The Armor of God

Armor of God

Ultimately, be strong in the Lord and in his power, not yours. Are you weak, tired, humiliated, struggling, or in distress? Good! You’re exactly where you need to be to see God work powerfully in your life. Stop relying on yourself. Instead, put on the full armor of God, so you can take your stand against the devil and his schemes. Not only does God have a plan for your life, but so does Satan. When you fall to sin, look back at what led up to it. The day leading up to it—even the whole week before—Jesus was standing there with the Armor of God, imploring you to put it on. Instead, you went in defenseless. You decided not to sharpen your sword or test or armor before battle. Every day is a battle; what kind of warrior doesn’t first equip themselves before going off to battle?

Fight Evil, Not People

Our struggle is not against people, but instead of the dark forces that work to influence people. Essentially, we are fighting a battle against the forces behind the scenes. Therefore, when someone sins against you, or hurts you, or criticizes you, it is not necessarily them fighting you, but instead the forces behind them. Don’t fight the people around you; people are just slaves to their master, whether it’s Jesus, their own desires, or Satan himself. Don’t gossip. Don’t bicker. Don’t become angry with them. Instead, love them selflessly, knowing that your light will cast out the darkness behind their actions.

Belt of Truth

Stand firm with the belt of truth. The world is going to tell you all sorts of lies. Satan is going to hurl every sort of lie he can at you. Don’t let him get you with your pants down. Put on the belt of truth! Make sure you know what God’s truth is and what is not. Don’t fight back when the world says “Defend yourself!” You know that God fights for you. Don’t lust when the world tells you its okay to objectify a man or woman. Don’t be envious when the world parades its riches in front of you. The world will tell you that you’re worthless. The world will tell you that you’re ugly. The world will tell you that you need to lose weight. Don’t listen; hold on to your belt of truth.

Breastplate of Righteousness

Let righteousness guard your heart. Do what is right. Let your righteous actions—and your righteous thoughts—protect you from everything that is evil. If your heart is bare, it is free to attack from all angles! Insulate your life with good deeds such that no evil will seep in. I have noticed that when I care about others and invest in the Kingdom, I have little time to do evil.

Fit your Feet

Fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. God gives us a peace that transcends all understanding—if we will let Him. Always be ready to make known the mystery of the gospel. Always be ready to take action. Welcome interruptions! What are interruptions but a different path than we expected? We get angry when something does not go as planned, not realizing that the day was going to go that way whether we liked it or not. God’s plan for our day is far more important and beneficial than our plan, so be ready for the day. Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. What soldier worries about a battle in the future when they are waging one right now?

Shield of Faith

In addition to all of this, take of the shield of faith. Hold tight to those moments in your life when Jesus was so incredibly real that to disbelieve would be ignorance. For me, my shield is God’s faithfulness in my life, the miracles I have witnessed, the times I have clearly heard His voice, and the moments when I have felt His unmistakable presence. With a solid shield of faith around your every action, you can resist every fiery arrow of temptation or pain that Satan hurls your way. One thing Satan despises more than anything is when a believer can’t see one ounce of God or truth around and yet, still obeys.

Helmet of Salvation

Take the helmet of salvation. Guard your mind everyday with the truth that you have be rescued and saved. Rejoice in God’s grace. Be floored by the Gospel of God’s grace at every moment. Whether you feel like it or not, God has saved and justified you. Jesus’ resurrection is a historical fact and so is your rebirth. Haven’t you ever put on a hat and forgotten it was there? It is the same way with our salvation. God will overcome your emotions; be levelheaded because of your salvation.

The Sword of the Spirit

The sword of the Spirit is the word of God. Are you sharpening your sword every day? Are you reading and reflecting over God’s word every day? Are you investigating and understanding Jesus more and more every day? The sword is the only offensive weapon here. With the sword, we fight back. When the Devil tempts, we fight back the God’s Word. Jesus fought Satan in the desert with His sword; why don’t we? With any temptation, pick a sword that will slice through it, whether the temptation is lust, pride, gossip, selfishness, drunkenness, money, power, fame, envy, jealousy, greed, or anything of the sort. Fill your inventory with different weapons for different battles.

Victory

Finally, pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, for this is our method of victory! Prayer is the life force of the Christian. Prayer is the first attack and the last resort; the suppressing fire and the joint strike; the artillery and the cavalry. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for God’s people! Pray for your brothers and sisters around you, for they are fighting the same battle you are. Remember, your enemy is not people, but evil.

Pray also for me that whenever I speak (or type), words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am ambassador. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. I try my hardest to write the blogs in the Spirit, saying only what I need to say and leaving everything else out. I need all the help I can get to proclaim God’s truth boldly

And finally, peace to you dear blog reader, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus with an undying love.

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Academic Slavery

Academic Slavery

“Servants, obey your earthly masters with not only respect, but also with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” Perhaps I should say it like this: Students, obey your teachers like you would Jesus. Workers, obey your bosses like you would Christ. Now before I get into this, I should say I am absolutely terrible at this. I mean, horrible. My pride really comes out when it comes to me and my school ethic, so I am writing with intent to change myself.

We should obey our professors and our bosses not only to win their favor when they are watching, but also, because we are servants of Jesus; we are to do the will of God from our heart. Our goal here as Jesus followers is not to honor those who lead us because they deserve it, but because Jesus is worth it. We are to work and serve our “higher-ups” wholeheartedly, as if we were serving the Lord, not people. We know that the Lord will reward each of us for whatever good we do, whether student or employee. If we can’t honor our teachers in the classroom, how will we honor those God uses us to teach us? If we can’t honor our bosses, how will we honor those God uses to lead us? Our purpose in serving and obeying our teachers and bosses is more to change us than anything. However, if we will show them the discipline and diligence of a Christ follower, we can not only earn honor for ourselves, but more importantly, for Christ. Some of your teachers and bosses might even see Jesus in you if you would just honor them.

Don’t get it twisted: our role as servants is to make our leader’s (academic, occupational, spiritual) jobs as encouraging and easy as possible. Likewise, our role as leaders is to make our followers jobs as encouraging and beneficial as possible. It goes both ways, even if one side refuses to cooperate.

Servant Leaders

For those who are in leadership positions, whatever they may be, your task is no different. Serve and honor those below you. Consider them better than yourselves. Do not threaten or take advantage of those you have authority over, since you know that the One who is both their master and yours in ruling in heaven. God has no favoritism, so neither should you. Jesus showed us the ultimate leader: one who will give his life for his followers in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

Love your leaders; love your followers. Rejoice in who God has placed above you AND below you. Do your best to make peace with everyone, regardless of how tyrannical there leadership is or how poor their discipline is. Be patience with poor leaders and bad co-workers. Be kind to all, regardless of how they treat you. Genuinely care for those you lead and follow and place their well-being above your own. Be gentle in your interactions, be quick to listen and slow to become angry. Be faithful and let every action be strong in integrity. Be self-controlled and do not let what everyone else is doing determine what you should do as well.

If we will just become godly servants and godly leaders in our academics and occupation, we will stand out and truly fulfill Jesus’ command to be the light of the world and salt of this earth. If we, myself included, will just listen to the wisdom above, we can see God move in ways we never thought or understood, and we will be blessed in an unimaginable fashion.

Be a good student for Jesus. Be good workers for Jesus. Be good leaders for Jesus.

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Parents... Who Needs Em?

You do.

There is so much to talk about when dealing with the topic of parents and parenthood. I am not a parent—just like I am not married—but recently, I have seen the prodigious impact and role of parents in life. I just want to spell out a few observations.

The Role of the Parent

God is our Father and our parents imitate that relationship. Just as a marriage is supposed to imitate the relationship between Christ and His church, parenthood is supposed to imitate the role between God and His Children. Our parents give us one of the greatest examples of who God is. If parents don’t treat their children like God treats His children, then the children with have a terrible damaged view of who God is. I am thoroughly convinced that many do not seek God because they have no idea what He is like. If I become a Father, I will do all I can to love my children—and discipline my children—as God loves and disciplines me. God yearns for a generation of godly parents.

Trouble Transfers

In the Old Testament, the sins of the father transferred over to the sins of the family. The father’s actions either blessed or doomed the generations beyond them. Likewise, the success or failure of parents to love as God loves either blesses or curses the generation to come. For most of us, as future parents, it is our job to love and sacrifice for our children as God loves and sacrificed for us. We will be different. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Parents control the success or failure of the child.

A Break in the Family Tree

Fortunately for us, God is our Father when we give our life to Him. Jesus is in the business of breaking the family tree. Before Christ, blood was thicker than water so to speak, meaning your family was more important than anyone else. But Jesus created a new family and He flipped this world on its head. Now, those bonded by the waters of baptism are closer than family. Water is now thicker than blood. I have talked to so many college students—Christian parents or not—whose Christian brothers and sisters are so much closer in love and spirit than their parents ever were. Jesus breaks the family tree and shifts community from earthly family to the heavenly family. It is not that their parents failed them—most of them did an incredible job—but instead, Jesus has created a new kingdom with new rules and new relationships. However, there is nothing better than parents who are connected to their children by both blood and the water of baptism! The joy in a family united by Christ is a joy that little people could ever comprehend.

Father to the Fatherless

I work with and love many families (too many) that lack a father figure and the effect on the children is unfortunately apparent. In a study of developing children, psychologists saw an alarming change in behavior when an older male entered a situation, no matter who he was. Men, it is our role to lead a generation. Your presence matters! Are you pouring into any children? I know several of young boys and girls that are starving for mentor. God makes His heart crystal clear: Religion that God consider pure and faultless is this: to love widows and orphans in their distress and to keep yourself from being corrupted by this world. Usually when we take care of the first, we don’t have to worry about the second. Want to feel God’s heart? Want to bring redemption to a lost and broken world? Go love some orphans and widows. It is in this area that we have failed as a church. Don’t get lost in the prosperity gospel; this life isn’t about you. You were saved and sanctified to do good deed to glorify the King. The funny thing is: once we give up our self, our money, and our time, we find an unimaginable joy. Our selfishness is the thing that has made us so miserable for all this time. Jesus points out the children and shows us that these weak, helpless, and relatively useless (in the eyes of that society) are the most important in the kingdom. Go love them.

Honor Your Parents

“Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” God goes as far as to promise us that if we honor our father and mother, we will be blessed. The evidence is unmistakable. Regardless of whether your parents are a good representation of who God is or not, it is your role to love them and honor them. You need to love them as you have been loved by God. You need to forgive them as you have been forgiven. If some of you would just honor your parents, they would see Christ in you and seek Him themselves. Just because your parents didn’t get parenting right, doesn’t mean you can be wrong. Parents aren’t an exception from Jesus in you. In fact, God places even more importance on them. Serve your parents with love. They are imperfect and they may treat you like crap, but no one was treated worse than Jesus. Be like Jesus and take things that weren’t your responsibility, and make it your responsibility. Life isn’t fair; praise the Lord for that. Ultimately, you have the greatest Father; he’s been a father for… well… ever. He knows what He is doing.

We are Children

As children of God, we are like little toddlers on a road trip. God is trying to get us to an amazing vacation with him. However, as children, we have no concept of what is happening.

-We have no concept of time. We have no patience. Our life is a mere two seconds in eternity and yet we are busy whining about how long  a certain season or event is taking to either come or go. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Fortunately for us, our Father has some mega patience. Or perhaps the opposite is true: we think this life will last forever and so we live like it.

-We have no idea what is in store. We can’t imagine the paradise we have ahead of us. How does your brother poking you matter in light of a month in Disneyland? What is a season of pain in light of eternity in paradise? How can we bicker with what is coming to us, especially when we don’t deserve it at all. It’s like God is taking all of the kid’s out of juvenile detention and taking them to live at Disney world.

-We don’t know what’s best for us. We settle for the world’s largest free standing toothpick Eiffle Tower on the side of the road instead of getting to the greatest attraction ever created. We think lying down in the seat is the best thing for us when we are winding around the roads of West Virginia (#barf). We need to trust that He knows what is best.

-To reach the destination, He is going to have to say no to certain requests. We want to stop at every rest stop. We want to eat that pit stop grease food. We want to stay and play a while at the McDonald’s play place when we need to get going.

Let’s be good parents. Let’s bless those without good parents or without parents at all. Let’s be good children. God promises blessing for those who honor Him, the ultimate Parent.

I dedicate this post to my incredible parents, Mark and Jill Eaton. While not perfect, they glorified God by raising me in a loving and disciplined home. Who can imagine the impact of their sacrifice?

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Mawwiage

Mawwiage

What is the meaning of marriage? Why does it exist? I am not married so I can’t tell you from experience, but I have studied the topic more than most college kids. In the following post I will, in a sense, barf my poor understanding of the mystery of marriage on this electronic repository of knowledge. I have learned from several books, older couples, and sermons. Really I just want to piece together marriage in my own mind. Feel free to tag along with me.

I won’t discuss sex. Look here for that topic.

I won’t discuss singleness or dating. Look here for that topic.

Recently, I have read (or am reading) three different books. I will list them in order from best to not the best:

Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller

Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

Real Marriage by Mark Driscoll

These three books will teach you better than I ever could. Go read them. Seriously. I think every person should read Meaning of Marriage, regardless of their beliefs, relationship status, or age. Single? You should read it. Dating? Read it. Marriage? Definitely read it. Just stop reading now and go buy one of these books (real marriage was more for married only people).

Before I begin, I should say this: If you want to be free to serve Jesus, by all means, stay single, for you will have nothing hindering you from devoting your time, energy and strength to Him. But if you want to become more like Jesus, I can see not better way than to enter into a self-giving relationship for Him with another.

The Meaning of Marriage

Marriage permeates every society. It is truly a strange thing. Likewise, it is truly a misunderstood covenant. Really, I have no way to express all the wisdom I have been exposed to on the topic. My failed attempt is the following:

-Marriage is gospel re-enactment. It is the greatest relationship here on earth and it imitates the greatest love we know.

-Marriage is more about holiness than happiness.

-Marriage roots out our selfishness.

-Marriage is protection from the sin of sexual immorality. Marriage does not make you immune to the sin of sexual immorality. Too often people’s single person problems become marriage problems.

-Marriage exists to show us more of God. There is no better way to see how Christ loves the church than to be in a relationship that imitates it.

-Marriage is two broken humans coming together to sanctify each other.

-Marriage is two friends who take part in the gift of romantic love.

-Marriage is such that at the end of the age, one person can present their spouse to Jesus and say “Here they are. I loved them as best as I could and sanctified them as much as I could.”

-Marriage allows us to take part in God’s gift of sex.

-Marriage allows us to take part in creation and take part in the parent-child relationship.

-Marriage is a process of forgiving, serving, sacrificing, healing, pain, perseverance, and work.

“The main reason I married Beth was to become more like Jesus.”

~Michael Defazio

Self-sacrifice

Marriage isn’t about YOU. It is about the one you are serving. Marriage will certainly reveal just how selfish you are and it will test whether you really can love unconditionally. Can you love your spouse more than you love yourself? Will you give your life for them? I am convinced that you could marry any person successfully if you will just lay down your life for another. God is the one that makes you whole; not another imperfect human being. You use the love of God to love your spouse. Marriages fail because of selfishness. Marriages fail because they don’t love God, and lack the resources to love anyone else.

Friendship

Perhaps the most important factor in marriage—besides our relationship with Jesus—is friendship. You marry your best friend (hopefully). You marry the one that knows you the best. “The goal isn’t to marry the most beautiful person in the world; it is to marry to person that will make your world the most beautiful.” The goal isn’t to marry someone that will make you the happiest; it is to make you the holiest. The goal isn’t to marry the person that you love the most; it is to make you love the most.

In marriage, we are commanded to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

“Wives, submit to your husband.” This little sentence has been abused such that it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of many women. This shouldn’t be a hard command because women should want to follow the man, especially when the man is fulfilling his own responsibilities. The husband is the head of the wife just like Christ is the head of the church, his body. Just as we, the church, submit to Christ, so should wives submit to their husbands. This does not mean wives must submit to all men.

When we think about it, it would make more sense for the man to be the head because the man is more outward focused in the family, thus he should be the ambassador. Let me explain that a little bit. Say that a mom and dad are watching their son play a little league soccer game. As they are watching, they see their boy get tripped by an opposing player. The father would respond by yelling for the son to get up and get back at into the game, work harder, show him up, etc. The mother, on the other hand, would immediately jump to the defense of her little boy by yelling for the ref to eject the opposing player. The father is more diplomatic and outward facing in the family, while the mother is more inward focused and defensive of the family. Now this analogy falls short in several places and it is by no means perfect, but it shows that the man is the inter-family leader while the woman is the intra-family leader. The head guides relationships with other families, people, and business while the mother keeps the family united and functioning.

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave herself up for her…” When you compare this command with the female’s goal to submit, it sounds a little harder. I mean, to love the wife as Jesus loves the church? That is huge. Me are to give their life, their self, and our well being for the sake of our wife.

Men should strive to “to make her holy, cleansing her by washing her with the water through the Word, and to present her to Jesus as a radiant bride, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, holy and blameless.

Men: It is your role to make your wife more like Jesus. It is your responsibility to present her to the King holy and blameless. Are you able to lead your wife spiritually? Do you have the wisdom to cleanse her with the Word (The Bible)? The point of a relationship is not your happiness but her holiness!

Two become One

In marriage, two beings become one. Husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies, because they are one with their wife. Wives ought to serve their husbands as they do themselves, for they are one body. After all, no one really hates their own body, but instead they feed and care for their body just as Christ does the church. The goal of marriage is for two children of God to become more effective together than they would be apart.  If this is not the case, then the marriage will not succeed. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Once married, the couple is no longer under the provision or emotional connection to the parents. They become each others most important person, right behind Jesus.

Marriage is a divine mystery! It is such a beautiful thing. We must get this right. We cannot live for Christ if we find ourselves abusing and misunderstanding the purpose of marriage. How could I claim to live in the reconciliation of Jesus if divorce and fail at reconciliation with a wife? The two become one; to separate something that is whole will never reap good results. Separating a marriage always leaves both parties with less than what they had. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

I really am so naive when it comes to marriage, but I know that God designed it and he knows it best. If you want a marriage to succeed, use it to glorify God.

People who are ready for marriage are those who need it the least. Those who draw their strength and love from God bring that strength and love into every other relationship.

Now go buy Meaning of Marriage and read it. I am surprised you made it this far.

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Like Father, Like Child

Like Father, Like Child

We are dearly loved children of God, so let’s follow God’s example and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a beautiful sacrifice and gift. Let’s look to Jesus as the perfect example of walking in love. Put others above yourself. Let words your always be encouraging. Pray with compassion for one another, and not simply in each others presence, but constantly while apart. I have found my mind consumed by the passion to change others lives. I have to be careful because in my attempts to pray and disciple others, two things can happen: I can start thinking I know what’s best and try to change people just because I think they should be more like me or I can become so worried about them and not trust the God will guide and change them according to His will. I must trust that God with use me when needed to influence other people and that he will take care of others when I ask Him to.

-As children of the Most Amazing Father, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or greed, for these things are unfit for God’s holy people. Our thoughts must be pure. Our hearts must be pure. I’m going to get on a soapbox for a second: If you are acting sexually immoral—pornography, masturbation, etc—then you must start seeking God. It is not about simply trying your hardest at self control (though that is crucial), it is about overflowing your life with God himself. Don’t just remove the bad; fill with the good. What you watch, what you consume, and what you listen to shapes how you think, act, and worship. Furthermore, (for men mostly) if you are still caught in pornography and masturbation, you absolutely should not be in a relationship with another. You cannot expect to lead a woman to holiness if you yourself are not pure. My recommendation is always a season of purity before dating (6 months typically); you must prove that you are whole and holy before attempting to link your life with another to the glory of God.

Moreover, on a very personal note, in my relationship with Rachel, I cannot and will not allow any kind of impurity seep in. That is my role; I must protect her; I must lead her. Any touch is for her comfort and benefit, not mine. I will not touch her if selfish intent is involved.  I want my interactions with her to always be giving, not taking. We want to make our Father smile. We want to please Him. As children of the Father, there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality. Not even a whiff.

-As children of God Almighty, there should not be any obscenity, foolish talk or course joking, but rather thanksgiving. We need to replace our destructive conversations with constructive joy and thanksgiving. This is a tough. For guys, there is so much pressure for guys to be funny at any cost. For girls, there is so much pressure to gossip and judge no matter the consequences. Can we please learn to speak purely? Can we please yearn to speak purely? The tongue is deadly; it is perhaps one of the greatest threats to our community.

-As children of the Light, we should shine brightly. We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. We shine brightly, but some do not like the light. They prefer the shadows. Light exposes them. Live as children of light: live with all goodness, righteousness and truth. Find out what pleases the Father and shine in it. Have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful eve to mention what the disobedient do in secret; the Grammy’s had more than enough displays of it… Everything exposed by the light becomes visible. That is why scripture says “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you!

-As children of the Wise King, we should lively wisely, making the most of every opportunity for His glory. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Moreover, do not get drunk and find yourself in debauchery. Drinking itself isn’t wrong (unless you are underage), but allowing yourself and others to be corrupted is. To live wisely is to never even come close to drunkenness. Likewise, it is hard to be known as a child of God when people will never know whether that drink in your hand is your first or your twelfth—I recommend drinking with good company if you are going to drink at all.

For of this we can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and no blessing from the Father. Such a person is an idolater. God provides us with our every need, but certainly not our every greed. Let no one deceive you with empty words, because God will surely punish those who are disobedient. Do not partner with them. Serve them. Love them. Pray for them. But do not partner with them.

Instead of alcohol, let’s be filled with the Spirit! Let’s speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Let’s speak in grace and truth. Let’s live above greed and sexual immorality. Let’s sing and make music from our heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

We are the children of God. What an amazing miracle! I pray our lives reflect it.

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Be You. Speak True.

The Calling

As God’s servant, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be. When you use the passions, gifts and talents God has given you, you discover an uncommon joy. Your Father is too gracious to assign you to a life of misery. Rerelish your moments of success and satisfaction. What has God planted in you that lets you feel His delight? When do you feel God's pleasure? What do you find incredible satisfaction in doing? At your best, who are you? When you do the most what you do best, you pop the pride buttons on the vest of God. Remember, no one else has your talents. No one. God elevates you from commonhood by matching your unique abilities to custom-made assignments.

You are the only you God made. If you aren't you, then we don't get you. The world misses out. You need to be you. You can't be your hero, your parent, or your big brother. All you have to give is what you have been given to give. Concentrate in who you are and what you have. If you are you, how can you mess you up? You were made for the part, so speak your lines with confidence. How you relate to God everything. Dread him and hate your work. Trust him and love it.

Don't see yourself as a product of your parents' DNA, but rather a brand new idea from heaven. 

As You Go

As you work at what God has called you to do for His kingdom, be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep unity with the Spirit in peace. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. If you don’t know where to go, wait. As you step, make sure you are in step with the Spirit.

We Are One

As you are uniquely you, you are also part of one body and one Spirit in Christ, just as you were called to one hope when you were saved; One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

God has given each one of us grace as Christ has portioned it. You have all the grace you need to do His will. Christ descended to equip his people for works of service in the New Kingdom so that the body of Christ—all of us who believe and follow—may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. He came so that we may become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. To put it simply: Christ came to make us like Him.

Maturity

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. The world is darkened in their understanding and separated from God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, this world—this culture—has given themselves over to the sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity. This nation is full of greed. Do not conform to the ways of this world.

Do you know the Word? Do you know what Jesus commands? Do you know Jesus Himself? Can you tell when someone is teaching truth or something else? How do you even know what I am saying is truth? Write the Word of God on your hearts so that you will be able to judge what is true and false.

Instead, Christ has shown us how to live. We should put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. We should be made new in the attitude of our minds. We should put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We aren’t bad people becoming good; we are corrupt people dying, and being giving a life of righteousness by God’s grace.

Speak Truthfully

Therefore, we must put off the falsehood that is so natural to us, and speak truth to our neighbor. We are members of one body; would one part try and lie and deceive another? That is foolishness. In our anger, we should not sin, because that will just give the devil a foothold. We should no longer steal (cheating on tests/homework included). We must be people of integrity. While we may not be rewarded for not stealing, cheating, or lying in this world, we are accruing an even greater reward in the life to come.

Speak Wholesomely

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit who listen. In my opinion, gossip is one of the worst vices of my Christian community. We must speak in grace and truth. We must stop saying things about each other that tear each other down. We must not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, the one who has sealed us for the day of redemption.

Finally, let’s get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. In the words of a very good friend’s mother: “Saying you hate someone means you want to kill them.” The thoughts we have towards people determine the words we say, the things we do, and the prayers we pray. Do you view everyone the way God view’s them? Do you view everyone with unconditional love? Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ has forgiven you. You will never have to forgive another more than all that you have been forgiven for.

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