As I was memorizing Ephesians 4:22-24 I thought about this. We do not put on our day clothes over our night clothes. We put off one to put on the other. It is the same way in the spirit. 

We had an old way of thinking before salvation. Ephesians 2:3 says, “…we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…” Ephesians 4:18 says that we were alienated from the life of God.

Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “…put off, concerning your former conduct…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Think of the caterpillar. Its mind is set on eating leaves. Then it goes into the cocoon and melts. 

Through metamorphosis, God creates something new. The butterfly has a new mind set that is focused on gathering nectar from flowers. Eating leaves doesn’t enter its mind.

Proverbs 14:30 Amplified says, “A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body, but envy, jealousy, and wrath are like rottenness of the bones.”

The other day I picked up a bag of apples. I checked them over. There was a rotten one. I know that one bad apple will destroy the whole. I took it to the clerk. Hebrews 12:15 says “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.”

Corrupt words come from a heart that has bitter root judgments growing in it. The antidote is to engraft God’s word in our heart. James 1:21 says the implanted word is able to say our soul.

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Grace is a gift to a humble heart.

What is in our heart bubbles up. It unconsciously seeps into our thoughts. I love the illustration from Elihu. Job 32:17-20 says, “I also will answer my part, I too will declare my opinion. For I am full of words; the spirit within compels me. Indeed my belly is like wine that has no vent; it is ready to burst like new wineskins.I will speak, that I may find relief; I must open my lips and answer.”

Elihu was so full of words he couldn’t contain them. I want to take this now into unresolved issues. Proverbs 4:23 says that we are to guard our heart with all diligence because, “…out of it spring the issues of life.”

Emotional pains that we have buried, may not be in our conscious mind, but they are very active and alive. They influence our thoughts unknowingly. They affect our behavior towards others. 

I love this verse. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Jeremiah 20:9 says, “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name. But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.”

Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden  in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 19:14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 104:34 says, “May my mediation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.”

Psalm 147:5 says, “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.” As I was memorizing this verse my mind went back to Isaiah 40. Great chapter. Verse 25 says, “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One.”

There is no one greater than God. Hebrews 6:13 says, “For when God made a promise to
Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, he swore by Himself.” Psalm 145:3 says, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.”

Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” A. W. Tozer wrote “The Knowledge Of The Holy.” In it he said that God has attributes that we don’t even know about.

I am memorizing Psalm 147. There is a lot to unpack. Verse 1 says, “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.” The Hebrew word for praise means: to boast, to be boastful. Psalm 146-150 all start and end with “Praise the Lord!” I love the exclamation points.

Are you brokenhearted? Verse 3 says, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” It reminds me of Luke 4:18. It says of Jesus, “…He sent me to heal the brokenhearted…” The Amplified defined oppressed as, “…downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity.”

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 12:25 says, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad.” Praising the One Who is great resets our focus.