The New Self — 2015.12.14

The New Self — 2015.12.14

And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:24

In summer I checked on my apple tree and when I saw it growing well and bearing a lot of small apples I was glad. But than I noticed, the tree was weeping. It just looked to the one branch that wasn’t bearing any fruit. It cried and asked me, if maybe it wasn’t an apple tree after all. It continued that it was truly worthless without fruit… I comforted it, pointed out that all the other branches were full of fruit, but it was pointless. So I took the pruning shears to cut of that fruitless branch, but the tree cried out even louder. If I wanted to kill it, it asked.
Some Christians cry just like that, when Jesus want to cut some useless branches from them. They cry and ask, if Jesus wants to harm them.
And sometimes we don’t feel like gods children anymore because we only focus on the one part of our character that is wild and without fruit. Other times we see Christians that try so hard to be in Gods image. They try so had to talk, act, and be the way Jesus wanted it to be. That is a hard task.
It is much easier when we do like Jesus has planed. We give to Him our old and wild branches and we renounce the worldly desires that want to rule us. Like the flowers follow the sun we face Him. We search for His presence and read about Him in the Bible. We look at Him and His presence rubs off on us. We pray: Lord, make me humble! Make me compassionate!! And Jesus will give us the opportunity to humble our self, maybe through an apology we owe somebody. Actually, He does all the work to change us into Gods image, we only have to keep still and do as is it’s written in Gods word. Than, He will bless us greatly.

Jesus, I truly want to put on my new self, which is sculpted to the image of God! Please cut the wild branches of desire and help me to become humble and merciful. Jesus, live in me and change my thoughts, my actions, and my feelings, so it will conform to You! Help me to act according to You where I have to get active. Thanks for Your help!

Bible reading today: Romans 11:13-24


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