Ephesians Chapter 4: Verses 21-24 (NLT)
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
Any change in our attitude and behaviour always starts when we make up our mind to make that change. Paul reminded the Ephesian church that since they now knew about Jesus, they had to live their lives as Jesus intended them to, not just to please themselves. That meant putting off their old behaviour, like taking off old clothes, and choosing to behave as Jesus would, which in turn is like putting on new clothes.
Often, we start off with the best of intentions, but when we fall or fail, we can easily give up. Giving up is an attitude of the mind too, and we need to make the choice to pick ourselves up, and keep the right attitude. We can sometimes find that difficult, but Paul reminds us that we don’t need to struggle with that by ourselves, as Christians we have the help of the Holy Spirit who will enable us to pick ourselves up, persist and thus become more like Jesus in our attitude and behaviour.
I am so grateful for that reminder today!
Dear Lord,
I am so grateful for the encouragement and help of the Holy Spirit to make sure that I set my mind and attitude to the things of Christ, and not the things that the world would focus on. Holy Spirit help me to do that. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.