Split-Ends
When a person repents of their disbelief and disobedience to the will and words of the Lord God Almighty, their sinful way of life, Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to live and dwell in their life. This creates a struggle between the thoughts and ways by which they lived before salvation and the new way to think and live interjected into their life by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Jesus seeks to change the way born-again believers think about life and how they should live life so that they will be made anew in the image of Jesus.
This change can be hurtful and seem drawn out over many years. But it is the process by which the old thoughts and ways are removed from our soul. It is a matter of our heart.
“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Deuteronomy 10:16
In gardening we see an example of this cutting away of the old to make way for the new. It is called deadheading plants. Deadheading is the process of removing faded or dying flowers from plants to prevent the plant from going to seed, redirecting its energy toward growing new foliage and producing a fresh flush of blooms rather than expending effort on seed production.
We also see it in our own grooming when we take care of our hair’s split-ends. Split ends occur when the hair's protective outer layer, the cuticle, wears away. This exposes the inner cortex, causing the strand to unravel and split. The only permanent way to get rid of split ends is to cut them off.
Hydration and gentle handling stop new split ends from forming.
As a believer is sanctified by the Holy Spirit there must be some deadheading and pruning happening to allow the believer to become the person Jesus created and gave His life for. Since it is a matter of the heart it is a work only the Holy Spirit can accomplish.
“And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Deuteronomy 30:6
It is by the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit that our old man is replaced by the new man we have in Christ Jesus.
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,” Colossians 2:11
Daily let the Spirit change you into the likeness of Jesus by removing the old you and replacing it with the new you. Then you will live among others lighting the way for them to come to Jesus that they may also believe and be changed forever.
“But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.” Romans 2:29
Because Jesus loves us,
Bro. Hugh Folds
Matthew 6:33
