MONDAY, April 21st, 2008

Ephesians 4:25-32

25 Therefore, putting away lying, “ Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

This is such a great passage! Think about it like this: Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Three steps to getting rid of sin: 1. Put off (sin); Renew your Mind; Put on (God's Righteousness). Well, today the passage gives several illustrations to help us understand the passage better. Here is my summary.
Here is a good way to understand it: There are two kinds of people: The grouchy, mean, bitter, angry gossiping kind of person, or there is the kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, loving, encouraging, and truthful person. Read through the passage and look at How we are told to get rid of the mean-ness and the bitterness, and the cruel words, and BE NICE! BE FRIENDLY! BE GODLY!

What jumps out to you about this passage?