Tag Archives: clothe yourselves

A NEW WARDROBE

Christian Life, ,

Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
[12] “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

Let’s go back, for a moment, into Israel’s history. Moses was in trouble or should I say, Israel was in trouble. They had hardly been in a covenant with God when they had slipped back into their old idolatrous ways. The first condition, in this covenant was “no other gods”. However, they persuaded Aaron to make them a god they could see and feel as a kind of representative of God, so they thought. God thought otherwise.

Exodus 32:9-10 NLT
[9] “Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. [10] Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

God was furious! They had very short memories! If this was the way they were going to treat His sacred pact with them, He was done! He was no longer obliged to keep His side of the covenant. Now they were on their own.

Moses was devastated! “You can’t do that, God. What about your promise to our ancestors?”

Exodus 32:13 NLT
[13] “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”

Moses thought of a plan…

Not only did he persuade the Lord to continue leading His people to the Promised Land but he also requested something even greater…a personal revelation of God Himself. That was a bold and risky move but…he had a purpose.

Exodus 33:18 NLT
[18] “Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.”

So God responded.

Exodus 34:5-7 NLT
[5]Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh. [6] The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. [7] I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected— even children in the third and fourth generations.”

Moses got what he wanted, a revelation of God’s nature from His own mouth. Now he could appeal to God’s mercy to forgive Israel’s sin and continue to treat them as His own nation in covenant with Him.

Exodus 34:8-11 NLT
[8]”Moses immediately threw himself to the ground and worshiped. [9] And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.” [10] The Lord replied, “Listen, I am making a covenant with you in the presence of all your people. I will perform miracles that have never been performed anywhere in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people around you will see the power of the Lord—the awesome power I will display for you. [11] But listen carefully to everything I command you today. Then I will go ahead of you and drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.”

David, in his matchless Psalm 103, revelled in this revelation of God’s glory in his own experience.

Psalms 103:2, 7-11 NLT
[2]”Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me…
[7] He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. [8] The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. [9] He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. [10] He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. [11] For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.”

This revelation of God’s glory, who He is, so graciously given to Moses in the face of Israel’s dismal failure, forms the foundation of all our dealings with one another in the New Covenant. It was this God, gracious and compassionate, who sent His Son to be our substitute and to take His wrath against sin for us.

God’s plan was to recreate a species of people, redeemed from their old sinful lives, to be a family of sons and daughters just like His own Son. He did everything necessary to achieve His purpose. “Now,” He says, “you have all the equipment you need to become like my Son.”

Paul takes the attributes of God, revealed to Moses and experienced by David, and weaves them into His requirements for us as the foundation and reason for the way we treat one another in our new identity as His sons and daughters. If God is like this to us, then we must treat each other in the same way.

God forgave…we must forgive. God is compassionate and merciful to us…we must be the same to one another.

“Humble, gentle, kind, and patient” is the way Jesus lived His life on earth. Love is the outer garment that covers all the little issues that can spoil our fellowship with the Father and with one another. Now we can be the same as Jesus because He is in us by his Spirit. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

So, Paul says, “Go ahead! Put them on and wear them every day.” We have a clear picture of our new set of clothing when we look at Jesus.

To complete this outfit, Paul adds another two dimensions to our new lives…peace and gratitude.

God’s peace, the tranquility of heart unaffected by circumstances or by the devil’s efforts to accuse and condemn us as we live by God’s truth, holds us steady on course. His peace in our hearts, a legacy from Jesus, acts like a referee in a sports game. Break the rules and the ref blows the whistle. Stop the game; correct the problem; then continue.

So it is in life. When we wander off the path, we lose our peace. Stop! Find the place where we left the path. Put it right. God’s peace returns. We have a reliable monitor that helps us stay on track.

The second ingredient, gratitude! A thankful, praising heart is the other powerful way to guide us as we navigate life with its hardships and challenges. A sure way to get God’s disapproval is to grumble and complain. God does not condone ingratitude because it reveals our distrust of His goodness. By contrast, gratitude says, “I don’t care what happens. I believe that God is good, all the time.”

Paul’s teaching about who Jesus is and what He has done for us and in us, is the solid foundation on which to build the structure of our lives. It’s the building material that won’t burn in the flames of God’s judgment.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 NLT
[11] For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ… [12] Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. [13] But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. [14] If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. [15] But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”

So, dear brothers and sisters, armed with the truth, let’s build lives of love by putting on the clothes provided in the gospel. When we do that, we are assured of a place in God’s kingdom, not because of any good works but because of our faith in and obedience to Jesus as Lord.

MAINTENANCE

Christian Life, ,

In a recent episode of Air Crash Investigation, a horrific crash that killed everyone on board the plane could have been prevented had a routine item of maintenance been carried out.

The rear elevator on the tail of the aircraft controls the plane’s pitch, up or down, and roll, left or right. The jackscrew, controlled by the pilot’s action in the cockpit, moves the elevator to keep the plane flying level.

The jackscrew needs to be greased regularly to allow smooth movement. On this plane, the investigators discovered that, because of poor maintenance, the grease had dried out, causing the jackscrew to jam and eventually fail. The plane became uncontrollable and pitched down into the ground.

Isn’t this so like our Christian lives? Routine maintenance will keep us flying level and save us from a fatal crash.

There are warning signals in the plane’s cockpit to alert the pilot to the area that needs attention. It’s up to him to troubleshoot and correct the error if and when he can. If the error is a fault of the plane’s mechanics and function, he must land the aircraft as quickly and safely as he can. If the error is of his own making, he must adjust his behaviour in the cockpit according to strict protocols set by the manufacturer.

How do we maintain this “craft” that is flying through life? Paul gives us the maintenance procedures that take care of the safety of the passengers as well as the performance of the pilot that will ensure the craft’s safe landing at our destination.

We must remember that we do not live life alone. Whatever we say or do affects many others around us. We must live our lives in a way that does not isolate us from others or damage them by our words and actions.

Colossians 3:12-15 NLT
[12] “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

Do you get it? Mercy, tolerance, patience, forgiveness, love…these, and more, keep the passengers on this” aircraft” flying together safely.

As pilots, we have a spiritual “alert” signal that warns us when there is a fault in our function. It’s called “the peace of God”. When our peace is disturbed, we know that somewhere in our words and behaviour, we have malfunctioned. We need urgent maintence to correct the problem to keep the “passengers” safe.

What a picture of doing life together in the church! We all need to maintain our walk with the Lord constantly and consistently so that no malfunction in any of us causes others to be hurt or discouraged. We are all in this together. Just as the pilot is responsible for the safety of his aircraft and passengers by functioning efficiently in the cockpit, so are we in the church, for a safe landing. Any failure or neglect puts the whole congregation into danger.

We have the maintenance manual at hand to keep our lives level and functional all the time, God’s Word, the Maker’s Manual. This book tells us how we were made and how we maintain this marvellous and intricate machine in which we “fly” from earth to heaven.

So let’s do the wise thing… fly our lives safely to our destination.

CHOSEN, HOLY, AND DEARLY LOVED

Bible Study, ,

CHOSEN, HOLY, AND DEARLY LOVED

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another 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 (Col. 3:12-14).

Imagine wearing an identity like that – chosen, holy and dearly loved! Who, me? Yes, you. You were once . . . but now you are . . . That’s how Paul described the erstwhile idolatrous, promiscuous and sin-loving Colossians. That’s how he describes everyone who has been rescued from the dominion of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God.

You have been delivered from the clutches of the one who insisted that you belong to him and that you could only live under his control. You are now free to become who you are, God’s chosen, holy and dearly loved son or daughter. Oh! how we need to get hold of this truth; think it, believe it and live it until it infiltrates every fibre of our beings so that we become who we are!

Close your eyes for a moment and think about Jesus. He perfectly matched Paul’s description of a child of God. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiving, loving – don’t these qualities all fit Him perfectly? How amazing that you are now free to become just like Him! He was the perfect model of a true son and He made it possible for us to become just like Him, true children of God.

Why is it so important that we clothe ourselves with these virtues? What difference does it make whether or not we live holy and pure lives in this world now? Are we not destined to be changed into the likeness of Jesus when He comes or calls us home?

Yes, we are, but there are several good reasons for us to change our ways from self-centred living to becoming like Jesus now.

  1. Jesus rescued us from a life of selfishness. We are no longer citizens of this world system which is based on getting everything we can for ourselves. What drives the world? Money!
  1. Living for ourselves alone leads to death and hell right now and not only in the hereafter. We cannot have fellowship with God and live greedy, self-centred lives now. The two are incompatible. When we live only to take care of ourselves, we are dead. We create hell through the selfishness that drives people apart.

3. God’s children have been given His nature – God is love and God is light. God’s                       children resemble Him, not the devil who is responsible for the chaos in the                           world.

Through these (His own glory and goodness – verse 3) He has given us His very great and precious promises so that, through them, you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world cause by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control perseverance; and to perseverance godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .(2 Peter 1:5-6)

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:10)

How do we ‘clothe’ ourselves with these virtues? We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. By replacing our ways of thinking with the thoughts of God, we change our beliefs and our behaviour. Do you believe that you are chosen by God and holy and beloved? Then remind yourself of this truth until you become who you are.

By becoming who we are, we will fulfil God’s highest purpose for His human family, to become one as God is one so that we perfectly resemble Jesus, His perfect Son who, through His life and death, revealed His oneness with the Father.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.