“But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV)
Two store associates who should have been waiting on their customers in line and doing their job, were busy engaged in non-work conversation. It was as if they did not know that an employee is hired to meet the expectations of the employer and, in short, “Do your job!”
Now, I’m not angry by what they were doing, admittedly impatient, but you know me. Yet, even when my HR element from the past started kicking in, I was not agitated but rather amazed at the conversation. You can’t say I was meddling, for the sound of their voices was at a mighty loud decibel level. To top it off and add to my amazement, they were both agreeing in dramatic fashion, with a plethora of body language movers were supplementing their spoken words. The topic was how they could not wait to get off work because, “Got to get my New Year’s Eve outfit!”
My astonished, amazed and puzzled reaction turned to pondering about whether or not these two workers had given any thought to the outfit below, an outfit that will be pleasing to God and perhaps even cause some to depart from the party all night long lifestyle. I’m just saying!
Have a great day in the house of the Lord today my friend! Don’t let some party outfit keep you from attending church today! Dress yourself up in the beauty of holiness and head out to your place of worship! Be blessed!
“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world, and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. So, use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God. Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:11-18 The Living Bible)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King