Col. 3:12-14 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Hear what the Word is saying to us today. Listen and understand it. God chose you in Christ because He loves you and He chose you to be holy. Do you know for a fact today that God loves you? How do you know it? What difference does it make for you to know it? Are you a holy person? What is there about you that verifies that it is true what you think about you?
Holiness is a life lived apart from sin, a life that strives to submit to and obey the standards of God as revealed in His Word. Some of the characteristics of holy living are found in today's verses. Take another look at them. Do they describe who you are? You may not have it altogether, but you should see some of them in you. How you treat others is a good barometer on how you are doing. If you are growing into a holy heart, you will have a compassionate heart that treats people with kindness and love. Your first response to others will be that of love. You will not let anything they do or say keep you from loving them.
If you find it hard to love someone, you will flee to the Lord and ask Him to love them through you. He will change your heart into a heart of love if you will let Him. You cannot consistently pray for the good of someone without the Lord giving you a heart of love for them. You cannot become whom the Lord wants you to be, and created you to be in Him, until you do.
Love is what binds us together and love can only be found at the foot of the cross. Jesus takes away all that keeps us from loving each other and binds us together in perfect harmony. When we don't get along it's because we haven't lingered at Calvary with our problems.
Thursday, April 7, 2016
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
WHAT HAVE YOU TAKEN OFF?
Col. 3:9-10 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds. In its place you have clothed yourselves with a brand new nature that is continually being renewed as you learn more and more about Christ, who created this new nature within you.
What have you taken off? What difference has the Gospel you profess to believe in made in your life? What don't you do that you did before? What attitudes do you have now that you didn't have before about life and people? The reality is that if nothing noticeable has changed in you, then what you believe with your head is not what you believe in your heart. When Jesus is in us, we no longer can live in sin or maintain sinful attitudes. He won't let us. His Spirit convicts us of sin and moves us to confess sin and change.
In the place of our old way of life, Jesus gives us a brand new life. It is a life built on the foundation of godliness. It is a life that never quits becoming more like God in character. It is a life that is never satisfied with what is, but is aware of the need for constant growth and change. When Jesus lives within us, we have a constant hunger and thirst for more of His life. We want who He is to be who we are.
Let the Lord renew your heart today by striving to learn more and more about Him in all His glory and honor as God within you. Keep learning what you can't do that you did before and what you can now do that you couldn't before. Learn all you can about this new life in you. The Lord wants you to enjoy it to the fullest and the more you learn from Him, the more you can enjoy the life He gives. He who hungers and thirsts after righteousness will not only be satisfied, he will feast on the riches of God's wondrous love and grace.
What have you taken off? What difference has the Gospel you profess to believe in made in your life? What don't you do that you did before? What attitudes do you have now that you didn't have before about life and people? The reality is that if nothing noticeable has changed in you, then what you believe with your head is not what you believe in your heart. When Jesus is in us, we no longer can live in sin or maintain sinful attitudes. He won't let us. His Spirit convicts us of sin and moves us to confess sin and change.
In the place of our old way of life, Jesus gives us a brand new life. It is a life built on the foundation of godliness. It is a life that never quits becoming more like God in character. It is a life that is never satisfied with what is, but is aware of the need for constant growth and change. When Jesus lives within us, we have a constant hunger and thirst for more of His life. We want who He is to be who we are.
Let the Lord renew your heart today by striving to learn more and more about Him in all His glory and honor as God within you. Keep learning what you can't do that you did before and what you can now do that you couldn't before. Learn all you can about this new life in you. The Lord wants you to enjoy it to the fullest and the more you learn from Him, the more you can enjoy the life He gives. He who hungers and thirsts after righteousness will not only be satisfied, he will feast on the riches of God's wondrous love and grace.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016
LIVING FOR CHRIST ALONE
Col. 3:5-6 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry. God's terrible anger will come upon those who do such things.
Putting to death is to no longer let sinful things be a part of who you are. It is no longer living under the influence of sinful desires. It is refusing to participate in sinful things or practices. It is walking away from sinful temptations. It is squelching sinful desires. It is changing the course of our natural way to live and instead strive to live to honor and please God.
There are many things that the world deems to be good. There are many things that appeal to us and cause us to want them. We need to keep our desires under control. When what the world offers us become the driving force in our lives, it's greed. It causes us to want the world's offerings more than we do a healthy relationship with God. It is sin and we must be concerned about this. If we are not careful, we will develop greater priorities in life than God. We will be led away from God and into sin.
Paul warns us that those who do not put away from them sinful desires and greed will face God's wrath. God will not fight for our allegiance; He lets us choose whether or not we will serve Him and love Him more than anyone, or anything, else in life. You cannot love the Lord and hang on to worldly desires or participate in worldly activities. You cannot love Him and desire something else more than Him. God commands all of our heart loyalties. We cannot live in Christ with earthly attachments.
Putting to death is to no longer let sinful things be a part of who you are. It is no longer living under the influence of sinful desires. It is refusing to participate in sinful things or practices. It is walking away from sinful temptations. It is squelching sinful desires. It is changing the course of our natural way to live and instead strive to live to honor and please God.
There are many things that the world deems to be good. There are many things that appeal to us and cause us to want them. We need to keep our desires under control. When what the world offers us become the driving force in our lives, it's greed. It causes us to want the world's offerings more than we do a healthy relationship with God. It is sin and we must be concerned about this. If we are not careful, we will develop greater priorities in life than God. We will be led away from God and into sin.
Paul warns us that those who do not put away from them sinful desires and greed will face God's wrath. God will not fight for our allegiance; He lets us choose whether or not we will serve Him and love Him more than anyone, or anything, else in life. You cannot love the Lord and hang on to worldly desires or participate in worldly activities. You cannot love Him and desire something else more than Him. God commands all of our heart loyalties. We cannot live in Christ with earthly attachments.
Monday, April 4, 2016
WHAT WE MUST DO
Col. 3:5a So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.
Notice, we have a responsibility to put out the life of sin in us. We have to do our part if we are going to live in victory. God does not take away from us our desires. We still tend to want to sin and we must gain control over those desires. We must stand up to temptation and say no to it. We must resist the urge to pursue the things on earth that draw us away from God.
In order for us to be strong enough to put to death our sinful desires, we must take control over what we do in life. We must be students of God’s Word, which means we become more than casual readers of it. We must read the Word with a need and desire to learn its hidden treasures. We must be disciplined enough to spend daily time in it. We must be willing to listen to what it says and seek to apply it to our living. The more we study the Word, the stronger our faith becomes.
We must also put into practice what we learn. Knowledge alone does the soul no good. We must keep striving to develop the kind of life God says we should be living. Becoming holy in practice should always be our goal.
Strength of faith is found on our knees. We must discipline ourselves to be a people of prayer. It takes more than a casual thought to be a people of prayer. We need to discipline ourselves to wait before the Lord, spending quality time with Him on a consistent basis. Sunday morning prayer time in church is not going to cut it. Daily we need to spend time alone with the Lord, sitting at His feet, waiting before Him.
It is the strong in faith who will be able to put to death the sinful, earthly things that attract us and lure us away from God.
Notice, we have a responsibility to put out the life of sin in us. We have to do our part if we are going to live in victory. God does not take away from us our desires. We still tend to want to sin and we must gain control over those desires. We must stand up to temptation and say no to it. We must resist the urge to pursue the things on earth that draw us away from God.
In order for us to be strong enough to put to death our sinful desires, we must take control over what we do in life. We must be students of God’s Word, which means we become more than casual readers of it. We must read the Word with a need and desire to learn its hidden treasures. We must be disciplined enough to spend daily time in it. We must be willing to listen to what it says and seek to apply it to our living. The more we study the Word, the stronger our faith becomes.
We must also put into practice what we learn. Knowledge alone does the soul no good. We must keep striving to develop the kind of life God says we should be living. Becoming holy in practice should always be our goal.
Strength of faith is found on our knees. We must discipline ourselves to be a people of prayer. It takes more than a casual thought to be a people of prayer. We need to discipline ourselves to wait before the Lord, spending quality time with Him on a consistent basis. Sunday morning prayer time in church is not going to cut it. Daily we need to spend time alone with the Lord, sitting at His feet, waiting before Him.
It is the strong in faith who will be able to put to death the sinful, earthly things that attract us and lure us away from God.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
THE REALITIES OF HEAVEN
Col. 3:1-2 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.
One of the biggest reasons why there is such shallowness in our spiritual lives is that we have allowed our thoughts to be dominated by earthly things. We are primarily concerned by the things we find on earth. We thrive on the rewards found in the world and pursue the earthly pleasures available to us. We listen to the many voices of the world to the point where we scarcely hear the voice of God.
We will never grow into a godly people until we accept our actions and take responsibility for them. We must understand that in order to be the people whom God created us to be in Christ, we must get our priorities straight. As children of God, we must retrain ourselves to set our sights on the realities of heaven. We must learn all we can about Christ and heaven. We must keep our thoughts focused on what is before us, not on what is around us or behind us. We are not citizens of earth; we are citizens of heaven. We invest our lives in the things of heaven, not the things on earth.
The more into Christ we become, the less attachment we will have for the things here on earth. Only when we become heaven-minded do we find ourselves and something worth living for.
One of the biggest reasons why there is such shallowness in our spiritual lives is that we have allowed our thoughts to be dominated by earthly things. We are primarily concerned by the things we find on earth. We thrive on the rewards found in the world and pursue the earthly pleasures available to us. We listen to the many voices of the world to the point where we scarcely hear the voice of God.
We will never grow into a godly people until we accept our actions and take responsibility for them. We must understand that in order to be the people whom God created us to be in Christ, we must get our priorities straight. As children of God, we must retrain ourselves to set our sights on the realities of heaven. We must learn all we can about Christ and heaven. We must keep our thoughts focused on what is before us, not on what is around us or behind us. We are not citizens of earth; we are citizens of heaven. We invest our lives in the things of heaven, not the things on earth.
The more into Christ we become, the less attachment we will have for the things here on earth. Only when we become heaven-minded do we find ourselves and something worth living for.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
CONNECTED TO CHRIST
Col. 2:19 But they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For we are joined together in his body by his strong sinews, and we grow only as we get our nourishment and strength from God.
Those who are living life without being connected to Christ are lost and bound for hell. Those who are living in Christ show it by how they live. We cannot be connected to Christ without showing His nature. We become like Him, holy and righteous before God.
If we are living in Christ, we are being properly nourished and we grow in godliness and spiritual strength. If we are weak and anemic, it's simply because we have blocked the path of God's nourishment for our souls. We cannot be open and receptive to God and His Word without growing and becoming more like Him.
If anyone is struggling to grow, he is not properly connected to Christ. A healthy soul is constantly changing and becoming more like Christ throughout his life. If no change ever happens, then the soul is not connected to Christ, regardless of words once spoken. Jesus in us naturally makes us different than we once were. The progression of the process of change varies with each of us, but all who know Christ do change.
Those who are living life without being connected to Christ are lost and bound for hell. Those who are living in Christ show it by how they live. We cannot be connected to Christ without showing His nature. We become like Him, holy and righteous before God.
If we are living in Christ, we are being properly nourished and we grow in godliness and spiritual strength. If we are weak and anemic, it's simply because we have blocked the path of God's nourishment for our souls. We cannot be open and receptive to God and His Word without growing and becoming more like Him.
If anyone is struggling to grow, he is not properly connected to Christ. A healthy soul is constantly changing and becoming more like Christ throughout his life. If no change ever happens, then the soul is not connected to Christ, regardless of words once spoken. Jesus in us naturally makes us different than we once were. The progression of the process of change varies with each of us, but all who know Christ do change.
Friday, April 1, 2016
ALIVE IN CHRIST
Col. 2:13-15 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross. In this way God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.
Without Christ, everyone is spiritually dead. We can never be good enough to get rid of our sins on our own. We can never do enough to cancel our sin debt to God. We can't do it, but God can, and He did.
God made us alive in Christ. What this means is that our sins are all forgiven. All means all. Every one of our sins are forgiven by Christ when we come to Him and sincerely repent of them. He did away with all the charges against us. He wipes the slate clean. We must know that every sin we commit is noted in heaven and held against us. Without Christ in us, we have nothing to stand between God and us. With Christ in us, we have His righteousness and holiness standing between us and God.
In Christ, God destroys the hold that sin has on us. Satan is rendered powerless to hold us captive to sin and its condemnation. We have the ability and desire to not sin when Christ lives in us. When we stumble and do sin, it's because of our failure to stand up and resist in Jesus' name, not His inability to help us. Satan cannot touch or harm those who are living and growing in Him.
The cross of Calvary stands always before us as a testimony that it is true. Our victory is in Christ alone. He totally disarmed all the forces of evil and stands before us as the way, truth and life of those seeking God.
Without Christ, everyone is spiritually dead. We can never be good enough to get rid of our sins on our own. We can never do enough to cancel our sin debt to God. We can't do it, but God can, and He did.
God made us alive in Christ. What this means is that our sins are all forgiven. All means all. Every one of our sins are forgiven by Christ when we come to Him and sincerely repent of them. He did away with all the charges against us. He wipes the slate clean. We must know that every sin we commit is noted in heaven and held against us. Without Christ in us, we have nothing to stand between God and us. With Christ in us, we have His righteousness and holiness standing between us and God.
In Christ, God destroys the hold that sin has on us. Satan is rendered powerless to hold us captive to sin and its condemnation. We have the ability and desire to not sin when Christ lives in us. When we stumble and do sin, it's because of our failure to stand up and resist in Jesus' name, not His inability to help us. Satan cannot touch or harm those who are living and growing in Him.
The cross of Calvary stands always before us as a testimony that it is true. Our victory is in Christ alone. He totally disarmed all the forces of evil and stands before us as the way, truth and life of those seeking God.
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