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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 a
message at a church service just before New Year’s Day. The Lord placed the
following words on my heart as I was thinking about what He would want our
resolutions to be for the coming year, ten resolutions from Paul’s letter to
the Colossians. I pray they will be a blessing to you as get set to enter 2018.
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 the Gospels and the life and ministry of Jesus 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 season, occasion, style, and color as we choose what we’ll
put on. We often want to ensure we look our best as we enter a world where
others will see us.
Given this, are we just as selective and careful about the way we clothe ourselves with our attitudes and demeanors? Before we venture out, do we take as much time to properly prepare ourselves for others to 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 which is defined as a spirit of mildness, humbleness, surrender, and modesty.
- Gentleness which involves sensitivity, friendliness and politeness
and
- Patience, or one’s ability to remain calm, composed, and cool under pressure.
God’s word wants us to assess how well dressed we are 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?
Perhaps it’s easier to ask:
Can you think of someone right now who just
seems to get under your skin, someone who annoys you to no end?
Maybe we all have that ONE person.
The scriptures through the words of Paul are commanding us to be more tolerant in the new year.
To respect others.
To stop looking so closely at another
person’s shortfalls while ignoring our own, 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.
Bear with one another.
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 and we would serve as the judge.
That’s why God had to put down strict guidelines to govern our forgiveness, saying:
“Forgive
as the Lord forgave you.”
WOW!
This takes any compromise out of the matter
of forgiveness.
For we must forgive everyone without exception.
If you doubt that, then I ask you to name anything you have done that the Lord
is not willing to forgive you for. You won’t come up with anything and thus the
power that comes in God’s statement. It is a checkmate to any consideration we
might have to not forgive someone.
In the end translation, the Lord wants us
to see that 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 who is in the same state you are, a sinner who is only saved
through the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ.
The word of God is clear when it comes to
the matter of pardon.
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 and paper that is on the gift of Jesus and see what
is inside. If you do, you will find 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 in your heart in this coming
year and watch love rule supreme in all you do.
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 these
words from 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 2018, 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.
To achieve this, here’s an exercise you can
do to put Philippians 4:6-7 to work in your life this year and avoid the
pitfalls of stress, anxiety, worry, and fear. There are four easy steps:
Step 1: Get out a piece of paper and begin
to write down everything that you are stressed over, worried and anxious about,
or afraid of. Make sure you list everything and it doesn’t matter how long or
short your list is.
Step 2: Take a moment to remember that God
can do all things. He has assured us in the scriptures that there is nothing
impossible for Him and that includes anything you are stressed about, worried
or anxious over, or afraid of. You have to trust God can and will do what He
said He could do or none of this works.
Step 3: Go to the first item on your list
and say a simple prayer over it. It could sound like this:
Dear God, I trust you and know you can do
all things. I need help right now as I try and deal with (whatever is on your
list). The problem is too big for me but I know it isn’t too big for you and so
I am giving it over to you out of faith. Thank You Lord for being there for me
and giving me Your help. Amen.
When you’re done, cross out the item on
your list and let it go. You’ve given it to God. There is no need for you to
carry it anymore.
Step 4: Repeat Step 3 until you have
covered every item on your list and if you have done this properly, leaving all
your burdens at the feet of God, the only One who can so all things, you should
feel a relief unlike what you have ever felt before, a peace that only comes
from fully trusting God with whatever would seek to weigh you down.
I pray that peace, the peace of Christ, will
rule in your hearts and the hearts of all creation in the new year.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at the top 5.
Amen.
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
