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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
"Therefore, as God’s chosen
people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect
unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one
body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly as you teach and advise one another with all wisdom, as you sing
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Colossians 3:12-17
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
Several years ago, I was asked to deliver the message at a
church service just before New Year’s Day. The Lord placed the following on my
heart as I was thinking about what He would want our resolutions to be for the
New Year. He gave me ten resolutions from Paul’s words to the church in Colosse
and I pray they will be a blessing to you as get set to enter 2016. I will
count down the resolutions across two devotions today and tomorrow. Feel free
to share with others and may the Lord richly bless you and yours in all things.
I will continue our journey through Jeremiah on January 2nd.
Here are resolutions 10 through 6 for you to consider as you approach the coming year:
10. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
How many of you are very selective in the things you wear? Most people are. Dressing properly takes time and careful consideration over style and color of what we’ll don. We want to ensure we look the best as we enter a world where others will see us.
So how well do we also select the way we clothe ourselves with our attitudes and demeanors? Do we take as much time to properly prepare ourselves before we go out and let others see what we look like on the inside? Look at the things that God’s word says should be part of our inner wardrobe:
- Compassion which consists of affection, tenderness, pity, and mercy
- Kindness which can include courtesy, favor, good deeds and goodwill
- Humility…a spirit of mildness, humbleness, surrender and modesty
- Gentleness which involves sensitivity, friendliness and politeness
and
- Patience…one’s ability to remain calm, composed, cool under pressure
So how well dressed are you on the inside? In this new year, maybe a makeover might be in order.
9. Bear with each other
What does it mean to bear with one another? Can you think of someone right now who just seems to get under your skin? Someone who annoys you to no end?
Resolve in the new year to be more tolerant. To respect others. To stop looking so closely at a person’s shortfalls in spite of ignoring all of yours…for we’re all flawed and imperfect when we get down to the truth of the matter.
So seek to be more understanding of others and strive to resolve differences when they occur. Seek to rebuild bridges instead of burning or tearing them down. Pray for those who you differ with and seek reconciliation in the year ahead.
8. Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
We all know what forgiveness is…putting it into action is often the real problem.
If left to our own devices, we could easily wiggle our way out of forgiving some people by deciding who we wanted to forgive and who we didn’t want to. We would turn forgiveness into a selective process.
That’s why scripture had to put down strict guidelines to govern our forgiveness. Hear the word of God from verse 13: Forgive as the Lord forgave you. WOW! This takes all the guesswork out of forgiveness. For we must forgive everyone without exception. If you doubt that, then I ask if there has been anything you have done that the Lord has not forgiven you for? The first steps to inner healing when you are burdened with anger or hatred toward another is to say the words I forgive, then resign to pray for that person as being just like you…a sinner who is only saved through the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
7. Over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.
The package of prior resolutions all revolve around love which is central to the greatest commandments of Jesus. Remember His answer when asked about the greatest commandments? He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Then He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36-40)
If you truly love God with all that you are, you will easily embody compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with and forgiving one another, all in the name of love through the One who showed and taught us what love is all about. So when you unwrap the gift of this new year, take off the ribbon of love that is on the gift of Jesus and see what is inside the package. In it are priceless treasures in and of the Savior…the Christ who we should be seeking to be like in every way. And the first thing we see when we look at Him is love. So put Him on your heart…wear Him with pride…and let love rule supreme in you this coming year.
6. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
In a world full of violence, confusion, problems and constant change, peace is sometimes very hard to come by, isn’t it? I think that’s why we were given the words of God found in Philippians 4:6-7:
"Do not be anxious about anything but give your concerns to God in prayer and petition and with thanksgiving. So you might find the peace of God that transcends all understanding and your hearts and minds will be guarded in Christ Jesus."
In 2016, God would want us to remember that He is the only One who is fully able and ready to handle any problem we have. And when we truly lay our burdens at His feet and allow Him to work awesome miracles in our lives, then we can fully experience that peace that transcends all understanding...a peace that will ensure our hearts are guarded by Christ Jesus. I pray that peace will rule your hearts and the hearts of all creation in the new year.
Here are resolutions 10 through 6 for you to consider as you approach the coming year:
10. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
How many of you are very selective in the things you wear? Most people are. Dressing properly takes time and careful consideration over style and color of what we’ll don. We want to ensure we look the best as we enter a world where others will see us.
So how well do we also select the way we clothe ourselves with our attitudes and demeanors? Do we take as much time to properly prepare ourselves before we go out and let others see what we look like on the inside? Look at the things that God’s word says should be part of our inner wardrobe:
- Compassion which consists of affection, tenderness, pity, and mercy
- Kindness which can include courtesy, favor, good deeds and goodwill
- Humility…a spirit of mildness, humbleness, surrender and modesty
- Gentleness which involves sensitivity, friendliness and politeness
and
- Patience…one’s ability to remain calm, composed, cool under pressure
So how well dressed are you on the inside? In this new year, maybe a makeover might be in order.
9. Bear with each other
What does it mean to bear with one another? Can you think of someone right now who just seems to get under your skin? Someone who annoys you to no end?
Resolve in the new year to be more tolerant. To respect others. To stop looking so closely at a person’s shortfalls in spite of ignoring all of yours…for we’re all flawed and imperfect when we get down to the truth of the matter.
So seek to be more understanding of others and strive to resolve differences when they occur. Seek to rebuild bridges instead of burning or tearing them down. Pray for those who you differ with and seek reconciliation in the year ahead.
8. Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
We all know what forgiveness is…putting it into action is often the real problem.
If left to our own devices, we could easily wiggle our way out of forgiving some people by deciding who we wanted to forgive and who we didn’t want to. We would turn forgiveness into a selective process.
That’s why scripture had to put down strict guidelines to govern our forgiveness. Hear the word of God from verse 13: Forgive as the Lord forgave you. WOW! This takes all the guesswork out of forgiveness. For we must forgive everyone without exception. If you doubt that, then I ask if there has been anything you have done that the Lord has not forgiven you for? The first steps to inner healing when you are burdened with anger or hatred toward another is to say the words I forgive, then resign to pray for that person as being just like you…a sinner who is only saved through the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
7. Over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.
The package of prior resolutions all revolve around love which is central to the greatest commandments of Jesus. Remember His answer when asked about the greatest commandments? He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength." Then He said, "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:36-40)
If you truly love God with all that you are, you will easily embody compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with and forgiving one another, all in the name of love through the One who showed and taught us what love is all about. So when you unwrap the gift of this new year, take off the ribbon of love that is on the gift of Jesus and see what is inside the package. In it are priceless treasures in and of the Savior…the Christ who we should be seeking to be like in every way. And the first thing we see when we look at Him is love. So put Him on your heart…wear Him with pride…and let love rule supreme in you this coming year.
6. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
In a world full of violence, confusion, problems and constant change, peace is sometimes very hard to come by, isn’t it? I think that’s why we were given the words of God found in Philippians 4:6-7:
"Do not be anxious about anything but give your concerns to God in prayer and petition and with thanksgiving. So you might find the peace of God that transcends all understanding and your hearts and minds will be guarded in Christ Jesus."
In 2016, God would want us to remember that He is the only One who is fully able and ready to handle any problem we have. And when we truly lay our burdens at His feet and allow Him to work awesome miracles in our lives, then we can fully experience that peace that transcends all understanding...a peace that will ensure our hearts are guarded by Christ Jesus. I pray that peace will rule your hearts and the hearts of all creation in the new year.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the top 5.
Amen.
Let us pray.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
