The Truth contained in that Scripture is now more clear to me than ever before! Surely I am not the only one to be having these moments of clarity and revelation? If I was a cartoon character, I would have a little bubble over my head with the words “Oh! Yes! Now I understand! Thank You, Lord!!!” Truly, for so long, I have walked around endeavoring to renew my mind…I have! Really! But it has been such work because I was not keeping this Truth as my motivation. The ‘cart before the horse’ syndrome. No longer! I have seen the light! Since I have put on the new self, I am “being renewed in knowledge according to the image of <my> Creator.”
Oh, the Lord does encourage us…He motivates us…and spurs us on. And really all that is ours to do is simply believe Him and take Him at His Word. We CAN count on His Word being true.
Here are a few statements of Truth about who we are in the newness that Christ has made available to every believer.
- new attitude of mind (Ephesians 4:23)
- new heart (Ezekiel 36:26)
- new spirit (Ezekiel 11:17)
- new nature (Colossians 3:10)
- new heritage (Galatians 3:28)
- new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- new birth (1 Peter 1:3 and 4)
- new self (Ephesians 4:24)
If God says we have all these things…then we do. Mrs. Myers writes: “…you may sometimes think to yourself, ‘Well, that’s just not true of me, even though I <do> belong to Christ.’” (Anyone else?) Perhaps I have shared that mindset in the past. But now, I no longer do. I AM who God says I am! (And y.o.u. are, too!)
Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.
In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.
Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.
Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.
Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.Colossians 3:9-17
This is quite a list of righteous, holy ways of living! Images that God thinks of you…pictures that reflect the way that Jesus lived—and so can you (me, too)! Now those would make a beautiful page for our inner identity albums, wouldn’t you say?
“So take God at His Word and press forward into a growing experience of the renewal to which He has called you!”
— Mrs. Ruth Myers
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