April 29
Put it All Away
Ephesians 4:31-32

 

31: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

 

Often we see a comparison between how not to be and how to be.  What not to do and then what to do.  Again we see here what we should not do—be bitter, full of rage, angry, quarrelsome, slanderers etc...  Put it all away.  Then we see what we should do—be kind, compassionate and forgiving even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us.

It’s one thing to put away bad behavior but to take the extra step to put on the good behavior makes a whole lot of difference.  Even though we don’t earn our salvation through "good works" we’re still told to do good things. We’re still told to be kind and forgive.

 

Confession:

I’ll not allow myself to give myself over to bitterness, rage, anger, quarreling and slander.  I will yield to kindness, compassion and forgiveness.  Even though I don’t earn my salvation through good deeds I will follow Jesus’ example.

Obedience is a tree of life!