Tuesday – June 21, 2016
Time for the Tuesday presentation of the Word of God. Tuesday is the day I remind you and myself to pray for the governments of the United States and I am starting something new of praying for another country as well. Today that country is Iceland. Iceland is grouped with other North American countries. The picture is a globe showing its location on the earth. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) We are praying first for a revelation of Jesus Christ in the Church and then in the nation as a whole. Back to Colossians.
Colossians 3:9-11 (KJV)
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
We have been focusing in on this idea of an old man (not age wise but a positional or kingdom change secondary to a change of thought and naming a new allegiance). Sinners have a way of behaving, they sin, and that is why they are called sinners. We who have received Jesus as Lord have decided to put the old man away including the thoughts that lead to the behaviors of the lost or sinner man. Replacing the old thought life with a new thought life is essential to the Christian walk. Particularly if you want a difference between the old life and the new life. Did we only change our thinking about who was to be lord of our lives (fire insurance) or did we chose to be a Christian (like Christ)?
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
The instant that we change our mind and choose Jesus as Lord the Holy Spirit quickens or makes alive our dead spirit man. We are instantly translated from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of the Father’s dear Son. In the preceding Scripture the point I am circling back to is the fundamental importance of thoughts for they give rise to what we really believe and what we say that we really believe. I am sure everyone realizes that people say things that they don’t believe (otherwise called a lie) because it is expedient for the situation and it gains a level of acceptance that an opposing view might not gain. Let me ask a question, did Jesus say what the Father wanted Him to say or did He filter his speech to be politically correct and much more acceptable?
In 2 Corinthians 5:17-18 the Apostle Paul is telling us that the words we used before and the things we did before are of the old man and are not the character of the new man. The new man has new thoughts leading to new words (things), new behaviors that are Christ like. These new thoughts, words, and behaviors are of God, our Father. We see this in the natural where a child will express themselves like the parent they are emulating. We are not to be conformed to our old father, the devil, but our new Father God. That starts and ends with our thinking.
Romans 12:2 (KJV)
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.
We are renewing our mind with the knowledge of this new Kingdom of which we are now citizens. The old worldly thought, ways of thinking are replaced with Gods very thoughts, the Word of God. We must prove what is good and what is bad for us as new creatures or creations in the Kingdom of God. There is no substitute for the will of God. Anything else leads to stealing, killing, and destroying. We must judge ourselves and ask our Heavenly Father to help us judge ourselves, to repent, and change our minds to be exactly like His. Otherwise the devil can gain a judgment against us and here comes some degree of stealing, killing, and destroying in our life.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
