Starting over

so i'm going to get this blog going again.  i had a blog with my good buddy kyle at aroundthecoffeeshop.com but it has been out of commission for a while, so until further notice, i'll be blogging here again.  i also changed the name.  "refined thoughts" had some value as a name, but i think it's kind of lame.  i'm running a course right now in Portsmouth NH called "The Journey...to authentic spirituality" and i like that as a title for my blog.  i like it because i am on a journey to love and know God more day by day and to learn how to love the people all around me as well.  Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" and i am doing what i can to follow him on this journey. 

anyway, it's nice to be back, bloggers.

understanding ephesians

i think that lots of times, people do not understand the context of what they are reading in the bible. the personalize the message of each book, not realizing that each book in the bible was written by a person to a person (or group of people) that existed in a specific time and place. Christians also believe that while it was a word from one man to others, that message was inspired by God and can be applied today, in our lives and churches. we must first understand what God was saying to those people before we can understand or begin to understand how God wants to apply that eternal truth to our lives. consider paul's letter to the ephesians. below i'll describe what the city of ephesus was like. consider the context to which paul was writing when you read that book.

Ephesus was located on the eastern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). It was a leading Roman city at the time, along with Rome, Corinth, Antioch and Alexandria, but is now uninhabited. The city was located on a harbor that was essential to make it an economic power and had about 250,000 inhabitants. There was a long road that led to the harbor that was about 11m wide and was lined with marble pillars to welcome visitors,

One of the most important aspects of Ephesus was its worship of the fertility goddess Artemis (Diana). The amazing temple that was built for worshippers was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, until the Goths destroyed it in 263. There was open prostitution in the temple. The temple and Artemis-worship actually generated much of the economic robustness of the city. Each April, there was a festival for Artemis where about one million people descended on the city. Artemis was not the only attraction, though. The city was full of amazing architecture. There was the stadium that seated 25,000 people (the mob scene of Acts 19), as well as the Library of Celcus. While Artemis worship dominated the religious scene in Ephesus, there was also a very strong presence of those involved in the magical arts. There was such a magical arts presence in the city that books written on the subject were often referred to as “Ephesian Writings.”

this letter, as were all parts of scripture, were written to people who lived in time and space. we must first understand what God was saying to them before we can understand how God wants to apply that eternal truth to our lives.

A New Man

i was reading in the book of Ephesians about Paul saying that we need to put on the "new self" when we become Christians. What does that mean? I thought it was a strange phrase so i tried to get my thoughts together on it and here they are. What do you think it means to put on the "new self" or to put off the "old self"? This section of scripture is in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 17-32.

For the “new man” to be put on, there must be a renewing of the mind in accordance with the will of God. Primary in the old self is that they were “alienated from the life of God” (v18) and so the first thing to do is get in line with what God has for your life. This starts in relationship with Him through Christ. Until that step is taken, no new man is there to be put on because the Bible actually says that we are dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). Dead men don’t put on new men! But this new creation that has been born in the relationship with Jesus must then grow in transformation towards Christ-likeness. For this to happen, the old self must first be put off – a ship cannot take in new cargo without first getting rid of the first batch! We need to consciously seek to put to death all the things Paul mentions here (lying, malice, unforgiveness, etc) and then consciously seeking to do the things that Paul goes on to mention, forgiveness, speaking truth that builds each other up, being kind and forgiving (v25-32). This “putting on” of the new self is a continual process throughout our Christian lives – clearly Paul understood this when he listed all these great ideals of Christian living. He didn’t expect perfection but growth in all these areas. In both of these actions, putting off and putting on, we need to seek grace from God because the same grace that forgives us for the things we need to put off also gives us strength and life to live for Him. In effect, this gets us back to the first problem, of living a life outside of the life and will of God.
Essential to putting on this new man is that there must be a renewing of the mind, which comes in large part by the active work of the living Word of God (Rom 12.2, Heb 4.12). As we read the Word, the Holy Spirit convicts us to live a different way, something that looks like a living sacrifice to God.
I had many things that I needed to put off in my life, and it was only by these conscious actions of repentance and receiving grace that I was able to do it. I literally had to stop calling my old drug dealing friends and from hanging out in very dangerous situations. I spent a lot of time in prayer and fellowship, as well as getting into the word and by the grace of God and the help of friends, I was able to put off many of my destructive behaviors and start putting on the new self.