How to Live Your New Life

Verses:  Ephesians 4: 25-5:2

My thoughts about the verses:

It is easy to say take on a new life.  Yet, do we really know how to live this new life we have been given?  Do we know how to treat others as true heirs of Realm of God?  We have to first understand that we have to completely change our old ways of thinking.  It is our thoughts that often lead to our deeds.  Therefor changing the way you think and putting on the new life in those thoughts will help your life a true Christian Life.

See we cannot do the things that we use to do.  We have to show others through our deeds that we have a life that is based on the saving grace of Jesus.  The first thing that we have to do is respect others.  Even though they may not respect us we have to treat them with kindness and allow the Spirit of God to change their lives.  We cannot hold anger towards others because as new beings in Christ we come to see that it is not the person that we dislike but their actions.

This is a hard thing to swallow.  We want to blame people for the anger we have.  Yet, we have to understand that we as Christians have to stop being angry and start being compassionate.  We have to accept that those that are not Christians will never live up to the expectations that we have established.  In fact, Christians themselves will never live up to all the expectations that we have placed on their life.

We want to think that the person that steals deserves punishment.  We want to hurt people that have talked ill against us.  Yet, we need to understand that we as Christians need to turn the other cheek.  Not that we accept what they are doing to us.  Rather we accept that God lives within us and will help us overcome what is happening. 

We have to learn forgiveness.  Forgiving people is often a very hard thing to do.  We are mad at people for what they have done to us in the past.  We hold resentment toward those that have maliciously attacked us.  Yet, God tells us that we need to forgive these things just as God has forgiven us.

We are a new spirit.  We are one with all Christians in the world.  Jesus died for all so that we may have the gift of everlasting life.  How can we hold onto our bitterness and anger when God is so willing to forgive us? 

Yet, we need to take it one step further we need to forget the harms that has been done to us.  This is one of the hardest things as humans have to do.  It is easier to say I have forgiven you for what you have done to me.  Yet, when it comes to forgetting what has happened we often find that this seems merely impossible.  There is this deep side that even though we have forgiven someone we no longer trust them.  We build up a defense wall because we do not want to be hurt again.

I know that I have done this in my own life.  I have forgiven past deeds.  Yet, if you hurt me once I am prepared for you to do it again.  I have a hard time of forgetting all the bad things that people have done in my life.  I know deep down inside that there are certain people that I distrust because of the hurt they have caused me.  Yet, is the way that I need to live.

We need to remember that God does not only forgive us.  God forgets what we do and will do.  The blood of the perfect lamb covers our sins.  The next time someone does something that hurts you forgive them.  Then try will all of your heart to forget what has happened.  We are not perfect and we will struggle with this.  Yet, we need to remember that we who are Christians are one body united in loving God. 

God has forgiven our trespasses and forgotten our transgressions.  We as the children of God need to do the same thing.  No we may ever achieve this fully but, with all of our heart, mind and spirit we must try to forget so that we can live a happier life with Jesus our Beloved Savior.

Prayer:

We praise you O Holy God for your love.  We praise you for covering our sins with the blood of the Perfect Lamb.  Help us Dear God forgive those that have done us wrong.  We ask that you move within us helping us to forget the past deeds of others so that we may live free in you.  In the name of the Lamb of God we pray.  Amen

Questions:

Have you accepted the love of God?  Are you living a life that pleases God?  Are you able to forgive those that have hurt you?  Is it time to forget those things that have caused you harm so that you can live with peace of mind and spirit?