Thursday, July 21, 2016

July 22, 2016

"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 one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Colossians 3:12-14

So, now you know what a follower of Christ is supposed to wear! 

You need to know how to clothe yourself in those virtues of Christian love. Before you can put on the new you must take off the old:

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander,and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." Colossians 3:5-10

How can you put on compassion if you don't take off these things?

You can't!

How can you put on kindness if you don't take off these things?

You can't!

How can you clothe yourself in humility unless you take off these things?

You can't!

How can you put on gentleness if you don't take off these filthy things?

You can't!

How can you put on patience it you are wearing these dirty rags?

You can't!

I remember playing tackle football in the lot next to the E.U.B. Church on Sunday afternoons when I was a kid. We would play in the rain or in the snow but even on a fair weather day I would come home so filthy dirty I wasn't allowed in the house. I was sent to the back porch where I was told to take off the soiled clothes and handed some suitable to entering the house. So, I couldn't get in the house until I had clean clothing and I couldn't put on clean clothing until I took off the dirty ones.

That's how it is in God's house. You must take off the old and put on the new so you can enter in.