As we put on the new man, as we read yesterday, this is how our behavior will change:
Therefore, laying aside falsehood,
Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor (Zechariah 8: 16),for we are members of one another.
We are not to be deceitful with one another, any more than you would lie to your own hand! We are all body-parts in the body of Christ. Honest truthfulness is how we will live together now.
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not give the devil an opportunity.
When our rough edges rub on one another, this can cause disagreements. And we still may offend one another. But if we get angry with one another, then we are to resolve whatever issues have caused the anger, so that we can have peace together.
Otherwise, if we let it fester, then that opens the door of vulnerability and the devil will take advantage of us. This is serious. Let's talk out our differences as adults, without getting personal.
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Here's another weakness some of us have, even as Christians. We are to respect one another, not eyeing their belongings or taking advantage of them. We are to use our talents and abilities to provide something of value that others are willing to pay for, even if it's getting a job working for a paycheck. We need to be responsible for pulling our share of the load, and taking care of our own needs, as much as possible.
Then when we're honestly receiving our own income, then we can manage our finances in such a way as to be able to also share with others who do not have the ability to meet all of their own needs, or when someone has a special need.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
This concerns our talk. We need to be aware of the words we are using. My late husband became a Christian as an adult, and he had formed a bad habit of using bad language. When he was saved, this was the first indication to me that his salvation was real. But even though he learned to use other adjectives and adverbs instead of swear words, it seemed that when he was angry, or was just not paying attention to what he was saying, those coarse words still snuck out.
He wasn't alone in this snare. Many of us may not use those particular coarse words, but we may still be thinking unkind thoughts about someone else, and some derogatory language may slip out of our lips. Even if we're just "thinking out loud." So we all need to pay attention to how we see one another, and choose our words well, before we open our mouths. And we need to find something positive to say, that will encourage one another, to build up their confidence in the Lord. This will give grace to those who hear.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the Day of Redemption.
We cannot chase Him away, but all these things will grieve God's Spirit in us. We certainly don't want Him to be sorry for saving us, so we would do well to remember He is right here with us, listening to everything we say, hearing our thoughts, and reading our hearts.
This verse reinforces the permanence of our position in God's family. He has sealed us up, and no created thing can break Almighty God's hold on us. We are His, and we will remain His, all the way to that Day of Redemption, the Day of the Lord, when King Jesus returns to rule this Earth as our sovereign Lord over all lords and King over all kings.
That's when our Redemption is complete, when our mortal bodies are swallowed up by our spirit bodies, and the Father declares that we are His adult children and gives us the authority under the Son to assist Him in His government.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Let's look at these words: bitterness is pikria, "acidity, poison."
Wrath is thumos, "passion (as if breathing hard), fierceness, indignation."
Anger is orge, "violent passion, vengeance." This is a word that conveys even stronger emotion.
Clamor is krauge, "an outcry (in notification, tumult or grief)," crying out loudly, making a scene.
And slander (evil speaking in the KJV) is blasphemia, "vilification, railing, blasphemy."
We need to be laying aside all these negative attitudes toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, along with all malice, kakia, "badness, depravity, malignity, trouble," which covers all these, along with every other piece of "caca" that might slip out of our hearts through our mouth.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
When we put away all these negative attitudes and ways of thinking, then we will be able to let God's Love into our hearts, to be able to share it with everyone else in our lives, whether we like them or not. Other believers we find difficult to get along with, we need to pray for, that God's goodness would be upon them, and for God to show us something in him or her that we can like and honestly compliment them on it. To be able to see them with our Father's eyes, giving them the benefit of the doubt, and accepting them as they are.
As we live in this world, our feet are walking through the dust and dirt of the world, but when we wash in the water of the Word regularly, then we will be clean. And when we pray for one another, we will find them easier to get along with without the former strife.
This is something we all are in need of paying attention to. All of us are human, and we all have different personalities. Not every person is naturally attracted to every other person, and sometimes we are actually repelled. But when we're brothers and sisters, God makes a way for us to all get along. We just need to follow His ways, regardless of how we feel.
I've found that I cannot feel myself into new actions, but I have acted my way into new feelings. That's why we are to obey. Even if we don't feel like it, our feelings may be lying to us. But when we do what we know is right, then our feelings will catch up.
God loves us all, with all of our different personalities and faults and weaknesses. And He even likes us when we were His enemies, to call us to Himself and want us to be with Him. He has forgiven us of so much, we ought to forgive one another freely, also.
Even when we need to forgive frequently, over and over, for the same offense. In our humanity we need to teach our feelings to catch up with our wills. Sometimes this takes time and repetition. But when we persist, it will come to pass.
O my Father, You have forgiven me so much, and You continue to forgive me every day as I mess up in something every day. You are so gracious to me, teach me to be persistent with others as You are with me. Father, I want to be like Jesus; continue to show me His character in the details I need to change to be like Him. I know You are remolding me into His character, little by little, step by step. Keep me faithful to You in everything I do.
Use me, Father, to influence many others to follow You, to love You as You love them, and to grow up through the childhood and schooling of this world, into the maturity of adulthood in Your family.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Son of the Father, the Lord God Almighty, King of all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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