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“If indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”  Colossians 1:23 (ESV)

Don’t you just love those before and after pictures…..usually the before is drab and without color so we will definitely default to the “new” after version of self.  I remember doing this once – they were called Glamour shots.  First they took a picture of you without makeup (plain) and  with frumpy hair.  Then the experts did their magic.  A stash of gorgeous clothes in flattering styles and sizes. Curlers and hot irons.  And did I mention the pallet of romantic hues for the eyes, lips and cheeks.  The final touch was the photo shoot…capturing every detail of the “new” you – we really loved those photos. Next morning, the makeup was gone and the model hair crumpled by our pillow – if only we could have held on to “new.”

Wonder if we’ve ever felt the same spiritually – attempting to hold onto the “new” us.  Salvation opened wide the door for “new.”  Renewed, restored and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus) – the best version of us. The very moment we accepted Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit took up residence in us.  “New” was ours for the taking, but we can’t do it alone. It requires intervention, guidance and divine insight.  And most importantly cooperation with the leading of the Spirit births “new” right living in us.

Sweet friends even in our state of confident standing, we must guard against voices attempting to add to or subtract from God’s words.  Even a little seed of untruth or mixed up truth can weaken our resilience, and before we even realize it, we’ve opened a door to wrong thinking.   The podcast which invites us to consider what we believe in a different light.  The polished engaging speaker luring us in to their ideas….appealing to what sounds good.  The tweets compelling us to check out a website which slowly draws us in and gradually leads us astray. Happens even to those who thought they would never fall for deception.

Consistently saturating our mind and heart with God’s word bring us in alignment with His absolute truth.  As we live out (doers of the word not just hearers) what He teaches us, our faith is strengthened  and truth is deeply rooted in our soul.  The “new” in us empowers us to stand strong, unwavering in the face of distractions and diversions.  When we squelch the voice of half truths and false teaching, our hope can be found in the unchanging, everlasting  gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Father, lots of influences will seek to gain our attention and pull us away from You.  Teach us to dive deep into Your word, live in agreement with the leading of Your Spirit and stand firmly on truth.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life