He does the fighting, we accept the blessings.
The spiritual reality of our new birth is that God has chosen us. Yes, we have to believe Romans 10:9 to get saved, but our Heavenly Father knew we would chose Him. This reality of God choosing you is confirmed by the following verses:
Ephesians 1:3-5: ASV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:
having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
God knew some day you would believe. Knowing this, He expressed His love and complete ownership of us by choosing us before the foundation of the world. There are not too many things that God has “chosen before the foundation of the world.”
He picked you and me as His child forever. You are not only on His team, but in His family “holy and without blemish.” Also you are seated in the heavenlies next to Him (Ephesians 2:6). Aren’t you glad He picked you?
Agape,
Bob