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NEW COATS

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Romans 13:14).   Scripture compares the putting off our old, carnal nature, and putting on our new nature in Christ with changing clothes.   The picture I have in my mind is like when I would come home from work and take off the dirty, smelly clothes that I had worked in all day, bathe, and put on clean, fresh clothes that were free of spots, odors, or wrinkles.   The simplicity of this picture is arresting.   God does not suggest that we try to clean, patch up, or press the old garments - He tells us to put them off altogether and discard them because He has a brand-new garment for us.   God says that "...we are all as an unclean thing , and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6).   There is nothing salvageable about our old nature: it is corrupt according to the deceitful lust that rules it.   The Apostle Paul was convin...
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DESPISED AND REJECTED

"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." (Isaiah 53:2a, 3).   We usually like to dwell on the beauty of the Lord when we talk or meditate about Christ, but I would like to shed some light on the uncomely aspect of the Lord.  During His earthly ministry, Jesus angered and offended a great number of people - people who said they were looking for His appearance.  They were waiting for a mighty king who would lead them to victory against their enemies and restore Israel to the glory that it once enjoyed.  This carpenter's son from Galilee was not what they expected, and His message was to love their enemies, not vanquish them; to turn the other cheek, not get the upper hand; and give their cloak if their coat was taken.  This di...
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LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...” (Philippians 2:5).   This exhortation of St. Paul to the Philippian Church applies to all who call on the name of Jesus and claim Him as Lord and Savior.   It means that we are to think as Jesus thought and to follow His example of love and humility.     Paul continues by describing what makes the mind of Christ unique.   He writes, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8).   Christ, Who is the Light of the world, the Word of God made flesh, and the Creator of all things (see John 1:3), is also described by the writer of Hebrews as “…the brightness of His [God’s] glory, and the express image of His p...
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