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b'READ: EPHESIANS 5:1-2; COLOSSIANS 3:8-10\\n\\n\\n\\nWhen you hear an accent different from yours, do you find yourself slipping into the new accent? For example, maybe you say y\\u2019all around your grandparents or brilliant around your British friend. Whatever it looks like, switching accents is a pretty common and often funny phenomenon.\\n\\n\\n\\nThinking about accents can actually help us understand a truth we find in the Bible. After Jesus died on the cross, rose from the grave, and ascended into heaven, God sent the Holy Spirit to be in Jesus\\u2019s followers. Soon after this, Acts 4:13 says that when the Jewish religious leaders interacted with two of Jesus\\u2019s disciples, Peter and John, they recognized that they \\u201chad been with Jesus.\\u201d\\n\\n\\n\\nAs we get to know Jesus better, our speech and actions begin to reflect Him. Like Peter and John, all Christians have the opportunity to spend time with Jesus, talking to Him and listening to Him any time, because we have the Holy Spirit in us. Even though we won\\u2019t see Jesus face-to-face until He returns, we can still experience the \\u201cinexpressible joy\\u201d of knowing Him through faith (1 Peter 1:8). As we pray, read His Word (both individually and with fellow Christians), and interact with the Holy Spirit as we go through our daily lives, we get to know Jesus better and better\\u2026 and His love overflows from us to others.\\n\\n\\n\\nIf we trust in Jesus, He will help us grow to become more like Him\\u2014more kind, patient, loving, and forgiving\\u2014so our words and actions will show others that we know Him. And as we spend time with Jesus, we can grow to understand His love for everyone and pick up His accent in the way we talk to and treat others. \\u2022 A. W. Smith\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Have you ever been encouraged by seeing a Christian friend copying Jesus\\u2019s accent? What were they doing or saying?\\n\\n\\n\\n\\u2022 Why do you think spending time with Jesus often leads to acting more like Him? (If you want to dig deeper, read John 15:1-17 and Galatians 5:22-23.)\\n\\n\\n\\nLive a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:2 (NLT)'