BRAND NEW!
Greetings church family!
I went surfing with a friend one day at Mission Beach in San Diego, CA. Neither of us owned a surfboard, so we rented some hard-foam long boards and wetsuits from a nearby shop. We had been surfing for about an hour when the largest wave of the day was coming at us. We quickly began to paddle away from the incoming wave, preparing to catch it for a thrilling surf. In my attempt to stand on my board at the right time, I found myself stumbling a bit. By the time I caught my balance, it was too late. The 6-ft wave hit me dead on and knocked me off of my board. By the time I was upright and above the surface of the water, I looked and saw my board about 40 ft ahead of me towards the beach - in two pieces. The wave had snapped the board in half!
My friend and I headed back to the surf shop to return what we rented. The shop owner informed me that I would have to buy the surfboard I rented, since it was now damaged. He charged me $300!! I always wanted a surfboard, but ideally in one piece. My friend happened to be a handyman, and he assured me he could repair the board. Almost one year later, on my 34th birthday, he brought me the repaired board. Aesthetically, there was a huge patch covering the center of the board that wasn’t there before. Functionally, however, the board was as good as new! It was one of the best birthday presents I ever received!
We have a Savior and Redeemer in Jesus Christ who lived, died, and resurrected so that our old broken lives could be made new. Paul writes about this experience in Ephesians 4:17-24. It reads, “Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. But that is not how you came to know Christ, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”
Paul begins by comparing our sinful nature to that of the unconverted Gentiles. He points out “the futility of their thoughts.” When the mind is severed from God, its search for meaning becomes a circular maze, leading nowhere. We see this today in a culture constantly chasing identity, success, and pleasure, but finding none of them satisfying. People pursue what seems good and fulfilling in the moment, only to be left empty, restless, and disillusioned.
Paul continues by sharing that these Gentiles are “excluded from the life of God.” Does this mean it is God who is excluding them? No, they are excluding themselves. Their ignorant minds and calloused hearts have led them not only to be “darkened in their understanding,” but also to choose the god of promiscuity and impurity over the God of love!
Church family, we are in danger of the same outcome without a daily surrender to the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus frees us from our former way of life and liberates us from our deceitful desires. Jesus fills our mind with the Holy Spirit so that a renewed love for God and understanding of His will becomes our reality. While not completely destroying God’s craftsmanship, sin has definitely corrupted humanity’s ability to truly be the images of God we were created to be. But because of Jesus’ work through the Holy Spirit, we take on a “new self,” one where we are new creations in the mold of God’s likeness, no longer reflections of deception and impurity, but righteousness and truth instead.
I promise you, there is no birthday present like the gift of transformation we are given by Jesus!
Ask for the Father to pour the Holy Spirit into your minds, hearts, and lives every day, and re-discover the truth that God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
