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God's plan is to bring out the dark secrets of the heart and
mind and give you right desires and habits of thinking.
The Bible tell us about other people who faced "self"
issues. The first thing Jesus did was to attempt to re-direct their focus. Here
is the answer Jesus gave some leaders who were struggling with the issue of
"pride":
"...'Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and
greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)
Right here, Jesus shows us where to put our focus. That's the first
commandment or instruction for taking our minds off "self." It really
means to center ALL your affections and attention on doing everything possible
to please your Lord because you love Him for what He has done for
you...not to try to gain His favor. You already have His favor or He wouldn't
have died for you.
The second instruction is similar:
"Love your neighbor as
yourself." (Matthew 22:39)
Both of these commandments are showing us where to put our
focus. It is NOT on ourselves, but rather to:
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Please the Lord Jesus Christ, and
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Serve others as Jesus would serve.
Here is the "plan."
The Bible says:
"
in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus
you were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your
old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new
in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to
be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians
4:21-24)
This put off process can be as painful as crucifixion! We are
usually so attached to our habits that we wouldnt know how to function
without them. Habits do not change instantaneously. It takes time
perseverance
with faith, trust and patience. But God is never going to take
something away from us without replacing it with something better. His purposes
are ALWAYS for good. Whenever God asks us to put off or get rid of
some thing in our life that is hindering our walk with Him, He will show us what
to put on.
As you have chosen Jesus as your Lord, you are now choosing to
"die" to your old habits and be raised up to a new way of thinking. As
we mentioned before, this is a maturing process that only begins the day
you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. The books of Ephesians,
Philippians and Colossians were written to believers to help them in this
process of "putting off" the old and "putting on"
the new. You make the choice on a daily basis and God the Father will give you
the power through is Holy Spirit and His written Word.
The Bible says:
"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 practice and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of
its Creator." (Colossians 3:2, 5-10)
As we mentioned before, this is a maturing process that only begins the day
you committed your life to Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. It takes
time...perseverance with faith, trust and patience. You make the choice on a
daily basis and God the Father will give you the power through His Holy Spirit
and His written Word. He wants to do this in us because we have already accepted
His salvation and agreed for Him to be our Lord.
The change in the heart or attitude is not something you can measure. If you
tried, you'd be watching yourself instead of keeping your eyes on Jesus and His
Word. So it's important to not allow guilt to set in when you don't 'get it
right'. Just confess or agree with God that you messed up and keep going. Babies
don't walk perfectly when they start out and you won't either. God wants us to
recognize the need to lean completely on Him because we have no ability to
change ourselves. (see Jeremiah 13:23)
So lets look at some examples of change. In the chart below, the areas
listed under the 'put offs' deal with pride, self-belittlement,
and self-pity prevent a Christ-like servant attitude in you and are the
exact opposite of God's instructions to love Him and others.
The sins of envy/greed (covetousness) and jealousy reveal a
self-focus which denies God's work and provision in your life.
(The answers for Column 4 are found as you scroll down.)
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