It’s Your Move
When i was younger, i used t’ get into horror movies … shows that took it to a whole nother level … shock-scenes of murder, mutilation and mayhem. I can remember being mesmerized by these scenes of violence that always quickened my pulse and caused me to flinch more times than i can recall. Two such movies: “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Ed Gein”. Depicted as “the house next door” or that neighbor you spoke briefly to while checking the mail, they were anything but, “normal”. Leatherface and Ed Gein both, were psychos that murdered or dug up corpses outta graveyards and “skinned” their victims, wearing that skin as a mask of sorts. It’d leave me shaking my head, thinkin, “ Wow ! Talk about twisted !” I’m over those films and understand better the damage they can do to a person’s walk with Christ. They instill a spirit of “fear” … and in Christ, we shouldn’t fear any evil, evoke or invite any dark forces into our lives that would pollute our minds or hearts ( 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 23:4 ). As He led me to this morning’s passage, i couldn’t help but think back to these gruesome movies. “Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You USED TO walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have TAKEN OFF YOUR OLD SELF with its practices and have PUT ON THE NEW SELF, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” ( Colossians 3:1-10 ). Have you ? … “taken off your old self and put on the new self” ? I truly believe, the majority of people in the world today, “Christians” included, like taking their new skin off and putting their former skin back on, as if it’s “normal”… like a favorite sweater or pullover. They want what God offers, but they wanna hang onto old ways .., they blend in so well, you’d be hard-pressed to see any “change” or “difference” in em. They’ve either convinced themselves or been led to believe that it’s ok to live a “double life” … putting their “Jesus suit” on on Sundays and Wednesdays…on Christmas Day and Easter morning … and then shucking it for their “old comfortable” ensemble the majority of the time. God’s Word doesn’t support that theory, though .., and folks, we better wake up and smell the coffee ! “ That person should not expect to receive anything from the LORD. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” ( James 1:7-8 ). “Don’t merely listen to The Word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS ! Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man, who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” ( James 1:22-24 ). “Religion” / a “religious person” … apart from a “relationship of change” in and through Jesus Christ … “worthless” ( James 2:14-26 ) ! “Therefore, if anyone is IN CHRIST, they are a NEW person with NEW ways … the old ways are gone “ ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). Time to repent and return… or repent and receive ? It’s your move !