Put On the Lord Jesus Christ

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Rom. 13:14)

Saint Augustine's conversion from being a sinner to saint, started when he heard a childlike voice telling him to to read the Bible. The first thing he read was " Let us behave properly, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Rom. 13:13-14)

Our encounter with God's Word will always have an effect. Isaiah 55:11 says, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Jesus' mission continues. God's Word touches people's lives today just as it did when Jesus walked the earth.

Yesterday evening was the start of the Church season of Advent. We lit our white candle decorated with violet droppings 😂😂😂 Pre-Advent readings have been all about the Second Coming of the Lord, about how we have to be ready at any time, because He will come unannounced, like a thief in the night. “The heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.” Back up a minute. Everything? All the petty things I do? All those horrible thoughts about this person I don’t particularly like? A lot of times we see bigwigs flashing by us in his convoy in the opposite lane. I was thinking, “Does God care about these seemingly insignificant infractions? Will it count in the eternal scheme of things?” I consider all our congressmen who want to allow the dissolution of marriage in our country just because they want to escape from their own legal unions. Or how about our President cursing on TV and encouraging a culture of death and destruction? If we are to believe Saint Peter, we will be accountable for EVERYTHING we do. Who in the world is safe then? As Ric Warren says, “I am married to a sinner, and she is married to a bigger sinner!” We can’t point fingers at one another. 

But we can take comfort in this: “be eager to be found without spot or blemish before Him, at peace.” At first reading this seems highly, exceedingly, immensely impossible. But wait, I know there’s something somewhere in God’s Word which says put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 13:14). How do we do that? Galatians 3:27 says, “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” It’s not impossible after all!