by Jerry Senn
"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart ... But that is not the way you learned Christ — assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." — Ephesians 4:17-18, 20-24
Something very profound must happen when we claim to be the called of God.
- We come to love what God loves.
- We come to hate things God hates.
- We come to think what He thinks.
- We come to be engaged in things which are His concerns.
A W Tozer wrote, “Retire from this world each day to some private spot … Stay in the secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God’s presence envelops you.” This sort of devotional life takes time to develop and is not easy to achieve.
But remember these words of the ancient Psalm: “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, ‘O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones'” (Psalm 105:4-6).
(Adapted thoughts from, David’s Roper’s book, “A Beacon in the Darkness.”)