June 2004 Archives

Today in my worship time with my children, we looked at Ephesians 4:22-24: "Verse 22) that you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, Verse 23) and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, Verse 24) and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." We always try to ask the 5 w's (who, what, when, where, why) and an h (how) when we look at scripture. In this case, we asked questions like WHAT are the instructions in the passage? WHO is the old man? HOW do you put off the old man? WHAT are you to do after you put off the old man? WHAT does it say about the old man, etc. An interesting thing about this passage when you look at it in the greek text. The "put off" in v22 and the "put on" in v24 are both written in what is called the aorist tense. Without going into too much detail, it refers to an action that took place at ONE point in time or a one-time happening. Verse 23 tells us to "be renewed" in the spirit. This word "renewed" is written in the present tense which shows an action that is continuous. I don't think it is necessary to know the greek in order to know scripture, but in this particular passage, it is very interesting the way it is written. How can I apply this to my life? Well, I'm not an expert, but I think it means that I "put off" the old man and "put on" the new man at one time in my life. I don't have to "keep on" doing it, but just "keep on" realizing that it has already been done. I think that is why the greek specifically uses a tense that does not indicate a particular time, but just that the action happened at a point in time (usually in the past). I think this happened when I got saved. Verse 23, on the other hand, tells me that in order to continue to walk in what happened in verse 22 and 24, I have to be renewed in the spirit "continually". In other words, I have to realize (I like the word reckon) that I am no longer the old man, I have put it away. Then I have to realize/reckon that I am now the new man. I do these two things by being renewed in the spirit. How do I be renewed in the spirit? Well, I think I am renewed in the spirit when I meditate and take in the truths of Christ from the scripture and make them my thoughts etc. I have stressed to my children the ABSOLUTE necessity of knowing scripture. I don't think you can be renewed apart from knowing scripture. Just some food for thought. Hope you're having a good week!

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"Chariots of Fire" is one of my favorite movies. It is about Eric Liddell. I like the way Eric stands strong for his beliefs. I like the way he remains firm despite persecution. (By the way, I love the way Dino Kartsonakis plays the theme song from the movie!) The thing I like best about the movie is the way Eric keeps his focus on the end goal which is winning the race. When I taught the Precept course on 2 Timothy I had a chance to study about runners some. (2 Tim. 2:5) In our study, we looked at 1 Corinthians 9:24(NAS), "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." I took some time to go to the library and read about how athletes run and prepare for a race. What spoke to me the most and what I can still apply to my life is the track on which they run. They have a very lined out, defined path that they are supposed to run in. It is not really very wide. They cannot look at any other runners beside or behind them. If they take even a moment to look at another runner, they have touched or crossed the line. This disqualifies them from the race. I can apply that practically to my life when Paul speaks about "running the race". He is referring to the Christian walk, of course. I find that my walk with the Lord goes much smoother if I keep my focus on Jesus. If I focus on other runners (people) around me or even my circumstances, I look down and I have messed up the race again. Sometimes I find myself doing this much too often. How do I get back on the right track? I simply take my eyes off the circumstance or person and put them back on the "finish line" (Jesus). Works every time for me! "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 3:13-14 NAS)

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