Put Off And Put On!

By Sis. Bala Samson

CONTENTS:

1 From Caterpillar to Butterfly

2. King David – A man after God’s own heart!

3. I am crucified with Christ!

CHAPTER ONE

From Caterpillar to Butterfly!

Romans 12:1”I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

As I was preparing for the three days ‘ABIDE IN CHRIST’ - ‘fire camp’ where I had to preach on the theme ‘SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION’, I decided to put the revelations that God gave me in writing.

In order to renew or revamp anything, we got to first clear the old stuff in order to replace it with fresh new ones. Outside changes in not enough, changes should take place thoroughly - in and out. What we feed our mind with is most important to form good thinking! Anybody listening?

Florence Nightingale, Founder of modern nursing and known as the ‘Lady with a lamp’, got saved at the age of 16; while reading a wonderful book, she experienced a spiritual new birth. A few months after that she heard God say, I HAVE CHOSED YOU TO SERVE ME.’ On February 7, 1827 she wrote in her diary, ‘God called me to serve Him’ and thereafter she set aside 7th of every month for self examination and deep prayer. This is what you call as renewing the mind! Constant self examination is a must in order to discern the evil thoughts and annihilate it completely. Setting aside a day of fasting and prayer during the week is a healthy practice that would keep you close to God. It is not enough that you throw away the bad stuff, it should be replaced with good stuff! Are you hearing me?

It should come as no surprise that law enforcement officials tell us that over 95% of convicted rapists were heavily involved in pornography. If what goes in is bad, dirty, unhealthy, then our actions would reflect them. If, on the other hand, we feed our mind with good and right things, then the output would also be clean and pure. Friend, just take a stock of the T.V shows you watch, books and magazines you read, movies you attend, song lyrics you listen to, etc., conversations with close people you move with and overall evaluate the input into your mind. Your thoughts and words would say it all!

• Paul said Romans 8: 5 ‘For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

The best illustration that I can take is from the life-cycle of the butterfly; the metamorphosis of the butterfly consists of the following stages:

• Egg

• Caterpillar

• Pupa

• Butterfly.

We all got to shed away our old habits and life just like the way the caterpillar sheds its skin in order to evolve into a stunning and astounding, beautiful butterfly! Apostle Paul said:

Ephesians 4:22 “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,

23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Did you notice the words ‘put on’ and ‘put off?’

There are many people who throw away idols and embrace Christianity. Good, but we got to further do something more as well, we got to fill our mind and life with the ‘Word of God’. Many stop with just conversion and water baptism, no wonder they do not taste the ‘abundance’ promised by Jesus.

We got to throw away bitterness and

Apostle Paul said:

Romans 13:13 “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Observe the words ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ!’

Let me explain the life cycle of the butterfly so that you understand the message clearly:

The first Stage: Egg: Butterfly eggs are usually laid on the leaves of plants and they are the size of sesame seeds.

The Second Stage: Caterpillar

When the egg finally hatches, the caterpillar emerges and their primary work is to

eat and eat and eat. When they start eating, they instantly start growing and expanding. They grow by “molting” (shedding the outgrown skin) several times while it grows.