Forgive, Just As The
Lord Forgave You
But now here are the
kinds of things you must get rid of. You must put away anger, rage, hate and
lies. Let no dirty words come out of your mouths. Don't lie to each other.
You have gotten rid
of your old way of life and its habits. You have started living a new life. It
is being made new so that what you know has the Creator's likeness.
Here there is no
Greek or Jew. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and
those who are not. There is no rude outsider, or even a Scythian. There is no
slave or free person. But Christ is everything. And he is in everything.
You are God's chosen
people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as
if they were your clothes. Don't be proud. Be gentle and patient. Put up with
each other. Forgive the things you are holding against one another. Forgive,
just as the Lord forgave you.
And over all of those
good things put on love. Love holds them all together perfectly as if they were
one.
Let the peace that
Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to
live in peace. And be thankful.
Let Christ's word
live in you like a rich treasure. Teach and correct each other wisely. Sing
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing with thanks in your hearts to God. Do
everything you say or do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Always give thanks to
God the Father through Christ.
Colossians 3:8-17
Pleasing
God doesn’t mean that we must busy ourselves with a new set of “spiritual” activities.
Whether cleaning homes or preaching sermons, we all have a
place. We just need to quietly go to God and ask help. The wisdom that
can only come from God, will come from God, in the
exact right time and amount.
We
need faith and the mind of the Lord Jesus to recognize something of lasting
value in even our most ordinary tasks.
The world crowns success; God crowns faithfulness!
Our Daily Bread –