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October 7

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PUTTING ON GOD’S FORGIVENESS

From: October 7, 2023

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13 NLT).

Paul told the believers in Colossae to put off their old ways of thinking and behaving and to put on their new life in Christ. He spoke of these old and new ways as if they were articles of clothing. Among the new articles of spiritual clothing that believers received was forgiveness. Since they had received forgiveness from the Lord, they were to put it on and forgive others, just as the Lord had forgiven them.

Now as believers, we are able to put on the forgiveness of Christ, drawing on His mercy and grace to forgive. We put off hatred and revenge and put on love and forgiveness. No longer seeing ourselves as offended victims, but forgiven vessels, charged with God’s ministry of reconciliation. We are able to always forgive because we have been forgiven of all things. According to this new identity in Christ, we are able to forgive just as the Lord has forgiven us.

Where in your mind’s closet are you harboring the filthy clothing of unforgiveness? Towards whom are you hanging on to an offense? Put off your old resentments and put on God’s forgiveness today.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we are so thankful that You have forgiven us according to Your love and mercy. Because of Your great love, You have not only forgiven us, You have adopted us into Your family by Your grace. Now, we have been given the mind of Christ, so we are able to forgive others just as You have forgiven us. Help us to draw on Your love and forgiveness this day and to carry out Your ministry of reconciliation in this world. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15a NLT).

From: October 7, 2022

DOES THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE YOUR HEART?

Paul said that we are to let the peace of Christ “rule.” The Greek word translated “rule” is “brabeuetō.” It literally means to “umpire, arbitrate, to let make the call.” When difficult circumstances come that bring anxiety, we are to let the peace of Christ act as our umpire, determining what’s in or out of bounds in our thinking. In this way, Christ filters how we respond to life’s challenges, so that we always walk in His peace.

This peace of Christ is available to us when we put on Christ, “clothing” (Col. 3:12) ourselves with His spiritual attributes, chief among which is love. When we begin to worry and fret, we can look to the peace of Christ as an umpire to help us examine our souls to see whether we are walking in the Spirit of Christ or in the flesh. For this peace is the mark of walking in the Spirit.

Remember what Jesus said when His disciples were worried and afraid that their boat would sink when a terrible storm came upon them? Jesus, who had been asleep in the stern of the boat, awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm (Mark 4:39).

Have you learned to let the peace of Christ say, “Peace! Be still!” to your stormy heart?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the Spirit of Christ which always abides in us to rule over our hearts. We do not want to respond to the difficulties of this life in our own fleshly manner, but with the constant, over-ruling peace of Christ. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive” (Colossians 3:13b HCSB).

From: October 7, 2021

PUTTING ON GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Paul told the believers in Colossae to put off their old ways of thinking and behaving and to put on their new life in Christ. He spoke of these old and new ways as if they were articles of clothing. Among the new articles of spiritual clothing that believers received was forgiveness. Since they had received forgiveness from the Lord, they were to put it on and forgive others, just as the Lord had forgiven them.
 
Now as believers, we are able to put on the forgiveness of Christ, drawing on His mercy and grace to forgive. We put off hatred and revenge and put on love and forgiveness. No longer seeing ourselves as offended victims, but forgiven vessels, charged with God’s ministry of reconciliation. We are able to always forgive because we have been forgiven of all things. According to this new identity in Christ, we are able to forgive just as the Lord has forgiven us.
 
Where in your mind’s closet are you harboring the filthy clothing of unforgiveness? Towards whom are you hanging on to an offense? Put off your old resentments and put on God’s forgiveness today.
 
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are so thankful that You have forgiven us according to Your love and mercy. Because of Your great love, You have not only forgiven us, You have adopted us into Your family by Your grace. Now, we have been given the mind of Christ, so we are able to forgive others just as You have forgiven us. Help us to draw on Your love and forgiveness this day and to carry out Your ministry of reconciliation in this world. In Jesus’ name, amen.

‘Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me”‘ (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJV).

From: October 7, 2020

OUR GLORY IS IN CHRIST JESUS

Human wisdom, strength and riches are the criteria by which we judge success, they are the attributes we boast of and depend upon. Indeed, it is these three that shape societal pecking order. Yet, God warned that such fleshly boasts would not save Israel from the coming judgment. The three gods of human accomplishment would fail them.
 
The most valuable boast (if one is to boast) is that we “understand and know” the Lord. This is the glory that saves. It is the claim that gives both entrance and status within the new and coming kingdom of heaven. For true and lasting wisdom, strength and riches are found in knowing God through Jesus Christ, His Son (Eph. 1:15-23). Let the one who boasts boast in Christ!
 
PRAYER: Dear Father, we glory in You and in Your Son. For we have nothing to boast about in ourselves, except that which You have given us. You are our all in all. We glory in You today! In Jesus’ name, amen.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15a NLT).

From: October 7, 2019

LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST UMPIRE YOUR HEART

Paul said that we are to let the peace of Christ “rule.” The Greek word for rule is βραβευέτω (brabeuetō). It literally means to “umpire, arbitrate, to let make the call.” When our circumstances appear to overwhelm us, we are to let the peace, the “shalom,” of Christ act as our umpire, determining what’s in or out of bounds. In this way, Christ filters how we respond to life’s circumstances, so that we alway walk in His peace.
 
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the Spirit of Christ which always abides in us to rule over our hearts. We do not want to respond to the difficulties of this life in our own fleshly manner, but with the constant, over-ruling peace of Christ. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:1-2 NLT).

From: October 7, 2018

ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY JET-LAGGED?
Paul encouraged the Colossians believers to set their hearts and minds on things above, pulling them off the things of earth. He wanted them to focus on things that are eternal, not the temporal things that will not last. He encouraged them to remember that their lives are already hidden in Christ, and that Christ would soon return.
 
In a few weeks, those of us in the Eastern US will reset our clocks from DST to EST. We will “fall back” an hour. For a few days we will feel as though we got an extra hour sleep, but then we will quickly adapt to the new time. It only requires a small adjustment. But when we travel to Africa or Indonesia or some other far away place to visit our missionary partners, the adjustment is much more severe. We experience jet lag. Our bodies might be in Uganda, but our internal clocks are still in North Carolina! It can be very disorienting.
 
But I’ve learned that it helps alleviate jet lag to start setting your time on your destination as soon as you get on the plane. We may not have taken off yet, but we can go ahead and set our clocks on our destination’s time.
 
Where’s your focus today? Dear believer, your life is already hidden in Christ, yet your body is still here on earth. Why not go ahead and set your sights on the realities of heaven? Let the things of earth “grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

“Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1 NKJV).

From: October 7, 2017

The LORD had revealed the coming destruction of Jerusalem to the prophet Jeremiah. He had called Jeremiah to warn the people of Judah of God’s coming judgment. Yet, such a calling and such foreknowledge was nearly more than Jeremiah could bear. He was heart broken over his people’s sin and rebellion. His sorrow was so deep that he wished for an unlimited supply of tears that he “might weep day and night” for his people. Yet, among his people, he was the only one weeping. The people continued going about their day to day tasks, as if no warning had been given. They scoffed at Jeremiah’s preaching and gathered to themselves false prophets who were saying, “‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace” (Jer. 8:11). To them, Jeremiah was just a gloomy, weeping prophet with nothing good to say.
 
However, there was one other who wept with Jeremiah. For Jeremiah’s tears came from the same source as his message, namely, the Lord. For the Lord was heartbroken over His people’s rebellion, which He called adultery because of their idolatrous ways. Jeremiah was surely feeling God’s grief just as he heard God’s words of wrath.
 
I wonder, who feels God’s grief for their people today? Who is weeping as Jeremiah did for the people of our cities, our nation, and our world to turn from their wicked ways, and turn to God through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord?

‘Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me”‘ (Jeremiah 9:23-24 ESV)

From: October 7, 2016

Human wisdom, strength and riches are the criteria by which we judge success, they are the attributes we boast of and depend upon. Indeed, it is these three that shape societal pecking order. Yet, God warned that such fleshly boasts would not save Israel from the coming judgment. The three gods of human accomplishment would fail them. The most valuable boast (if one is to boast) is that we “understand and know” the Lord. This is the “boast” that saves. It is the currency that gives both entrance and status within the new and coming kingdom of heaven. For true and lasting wisdom, strength and riches are found in knowing God through Jesus Christ, His Son (Eph. 1:15-23). Let the one who boasts boast in Christ!

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…l” (Colossians 3:15 NKJV)

From: October 7, 2015

Paul said that we are to let the peace of God “rule.” The Greek word for rule is βραβευέτω, brabeuetō. It literally means to “umpire, arbitrate, to let make the call.” When our circumstances appear to overwhelm us, we are to let the peace, the shalom, of Christ act as our umpire, determining what’s in or out of bounds. Letting the peace of Christ umpire our hearts, we don’t let circumstances, nor fleshly emotion rule, we let Christ rule.

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15 NLT)

From: October 7, 2014

Paul said that we are to let the peace of Christ “rule.” The Greek word for rule is βραβευέτω, brabeuetō. It literally means to “umpire, arbitrate, to let make the call.” When our circumstances appear to overwhelm us, we are to let the peace, the shalom, of Christ act as our umpire, determining what’s in or out of bounds.