Amy Boucher Pye

Tag: new self

  • Weekly Devotional: Old Self, New Self

    Read: Ephesians 4:17-25

    Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life . . . . Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:22-24)

    I once was treated to a makeover in which a generous friend not only bought me gorgeous clothes, but arranged for a swanky haircut and new makeup. Giggling and thanking her, I swished around my stylish tresses. My friend knew I had recently made some life changes so that I could better follow Christ and wanted to celebrate by helping me feel beautiful not only on the inside but on the outside too. It was a truly special moment. I knew that those who follow Jesus don’t need a makeover to reveal God’s presence to others, but my friend’s gesture gave me a visual reminder that when we submit our lives to Him our lives are transformed.

    Read the rest at Our Daily Journey.

  • Devotional of the week: How to live (9 in Ephesians series)

    I’ve been taking a bit of a hiatus from the blog as my wonderful web designer, Tina Grobler, and I chop and change things around. It’s still a work in progress, but let’s get back to Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus.

    Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor… “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands… Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up… And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25–32, abridged)

    After exploring theological concepts, such as how we live in Christ, Paul turns to a practical set of instructions as he continues teaching on the old versus the new. Each of these commands, as John Stott says in his commentary God’s New Society, addresses our relationships. Holiness does not occur in a vacuum, but in the real world we inhabit with those around us.

    Stott also shows how each of the commands starts off with a negative prohibition, followed with a positive action. For example, do not lie, but speak the truth to your neighbor. Have righteous anger, but don’t nurse your anger. Stop stealing; make your hands useful by working. Don’t speak unkindly, but build others up with your words. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit, for you are sealed with him. Eradicate any bitterness, rage, fighting, and malice; instead be kind and filled with compassion as you forgive each other.

    Old habits can die hard; we need God’s grace and help to change our ways. Today why not take Paul’s list and ask God to help you change just one thing. Adjust your expense report to make it reflect reality. Instead of tearing down your spouse or friend, pay them a compliment. Ask the Lord to give you compassion for someone who annoys you.

    May God help us live out of our new selves as we put off the old.

    Prayer: Lord, sometimes I speak before I think about what I’m saying. Reign in my tongue, that I might bring glory to you.

  • Devotional of the week: New Self (2 in 1 Peter 4 series)

    Photo: by Neji, Creative Commons
    Photo: By Neji, creative commons

    For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do… 1 Peter 4:3

    Last week we talked about suffering and death being out of fashion in our Western world. So too is judgment. Many Christians today fear making public their views on matters of ethics, thinking they will be branded judgmental or fundamentalist and therefore excluded from the conversation. Others fear sharing their faith and calling people to embrace God, for they don’t want to name another’s sin or selfishness. But Peter, like Paul, calls us to leave our old lives behind.

    We become new people at our conversion, but we have to keep putting on these new selves daily as we put on Christ. We can easily be allured back to our old selves – perhaps with drunkenness, or gossip, anger, bitterness… the list goes on. But God doesn’t want us stuck in our former ways of behaving. He lives in us through his Spirit, giving us the power to be transformed. To resist the drink or nasty whisper or hastily exclaimed words of anger. As we ask God to change us, moment by moment, he will. He delights to make us more like him.

    Our behavior will speak more loudly than our words to those around us. Like Peter, they will notice that we’ve put our past fully behind us, no longer slaves to detestable practices. Though we may struggle still, the light of Christ living in us will be revealed.

    Prayer: Triune God, though you are the judge, you are merciful. Help me to choose life today. Amen.

  • Devotional of the week – Like Christ (1 in 1 Peter 4 series)

    Time for a new devotional series! Let’s delve into some of Peter’s first letter, written probably around the year 60 by Peter, with the help of Silas. Peter writes to the Jewish and Gentile Christians scattered throughout much of Asia Minor. Over the next weeks we’ll be looking at 1 Peter 4:1–11 in depth:

    Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do – living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

    7The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

    DSCN9795

    Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude… 1 Peter 4:1

    The sight arrested me. The angels I was used to seeing were cute and cuddly – babies with smiling faces. This angel was no baby, but a skull with wings below it.

    My first visit to Rome imparted many rich memories, but the image of that angel made a lasting impression. For in our sanitized Western world, we often are shielded from the realities of suffering and death. For instance, when a member of our family dies, we no longer lay them out in our front rooms. Nor do as many women die from giving birth (thankfully). But all the people I’ve met have suffered in one way or another, and one day we all will die.

    So although we run from suffering and death, how can we yet be like Christ? Peter tells us to arm ourselves with Christ’s attitude, that our suffering may be the means of us being done with sin. As we turn to God in our pain and confusion, he transforms us. He may not relieve the situation we find ourselves in, but his loves changes us, including our perspective. He gives us strength and hope to persevere.

    How can Christ meet you today in any suffering you might be enduring, whether physical or emotional? Look to him for relief and sustenance.

    Prayer: Lord God, we run to you with our fears, hurts and disappointments. When we suffer, relieve us. Amen.

  • Devotional of the week: A new name

    Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:17)

    Photo credit: "White Stone" by Anna, Flikr
    Photo credit: “White Stone” by Anna, Flickr

    A couple of women I know have changed their given names. One suffered sexual abuse, and by changing her name she was cutting painful ties. Another didn’t want to be defined by her name’s meaning, which was “bitter.” Instead she wanted to be known by a name that denotes “grace.”

    Our passage comes from the letters of Jesus, as revealed to the aging disciple John. Jesus says to the church at Pergamum that he will give them a white stone with a new name on it, known only to the recipient. Several meanings of this white stone have been put forward, as summarised by Craig Keener in the NIV Application Commentary (pp. 126–27). One is that in the ancient world, people used pebbles for admission to events; in this case, for a messianic banquet. Another is that in some ancient courtrooms, the jurors would cast a white stone for acquittal and black for conviction. (Thus Jesus would be the judge over what the Pergamum Christians were suffering.) Or the white stone could symbolize purity and eternal life, or a new name signifying a new identity.

    The symbolic possibilities are rich. Applying the promise to our own lives hearkens to the promises we examined in Isaiah 62. Our new name might be one that we publicize as we embrace our new, redeemed self. Or it might be one that we keep hidden, the name that we hear when we call to the Lord and listen for his affirming words of love.

    We are no longer bound to the old way of life. As we live out of our new selves, may we reflect the attributes of the One who created us, who made us for himself.

    For reflection: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready” (Revelation 9:17).

  • Devotional of the week: Christ in all

    Yep, clearly the artists in my family are my dad and daughter, not me... (This is my creation, not my daughter's!)
    Yep, clearly the artists in my family are my dad and daughter, not me… (This is my creation, not my daughter’s!)

    Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:2–5; 9–11)

    Sadly, often in church life we fight battles with each other, sister against sister; brother against brother. Perhaps we think that we hold the whole truth and they fall short. Or a difference of opinion over a point of doctrine becomes the opening clash of a long and drawn-out war, which leaves lives bruised and relationships impaired. Or a matter of personality morphs into a heated battle that remains long in the memory of those involved.

    As the wife of a vicar, I’ve witnessed these spats between siblings, sometimes being wounded in the process. I don’t count myself as an authority on conflict resolution; nor do I claim to hold an infallible grasp on Truth. But we can see a way forward in our church family life through Paul’s letter to the Colossians. As we live out our redeemed lives, Christ is all and is in all. We can take off the old clothes, those old rags that hold the memory of conflict, and put on the clothes of Christ – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, love.

    Wearing his garments, we are more able to live in harmony and peace with our sisters and brothers, especially if we remember that Christ sacrificed himself for them, as much as for us. As we live out of our new self, we can then move forward in unity, being freed from infighting and enabled to forgive as we seek to love and serve others and God.

    For reflection: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24–25).

  • Devotional of the week: Give thanks

     We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:9–14)

    Photo credit: woodleywonderworks on flickr
    Photo credit: woodleywonderworks on flickr

    A primary characteristic of the new life is a spirit of thankfulness. Here Paul and Timothy are writing to the church at Colossae, and in these opening verses they pray that the believers will live out their new life. Not only that they might be strengthened so that they might endure and be patient, but all the while “giving joyful thanks to the Father.”

    In the West today we so easily see what we’re missing, especially when advertising slogans continually reassure that “you’re worth it.” We might pine after physical things such as the latest smartphone or tablet. Or in our relationships – such as longing for a baby, to be married, for our kids to find fulfillment and so on. And yet when we stop and ponder all that we have, our outlook changes. We begin to wonder at the treasures we’ve already received. Our senses become open to beauty in all its places, even if just hearing the birdsong in a concrete jungle.

    Poets and philosophers have seen thanksgiving as an overriding virtue throughout the ages. For instance, GK Chesterton said in his A Short History of England, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” Good advice for the new life.

    Prayer: Triune God, change my spirit that I might give thanks in all things. Let me know how you pour out your love and mercy on me, making me clean.

  • Devotional of the week: New clothes

    You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in the true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22–24).

    383855472_512c98e947
    Photo credit: robe pattern by peagreengirl as found on flickr

    I used to have a garment that I called my “traveling sweater.” For some reason I deigned it the best and most comfortable item of clothing to wear on an airplane. But after many a journey, instead of being white, it turned slightly grey and shapeless, sporting some holes. Still I loved it, so much that my mom and sister finally had to recommend that I retire my favorite travel companion.

    Putting off the old self and putting on the new can feel like leaving behind a familiar way of life. Even if the former way of life leads to pain, heartache, angst, anger, and destruction, we fear what we might encounter in the new. Will we have fun? Will we be fulfilled? What will I have to give up?

    But as we don our new clothes in Christ, our minds and hearts are made new. We begin to see how misshapen our old clothes were; how tight they felt and how we couldn’t breathe in them. The trousers, in fact, gave us indigestion. Whereas our new clothes not only reveal who we really are, but they enable us to soar in freedom, truth, and holiness.

    In what might be the clearest passage about the old and new selves, Paul points out three imperatives: put off our old self; be made new in our minds; put on the new self. Elsewhere he speaks of living “in Christ,” which gives us the power and strength to live out these imperatives. As we do so, we will be “created to be like God,” which hearkens back to the Genesis account of creation. Through our continued donning of the new self we can live as God intended, with right living and holiness.

     

    Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to cast off any clothing of the past that I need to leave behind. Renew my mind that I might put on my new self.

  • Devotional of the week: An eternal perspective

    For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

    A taste of heaven, from the altar at St. Peter's Basilica.
    A taste of heaven, from the altar at St. Peter’s Basilica.

    A couple of years ago, I ended our Christmas missive with a reflection on the fragility of life, for one close to us was killed in a car accident. I didn’t know that as I composed the letter, a beloved older friend was near death, having suffered a stroke. We often live in a state of denial, but for everyone, one day our earthly tent will be destroyed.

    Yet Paul here speaks to the Corinthians about longing for his heavenly dwelling, which God the Builder and Architect has created and which moths and rust will not destroy. It’s another variation of the already-not yet which we spoke of in previous weeks. We mentioned how we have been redeemed but are not yet completely sanctified; here we note that we groan on earth as we anticipate the wonders of heaven. Namely our rich communion with God.

    I love how Paul reverses the wisdom of the world with his phrase, “swallowed up by life” (in contrast to death being the great swallower). All the remnants of our old self – the mortal – will be swallowed up by the true and everlasting light and life in our heavenly dwelling. We will no longer be naked and ashamed, but clothed in a better outfit than we ever could have dreamed of.

     

    Prayer: Lord God, help me to live with an eternal perspective today, remembering that people and your word will be all that remains eternally. Plant in me the hope of heaven, which you promise will not disappoint.

  • Devotional of the week: Discordant music

    “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice” (Ezekiel 33:31–32).

    I'm sure this organ could make some clanging noises - or beautiful music. Taken in a church in Gloucestershire; wish I could remember which one!
    I’m sure this organ could make some clanging noises – or beautiful music. Photo taken in a church in Gloucestershire; wish I could remember which one!

    The prophet Ezekiel wrote after the fall of Jerusalem, when the Jewish people were exiled to Babylon. The unthinkable happened and no longer could they worship in the temple or live in their familiar city. In their anguish they must have wondered if the Lord had abandoned them. But they also allowed their pain to seep into a growing distance from God. They became complacent and removed from the cares of the Lord.

    The Lord tells Ezekiel that his prophecies are not penetrating the facades of his people; the words only waft above them as beautiful but meaningless music. For greedy hearts hide under their proclamations of love. Their spiritual state sounds similar to that of the church at Sardis, to whom Jesus wrote through the apostle John: “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up!” (Revelation 3:1–2). Or indeed to the church at Laodicea, whom he called lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).

    Sloughing off the old self and living out of the new entails our whole lives. In the birthing process, the baby bird grows stronger and more sure of itself as it pecks through its shell. So too will our souls gain weight and wisdom as we dedicate our everything to the Lord – our thoughts, words, and actions. Whatever stage of life we’re in, whether we’re in the process of breaking through the shell or soaring through the air with fully developed wings, may we lean on God as our source of everlasting strength and hope.

    Prayer: Lord Jesus, like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, we struggle to stay awake. Stir us, we pray, that we might not become smug spiritually or unconcerned for the world around us.