The Milly J

Once you start growing spiritually you will constantly hear people say to you that “you have change” or they may start to feel uncomfortable around you to say certain things or behave certain ways, this is normal! If you are truly born-again you have to change and scriptures tells us we will change, Romans 12:2, Romans 6:4-6, 1 Corinthians 2:10-16, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 3:9-11, 1 Thessalonians 5:21, but one of my favorite one is Ephesians 4:21-32 NIV,  

“²¹when you heard about the Messiah and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in the Messiah. ²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. ²⁹Do 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 those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” 

 If you carefully examine these scriptures, you will see how once you learned from the Messiah, his teachings (the bible) you will put off former conversation of the old you, so that person who used to talk all kinds of unrighteousness things with your mouth, you will no longer do that because now you are renewed in the spirit of your mind. Whatever comes out your mouth from then on as the “new you” should represent what you have learned from the Messiah. Let’s examine verse 24-31, verse 24: starts with putting on your new self, your born-again, bible reading, devil stomping, sin stopping, righteous living self! You are now clothe with righteousness and the holiness of God, the Spirit of God now lives in you.  

Verse 25: tells us to put away lying from your lips. Ever had someone lied on you? It’s frustrating because 90% of the time people believe the lie rather than the truth and many won’t seek or listen to the truth when they do hear it. So liars can really destroy people, and lying is so bad that it’s listed, as one of the six things God hates, Proverbs 6:16-19. As believers let us not engage in any form of lying whether a little lie or a big one, and certainly don’t repeat something you don’t know whether it is true or not, this is an abomination to God, Proverbs 12:22 and they are consequences whether a person is a believer or not, Proverbs 19:5;9. 

 Verse 26: tells us don’t be angry and sin, now, this does not mean you won’t  be or get angry, you are a human being born with emotions, however, your anger should not cause you to sin or seek revenge, Romans 1:17-21. I know it’s tempted to get someone back, but karma is working just fine these days, let go and let God. Moreover, staying in your anger will eventually hurt you. Do you know some people get so angry that their blood pressure raise? You’re hurting yourself, I haven’t found no one on earth worth getting sick over, no one! 

Verse 27: says don’t give the devil place in your life. This is major, as believers we must tread lightly in how we act, speak, and think because the devil just need an open door or even a crack in your life and he will come and wreak havoc in your life. It’s important as you change and grow spiritually you learn to identify areas in your life that can give the devil a place and you will see it by the way you act, talk and think and what result afterwards, take note to not let it happen again. Angry, hatred, envy, jealousy are some things that can give the devil a place in your life.

Verse 28: goes into stealing and for one who used to steal-to-steal no more. It says to do some work -get a job, start a business, do something productive with those sticky hands. That is not God’s will that you steal from others, that is not what God gave you hands for, show God you honor him but using your hands to help others, and being productive legally! 

Verse 29: tells us “let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying… (NKJV)” a lot of us simply need to learn when to be quiet, when to speak, and before you speak what exactly is your purpose? If your purpose is not edifying that is a clear sign to just be quiet. There are a few common sayings I like, the first one is “you look more beautiful when you are quiet” and the second one, “if you can’t say anything good, just don’t say anything at all.” I believe both are equally teachable, take for instance the first one, ever meet someone who either look like they are nice people, professional, have class and then they speak and all kinds of foul language comes out of their mouth? It is as if you are in the twilight zone, and you begin to see them in a different light and sometimes you even lose respect for them. These types of people look more beautiful being quiet! The second one is really common sense, sometimes people will come and tell me things expecting a reaction from me to engage in the negativity, but people who know me that are close to me, knows I don’t do any drama,  gossiping, not from friends, family, people I deal with, that is a big no no in my life and I’m thankful for the people who respect my boundaries but every now and then someone forgets and brings things up, I simply let them know I’m not interested in commenting, or engaging,  especially if I know it’s something that may result in saying something negative or reacting negatively. As believers, we have to learn to not engage in certain matters, conversations, because there is no place for that in our lives as followers of the Messiah. God got too much for you to do with your life and for others, so spend your time wisely, and most importantly speak wisely. If you cannot think of anything good to say, just do not say anything at all!  

Verse 30: tells us to not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, this is highly important! The Holy Spirit lives in you and so your actions, speech, thinking should line up with this, or people will start questioning whether you are even born again! Now I understand “change” takes time for certain people and you will not change overnight nor will every bad habits, behavior you have disappear just because you got “born-again”, no my dear you have to work out your own salvation. Anything you do in life if you do not put action towards it nothing will change. Just because I am born-again does not mean I do not have to read my bible,  pray, fast, draw closer to God, get rid of bad habits, behaviors, thinking, watch what I do or say. The more time I spend with God and the bible a Godly character will increase in me but that is because I’m putting in the work.  Many of you are putting in the work, that is why you are changing and people around you see you changing. As you grow spiritually, your life won’t be the same, your speech won’t be the same, your actions won’t be the same, you’re thinking won’t be the same because you know what God has done in your life for you is greater than the old man/woman that you use to be. You didn’t magically change to someone better, that is why Verse 31: tells us get rid of ALL bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. If these things are in your life you have to get rid of them, they won’t magically disappear or fall off just because you got born-again. So, yes you will change once you get rid of things and people will say you “change” and that is okay if you are changing for the better, if you changing for the will of God even better!   

God wants us to change; he wants you to live a life of righteousness, holiness, love, peace, kindness, self-control, etc. In fact, look at Galatians 5:16-26 tells us what is means to walk in the Spirit of God, if we say we are born-again, we have a relationship with God, and we are working out our salvation, drawing closer to God shouldn’t his Spirit manifest in us? You can’t be someone you’re not. If the Spirit of God is not manifesting something is wrong and you may want to look into what is going on in your life from the beginning.  

Here are Some ways your Spiritual Life Affects Your Personality (**Not an Exclusive List**) 

• You no longer interested in the things of this world like you used to be. 

• You no longer interested in hanging out with people who are sinning, negative or trouble makers. 
• You no longer engage/interested in being in any part of and/or hearing drama. 
• Your desire to Draw Closer to God increase more and more. 
• You stop commenting on things that have nothing to do with you or edifying to another. 
• You lean more on the Holy Spirit rather in what you see, and hear. 

• You prefer to not be the center of attention and do not seek or do things for attention. 
• You listen more than you speak. 
• You exercise the spirit of wisdom, discernment, and knowledge. 
• You’re more careful about what you say, do, and think. 
• You know when to walk away and when to be quiet, even if you are right. 

• You’re more grateful and thankful. 
• You’re complaining less and look for solutions with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 
• You’re show more empathy towards others. 
• You’re less anger and avoid or do not engage with others who want to provoke you. 
• You acknowledge when you are wrong and work to make things right (i.e. apologizing, forgiveness, letting go, not rehashing the issue). 

• You learn to create boundaries in your life. 
• You spend more time with God, and studying your bible, etc. 
• You become more reserve and humble.  
• You are more spiritually, emotionally, and physically conscious. 

What it Means : Walking in the Spirit 

Galatians 5:16-26 Amplified Bible (AMP) 

But I say, walk  habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts]. For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do. But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law. Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control),  idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies], envy, drunkenness, riotous behavior, and other  things like these. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.  And those who belong to the Messiah have crucified the sinful nature together with its passions and appetites. 

If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another. 

DRAW CLOSER TO GOD

~Blessings from Milly J 

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