Pure

Monday, September 30, 2024

Good morning, Lord

Verse of the Day:  Philippians 1:9-10

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may more and more overflow in fullness of knowledge and depth of discernment, 10 so that you will be able to determine what is best and thus be pure and without blame for the Day of the Messiah,

Memory verse: Psalm 42:2(New American Bible )

"My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God?"

Today's reading:  Isaiah 11-13 Ephesians 4

Pure

Our title today is what the dictionary says is the opposite of corruptible, that is the word that jumped off the page today in Ephesians 4. It must be because it brings up the same word That Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15:54 where he writes:

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Ephesians 4 says: 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Paul, being directed by the Holy Spirit, writes that our old self is corrupt-not just corruptible. He says that our old self is decayed and shriveled-rotten with deceitful desires(yuc) but he follows such a negative idea with God's remedy. We are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.

Renew-there is a term this present 'HGTV' generation can grasp. This word translates 'renovate'. Renovation of anything earthly frustrates me because I have done some and lived in it after for 20 years. You know what happens? It all gets old and has to be done over. The very best renovation done with the very best materials will still need to be updated? Why? Because, if it does not wear out, we get tired of it and want to change it.

If we could renovate perfectly where nothing aged and we were satisfied forever with it forever, well, that would be Heaven, would it not?

Until we get there, we must continually renovate(renew) our minds with the imperishable mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. As long as we live in a perishable body on this earth, we must repeat this all the time. We cannot leave this alone. We cannot ignore it. This is a fact.

A car runs out of gas. A hot-air balloon must be incessantly boosted with a flame. Plants have to watered. The stock must be fed. We live like this in our world all the time and we pretend we can ignore our spiritual lives?

Spiritual health cannot be maintained by going to church once or twice a week no more than we can breathe once a day and live.

So, take another deep breath of God and live in the imperishable the way He intends. It is what Jesus died for. Put Jesus on...and repeat...

"But put on(clothe yourself with) the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." 1 Corinthians 13:14

...because He loves us...

Father in Heaven,

I am weak and try to ignore the truth. Give me great desire to renew everyday, all day.

Merciful and mighty God!

In the name of Jesus,

Amen