Memorise: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2nd Corinthians 5:17
Read: Romans 12:1-2, 12 I
beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.
2 And
be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.
Bible in one year; 1st Samuel 24-25, Proverbs 8:1-21
One
of the basic signs of redemption in the life of a man is the newness of
the life that he lives. This change of his spiritual living standard is
never covert; rather, it is always obvious. When Zacchaeus, the
publican, encountered Jesus in Jericho, his life never remained the
same. A notoriously corrupt tax collector said:
“Behold,
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken
anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.”
Luke 19:8
The
memory verse for today corroborates the story in the above quoted
scripture. Indeed, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old
things must pass away. Today, it is a different ball-game; people seem
to maintain the status quo of their past lives even after their claims
of a born-again experience. The thief still steals yet he claims to be
born-again. The adulterous woman who succeeded in snatching another
woman’s legally and scripturally wedded husband, lives comfortably with
the man, speaking in “tongues”
John
the Baptist, when addressing those who decided to follow godliness by
coming for his baptism, encouraged them to bear fruits that met with
genuine repentance, and take a total turn-around from past sinful
living.
The Bible says
“But
when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he
said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for
repentance.”
Matthew 3:7-8
The
above scripture is a food for thought: the religious leaders of John
the Baptist’s time humbled themselves to come for baptism in order to
usher in a new more of spiritual revival. This is a lesson for those who
are claiming to have risen through the ranks and files of established
Churches to seek spiritual reawakening.
This may also account for many older generations embracing the
Pentecostal experience. This is very good provided they also “bring
forth fruits meet for repentance”, not maintaining the status-quo of
their highly esteemed positions in their (former) Churches without
transformation. The cry of the regenerative Spirit is change!
You
may need to change your friends, eating and dressing habits to be able
to conform to the image of the Son of the Living God.
Action Point
Look at your past life in comparison with your newly found faith in Christ and effect necessary changes.
