OUR DAILY BREAD : COSTUME OR UNIFORM?

[cimi]

December 12
Thursday


COSTUME OR
UNIFORM?

READ:
ROMANS 13:11-14
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'Put on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and make no
provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts.
__Romans 13:14
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Eunice McGarrahan gave an inspiring talk on Christian discipleship in which she said, "A costume is something you put on and pretend that you are what you are wearing. A uniform, on the other hand, reminds you that you are, in fact, what you wear."

Her comment sparked memories of my first day in US Army basic training when we were each given a box and ordered to put all our civilian clothes in it. The box was mailed to our home address. Every day after that, the uniform we put on reminded us that we had entered a period of disciplined training designed to change our attitudes and actions.

"Cast off the works of darkness," the apostle Paul told the followers of Jesus living in Rome, "and...put on the armor of light" (Rom. 13:12). He followed this with the command to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (v.14). The goal of this "casting off" and "putting on" was a new identity and transformed living (.13).

When we choose to follow Christ as our Lord, He begins the process of making us more like Him each day,. It is not a matter of pretending to be what we aren't but of becoming more and more what we are in Christ. __David McCasland

```````````````````````O to be like Thee, O to be like Thee,````````````````````
```````````````````````Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art!`````````````````````
``````````````````'Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fulness;```````````````````
`````````````Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart. __Chisholm```````````````

Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you
your life. __Dietrich Bonhoeffer

*****************************Today's Bible Reading __ Romans 13:11-14*******************************

11 And do this, knowing
the time, that now it is high
time to awake out of a sleep;
for now our salvation is
nearer than when we first
believed. 12 The night is far
spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast off the
works of darknes, and let
us put on the armor of light,

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.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Jesus taught that sinful human beings hate spiritual light and love
spiritual darkness (John 3:19). In today's reading, the apostle Paul
develops a similar theme. We are told that salvation is a process
that requires spiritual alertness (Rom. 13:11). In anticipation
of the final judgment ("the day is at hand"), we are to live holy
lives (v.12). Likewise, we are told to abandon the sinful behaviors
committed in darkness (v.13). Only through dependence on Christ's
indwelling Spirit can we resist the temptation of our sin nature.
To "put on" Christ is to depend upon Him to transform us as we
attempt to make godly decisions each day. To "make no provision
for the flesh" means to starve the sin nature while feeding the new
nature (v.14).

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