Thursday April 21, 2022

Today is Thursday, April 21 and we are exploring what the bible says about new birth in Christ.

As I enter a time of prayer, I pause and become still. I calm my thoughts and silence my mind. I breathe deeply and slowly, and center myself upon the presence of God.

Pause and Pray

Come Holy Spirit, enlighten my heart and mind as I search the holy scriptures. God, teach me how to listen for your voice and help me understand what you are saying in my life. I am listening. Speak to me in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s goodness and praise him with the words of Psalm 40.

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare. Psalm 40:3-5

Pause and Pray

In the second half of the letter to the Ephesians, Paul points the way to powerful Christian living. Believers are called to live a life of holiness. Christians are encouraged to pursue spiritual maturity and cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit who is perfecting them and making them more like Christ. Regeneration is the renewal of a person in righteousness. It is a new birth that makes me righteous through the power of God, not because of anything I have done or can do myself. Regeneration is a real change in the nature of my soul. Paul uses the example of the old self and the new self. Before justification I lived as my old self, now I have a God-given new self to put on.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 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 4:20-24

I consider the ways of life I renounced when I came to know Jesus Christ and believed the truth of who he is. My old self was a product of inescapable original sin, corrupted by deceitful desires and enticed by the lies of the enemy. God forgave my sin because of the cross, justified me through grace and judged me righteous. Through the power of the Holy Spirit I am made holy and become the righteousness of God, my heart is changed and the attitude of my mind is transformed. The bible tells me I have a new self as a result of this new birth in Jesus Christ. My new self is created to be holy, bearing the beautiful image of God. I am restored to God’s original intent for humanity before the Fall. I am recreated in true righteousness and holiness – that news is too wondrous to comprehend.

Ask: Where are the places I desire to return to my former way of life and put on my old self? What steps can I take to consciously put on my new self imbued by God with righteousness and holiness?

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, remind me of all I have learned and been taught about living a life of faith in Christ. I renounce my old self, reject my former way of life, repent of deceitful desires, and am repulsed by past corruption. Renew my attitude, change my mind, clothe me with my new self and increase me in righteousness and holiness. I read the words from Ephesians again and listen for the message you have for me.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 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 4:20-24

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Ephesians convicts me to compare my former life with my current life, my old self with my new self, my past mindset with my present mindset. Regeneration is the gate to sanctification and that means God is inviting me to move forward on my spiritual journey and mature in righteousness and holiness. I cannot possibly do this in my own power but can only cooperate with the power of the Holy Spirit. I consider the next steps God is inviting me to take to put off my “old self” and put on my “new self.”

Pause and Pray

Come, Holy Spirit, reveal the persistence of my old self and correct the ways I resist the work of the Holy Spirit in me. Like a worn out, dirty garment, I take off the past and welcome the way you desire to clothe me in love and grace. Open wide the gate to sanctification and teach me how to walk in holiness of heart and life. Amen.

You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:7-10

I leave this time of prayer, touched by the grace and goodness of God, ready to share his love and kindness with a dark and troubled world.

Amen