the daily devo

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12)

Does it feel chilly in here to you? After taking off our old selves last week – along with all the sins, practices, and labels attached to a life without Christ – we should put something else on. It’s going to get drafty.

Our new threads – custom-made for those in Christ – come with some new tags: “chosen,” “holy,” “dearly loved.” That describes how God thinks of us. Really! Right now!

And he wants us to wear these:

Compassion: Working at feeling for people who are hurting or happy. Kindness: Doing something about how we feel for each other. Humility: Making our idea of ourselves lower than our idea of God. Gentleness: Making ourselves lower, even, than each other. Patience: Agreeing to wait on God and others even when I’ve got important things to do or say.

Trust me; these will look great on you.

Think: Of these five character qualities for those who live in Christ, which comes most naturally to you? Which is hardest for you to “put on” and keep on?

Pray: Ask God to help you to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Do: Write down those five words on five separate 3 x 5 cards or post-it notes and put them up in five different places in your world where you’ll have to look at them for the next week or so.

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13)

Do you think of yourself as a forgiven person? I’m not asking if you believe God has forgiven all of your sins. I know you believe that if you’re a Christian. I mean, do you tend to think of yourself as someone who has been forgiven for great and terrible sin?

I’m asking because those of us who became Christians as kids – and never got around to rebelling in any obvious, public way by trying out some of the “big sins” – we can have a hard time really thinking of ourselves as sinners. What have we done that’s so wrong, after all?

That thinking is a problem. Every sin is an offense against the character of our Father, reason enough for us to go to hell, and for Jesus to die on the cross. Our pride is no better than sexual immorality, fits of rage, or public drunkenness.

Here’s the other problem: If you don’t think of yourself as a forgiven person, it’s much harder to forgive others. And when you do, you think of it as a big favor instead of seeing it as the least and most obvious thing you could do as someone who has been forgiven for a stinking, seething mountain of ugly sin.

Think: On a scale from 1 to 10, how often are you aware that God has forgiven you for great sins you were helpless to pay for yourself? How hard is it for you to forgive others? Do you see a connection between those two things?

Pray: Ask God to help you to bear with others and forgive everyone just as God has forgiven you.

Do: Read Matthew 18:21-35 to hear a story Jesus told about a guy who refused to forgive a small debt after he’d been forgiven for a big one.

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:14)

How many people spend their whole lives waiting to “fall in love” or waiting for love to “find them”? From the Bible’s perspective, you’re more likely to get “found” by the swine flu than real love. It’s like waiting to get found by a promise. Promises don’t find you; they’re given to you.

Or – even better – you give them away to others. Look at the power in this command Paul gives to all of us who are becoming like Jesus: “Put on love.” Do you realize what that means? In God’s power, we can be “in love” at any time we wish, just by putting it on like a big coat over all the other virtues.

Granted, this isn’t just romantic love (though it can be the purest form of that). It’s even more powerful than attraction and reaction. This is Jesus-style, “I’m going to die for you” love. This is God’s version of “you can’t make me take it back no matter what you do” love.

And as Christians, we can put it on and start giving it away right now. Don’t wait for it to come looking for you.

Think: Do you think the word love is overused in our society? How would you define God’s kind of love, the kind we’re told to “put on” in this verse?

Pray: Ask God to help you to put on his kind of love over all the other virtues listed in Colossians 3.

Do: If you haven’t for a while, read Paul’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

Do you have a strategy? A plan? A system? What are you doing to let the word of Christ live inside of you “richly”? How are you going to get it off the pages of the Book and into the hallways of your heart and mind?

I’m not asking in order to pressure you or make you feel guilty. Honest. I’m asking because you’re smart and creative and this is a challenge you can totally conquer. Some people read the Bible on their iPhones. Others listen to audio podcasts. Others memorize chunks of it and then mull them over when they’re just lying there in the dark at night.

What will you do?

The verse gives two starting places: First, join a club. That is, get in a group that is all about teaching each other the word all the time. You teach some. I’ll teach some. We’ll always be getting richer. Second, use music. Of course! Nothing sticks in your head (forever) like a song. Sing the Word in all kinds of different ways.

What will make you more like Jesus than having his Word in you?

Think: What are some of the best techniques you have found for getting the Bible in you? What are some new things you could try?

Pray: Ask God to help you to let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Do: Ask three Christians you really respect what they do best to get the Word of Christ in them.

” . . . And be thankful. . . . with gratitude in your hearts to God. . . . giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:15-17)

Yes, that’s a lot of ellipses in that verse up there. Actually, that’s how each of the three verses we studied during the last three days end: “be thankful,” “with gratitude in your hearts,” and “giving thanks.”

Is Paul being redundant? Did he get lazy and just decide to end three verses in a row in the same way? Doubtful. Taking on the identity of Christ must have a lot to do with being thankful people. In fact, saying thanks and feeling grateful must be one of the most important parts of being Jesus’ hands and feet in our own lives.

Being a grateful person requires at least three things: Discipline, humility, and the ability to enjoy. It takes discipline because we’re not naturally thankful people; we’ve got to give thanks on purpose and on a plan. It takes humility because saying thanks to God is admitting that he gave something to us and that we didn’t do it ourselves.

And it takes the ability to enjoy good gifts in order to feel thankful. That’s harder than it looks on soda commercials. Many of us take good gifts for granted or simply collect them and immediately start looking for the next one. Enjoying the gift in front of you requires that you stop wanting something else for a few minutes.

Think: What makes it hard for you to say thanks or to feel grateful in your heart? What makes it easier? What plan could you make to tell God thanks on purpose three times a day every day for this next week (not counting meals)?

Pray: Ask God to help you to give him thanks, to have gratitude in your heart toward him, and to give thanks to him in the name of Jesus.

Do: Start of a list of good gifts you’re thankful for and add five things to it every day for the next week.