February 6, 2023                                                     PUT  ON
Colossians 3:10, 12-14 “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-“    “And so, those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
Romans 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lust.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
I really like a shirt I was given at Christmas; would it make any sense just to hang it in my closet and not put it on and wear it? Certainly not. God has given us something far greater than any gift we could receive from someone at Christmas or at any other time, and it’s a gift we must put on if we are to make use of the gift. God has made us a new person-that’s the gift. However, this gift is designed to be put on. We must first unwrap the gift; we unwrap the gift by discovering our true identity in His word and through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. (That is an analogy-at least to some degree.) I once knew someone who said they wanted to get off of a certain medication that they had been on for many years; they tried to stop the medication but with no success. They finally came to the conclusion that they had rather stay with what they were use too-so they gave up on the idea of stopping the medication. We like our routines even though we know our routines may be the best for us. The idea of putting on a new self implies change-and change can be uncomfortable and even frightening. Furthermore, when we discover just how awesome the new self is, we may conclude it is too good to be true. The nature of man is to think that he knows what is best for him, so that is what he pursues. At salvation, God did not refurbish us, but made us NEW creations. Also, God did not make us robots; we must make the choice of putting on this NEW self; and this new self is drastically different from the old self. The old self may have been a pretty good guy-or gal and it may have lived a fairly moral life; however, it is as ‘filthy rags’ compared to the new self. (Isaiah 64:6.) Above we read the awesome truth about the new self: it was created in the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness!  The above passage in Colossians 3 list some of the characteristics of the new self-compassion, humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiveness. (As you read the New Testament, you will find more characteristics of the new self.) You may be asking how one puts on the new self. There is no three-step process. It does involve learning through study or through hearing what the word says about being made new; truly believing what the word says; accepting by faith that God has made you new; and most importantly, begin acting out of your newness-actually choose to express the nature of your new self! Of course, before putting on the new self, you must lay aside the old self. As we walk in our new identity, we will experience life as never before and will see good fruit. It does not mean that we will not experience difficulties, but it is does mean that we will demonstrate the very nature of God no matter the circumstances.
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Blessings,
Buddy

​
February 4, 2023                                    FOR  GOD’S  OWN  POSSESSION
1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness in to His marvelous light; for you were once not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Titus 2:14 “…who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Once we as believes come to understand our true identity as sons and daughters of God, we will not suffer from a poor self-esteem. It is a major spiritual breakthrough for us when we embrace the fact that we are God’s possession; we are not our own-we have been bought with a price. We were in darkness, but we have been called into His marvelous light. We may have trouble seeing past this life, but the truth is that this life is temporary and it is a time of preparation for the life to come. God is up to something; He has plans that are beyond our comprehension-and His plans include you and I. We did not one day decide to ‘find God;’ God chose us; we are a chosen race. (Not chosen based on our own merits but by the grace of God.) And don’t’ miss this-we are a royal priesthood who offer service and worship to God. We are a holy nation; God broke the power of sin over us and He has forgiven us of our sins and has made us righteous and He has made us new creations. As the people of God, we can live holy lives-lives that are pleasing to Him. Our overall purpose in this life is that we “may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us.” Life is not all about us; life is to be about fulfilling the call of God and living according to the ways of Him who called us and made us His own possession. Let us daily acknowledge that we belong to God and purpose to live as one who has been joined to Him.
1 Peter 1:14-16 “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lust which were yours in your ignorance, but be like the holy one who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
1 Corinthians 19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
2 Timothy 1:9 “who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,”
Blessings,
Buddy