“LOSING HEART OR GAINING CONFIDENCE?”

II Corinthians 4:16ff

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

Another stay in the hospital. A couple more maladies to add to my ever growing list of physical problems. Will it ever end? Many times we allow the physical to govern our outlook on life. I know I do! If things are going well physically then we are reasonably optimistic. If not, we tend to become pessimistic and lose heart. This decay is a result of the fall. We call it growing old.

How do Christians cope with the aging process? You can’t change it, so how do you deal with it? Some succumb to it and become “grumpy old men” while others refuse to accept it and try to remain young all their lives. The fact is that aging in this life is an irreversible process. We need to understand it, accept it, and concentrate on what God says to concentrate on and that is to cultivate the internal.

While there is a gradual retirement of the physical, there is a constant change and renewal process taking place within the spiritual system. God, the Holy Spirit, is constantly developing His people from within.

What is this renewal and how does it happen?

• Christ is formed in us - Galatians 4:19

• We are renewed in our mind - Romans 12:1, 2

• We are renewed in knowledge - Colossians 3:10

• There is an overall renewal - II Corinthians 3:18

The renewing in the inner man is the process by which the Holy Spirit brings the essence of truth to your mind - your inner self - and with it forms and shapes Christ in you. The result of this inner renewing process has little to do with how you look but has a lot to do with how you look at things and people and life.

1. We have a more mature outlook and mindset in relation to the world in which we live. Maturity brings understanding.

2. We are more reflective of the mindset of Jesus Christ. This means a stronger capability of dealing with the difficulty.

3. This renewal is “day by day”. Are you, am I, willing to cultivate day by day to the principle of Colossians 3:1-2?

We need to take time to cultivate the inner man because if the internal man isn’t cultivated, the external will take control. Inner renewal will not only prevent us from losing heart, it will enable us to gain confidence as we move toward the eternal (Philippians 3:12-14).

Beloved, the Christian is conditioned by difficulty and by the renewing process of the Holy Spirit to appreciate and embrace eternal realities. How precious this passage has become to me:

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Philippians 3:21-21.

Once again Eva and I thank you for your love and prayers. What a blessing you are!

Love to you all.