No Nudist In The Kingdom: Part Seven

In parts 1-6 we looked at items in 1 Peter 2:1-3 and Colossians 3:8-9 that we are to “put off” or better translated as “take off” as in taking off a coat and laying it aside. And we discussed how the Lord always gives us something better to put on when He has us take something off. Therefore not leaving us Spiritually naked. Now in Eph. 4:31-32 I would like to show you the final two items that we need to shed before being able to put-on what the Lord has for us.

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking,

be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,

tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32 KJV

Bitterness, just the sound of the word tells us that it is bad. It’s the attitude that we have to a person or an event in our lives that leaves a bitter taste in everything we do or say. One of the best tricks of our enemy is to make us bitter. There may not be a worst testimony for Christ than a bitter Christian. Second, we see clamour as another ill fitted garment for a Christian. Do you know someone in your Church or workplace that is constantly stirring up trouble? And they love it. They seem unable to function without doing it. Well that person wears the cloak of clamour. Take it off.

We have already gone through the others in this verse: wrath (Col. 3:8), anger (Col. 3:8), evil speaking (1 Peter 2:1), and malice (1 Peter 2:1 and Col. 3:8). Also; guile, hypocrisy, envy (1 Peter 2:1) along with blasphemy and filthy language (Col. 3:8). In conclusion to the “Put Off” section on this series I plan on sharing the “Put On” part. Unless I come across more put-offs like before.

Please notice the last part of this verse, ”And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Being kind to others and tenderhearted (opposite of hard-hearted) is the tool used to take off the garments of bitterness and clamour and place it into the fire, like a leper’s garment that is defiled and unable to be used for anything else.

Prayer: Lord, help us to take off all actions and attributes that do not bring Glory to Your name and Kingdom like bitterness and clamour. Give us the right attitude to live and the right words to speak. Amen

No Nudist In The Kingdom Part Five

"Therefore, laying aside all malice, and all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking (gossip), as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious." 1
Peter 2:1-3 NKJV

Therefore putting off all evil speaking. Here is another No-brainer
in the Christian life. What a sad-sad testimony for a Child of God to speak evil of another or tell an obscene joke. In this verse some translations just say gossip, but the truth is, all evil speaking is sin to the Lord. The Bible tells us that this is hard to control in our natural state. James writes," Forwe all stumble in many things. If any one does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man able also to bridle the whole body.......Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell........But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessings and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so." James 3:2-10
Here we see that for a Christian this should not be. As a Christian living by
his or her old nature, they cannot control their tongues. It is humanly
imposable. A lot of this evil speaking can come from the former sins mentioned in this verse Malice, guile, hypocrisy, and envy. If we put off these things we should be able to cease the gossip and evil speaking of others. But I'm afraid to say that many of us have these problems. I confess I also struggle with these. In the workplace I find it easy to speak against a
supervisor that does not do things the way I think they should be done. Or a co-worker that has done me wrong and I open my mouth against him to others. Only by walking in the Holy Spirit can we overcome this curse of the tongue. And as the old saying goes," If you can not say anything good, don't say anything at all." How tiring it is to hear someone who does nothing but complain about others. Confess up, you hate to see them (us) coming. "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh" James 5:16 This includes all evil speaking.

I shared at the beginning that when the Lord tells us to put off or take off
something, Him gives us something to put back on. He will not leave us naked. So I will continue with the Armor of God in Ephesians.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us of our evil speaking and gossip. We pray that we will walk in your Spirit and you will guide us in how we are to speak. May our speech only glorify you. Amen