You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy. Ephesians 4:22–24 (CEV)
The way you live out your life is tied to how you see yourself, how you see God and what you believe about love. If you’re not experiencing love in the amount or kind you desire, you’ll likely be able to trace the problem back to your beliefs regarding one of those three areas. First, let’s cover what you believe about yourself.
Most people allow their self-image to be influenced by past experiences. If they have failed, they feel like a failure. If they have made poor decisions, they call themselves stupid. But as a Christian, this should not be the case. When you began a relationship with Jesus, He made you entirely new. If you have made poor choices—regardless of whether this happened before or while you were already a Christian—these things do not define you. You are defined through Jesus.
Ephesians 4:22–24 tells you to get rid of your old behaviours, ways of thinking and habits. Your past is dead and gone, so stop dragging it around! When you start thinking like this, you will begin to live and act like the new creation Jesus has made it possible for you to be.
If old habits rear their ugly head, just pick yourself up and continue the work of retraining your mind to catch up with the fact that you have been made brand new.
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