A Place for Faith: Daily Living

We have three paragraphs here in the NIV. They talk about three different things. The lead sentence of each paragraph is a faithful summary of the entire paragraph. 

Arise to an Upward Focus:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." - Colossians 3:1

Who You Are: You have been “raised with Christ.” This is who you are. Don’t go back down. When you get up in the morning and you place your feet on the floor, say a prayer that God will guide you higher through the day.

Why You Are Here: You are on a mission. You have been transformed through the power of Christ in your life. Now every breath that you take belongs to him.

• So you set the compass of your heart “on things above." Do this because this is “where Christ is.”

• The focus of your heart is about what you desire—your passions and intentions.
• You may think that you cannot control your passions. That is simply not true. You have the Holy Spirit abiding within you. You have the victory of Christ over sin. You have a new life that needs living.
• Exercise determination in regard to your heart. Resolve that you will seek what is higher—God himself, his will, his purpose, and his pleasure.
• And you set the compass of your mind: "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." - Colossians 3:2

• Your mind is about attitude and perspective. These make up your mindset.
• Your daily living is dramatically affected by your attitude as you rise in the morning.

Where You Are Going: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." - Colossians 3:3-4

• You died. Remember that baptism. Your goals, your dreams, and your desires died. They were buried in the waters of baptism.

• Your life is hidden with Christ. The word is krypto. Your life is encoded in a way that people watching you may not be able to understand or fathom. You are cryptic to them because Christ himself is now your life. This is the only explanation for how you talk and behave every day.

• You know your future is bound up with Christ who will one day appear in glory—and you along with him. You have bound your future to the Lord Jesus.

• Carnegie taught that we should live in “day-tight” compartments. We should get up in the morning with the intention to do good and work hard with high energy and clear focus. We should go to bed and night and close out that day, setting aside both its victories and defeats, refusing to worry or fret about it. And then we arise to a new day the next morning with a brand new opportunity to get it right.
• Your homework for this week: get up with a prayer each morning. Ask God to help you keep your desires pure and your attitude focused above.

Clean Up Your Act:

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." - Colossians 3:5

We all struggle with these evil things. Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger in the struggle in your heart.

These thing must be put to death. The word means to “destroy the strength of” or to “deprive of power.”

• The evil desires in your life have power over you.

• Their power consists of false promises. Evil promises to deliver to you fulfillment and satisfaction. These are lies. Lust and greed cannot deliver what your heart truly craves.

Cooperate with God in replacing evil desires with godly passions. The Spirit of God is working to accomplish this in you already, and he is greater than any evil force you face.

Think of these evil desires as the person you used to be. "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." - Colossians 3:7

Identify the true culprits that undermine you: "anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." - Colossians 3:8             

• Your anger makes you extremely vulnerable to a wide range of sinful words, attitudes, and deeds. Address your anger and malice with gratitude and praise.

• Your filthy language is either betraying your act or belying your witness. Everyone knows that words are connected to the heart. You will have all kinds of opportunities to share Christ with people if your language changes. They will want to know what happened to you.

 Get help from one another: "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices." - Colossians 3:9

• The biggest lie in the church is “I don’t have any problems.” We all have problems.

• The biggest obstacle to spiritual development is that we are unwilling to be real with each other. We want to convey the image of perfection when we are drowning.

Get Dressed for Success:

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

Your identity is all-important. “The clothes make the man.” You cannot live daily like God wants you to unless you see yourself as “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”

• Being chosen means that God has gripped you.

• Being holy means that God has set you aside for his own purposes. You see yourself as his child and servant.

• Being dearly loved means that God has a great affection for you. This was demonstrated in the death of Christ, but it is also demonstrated every day in his care.

Your intentionality is also vital. Every morning you go through the closet of attitudes and desires, and you put on these clothes that demonstrate that Jesus is Lord in you.

• You cannot live in a vacuum. You cannot just get rid of things without replacing them. This is the list of your replacements for anger, immorality, greed, and cursing.

• This is your new wardrobe from the Spirit of God.

Take a look at this outfit:

• Compassion. This unleashes God’s power in relationships.

• Kindness. This reveals your heart of love.

• Humility. This indicates your servant attitude.

• Gentleness. This shows that you intend no harm, that you are seeking the good of those around you.

• Patience. This is your walk of faith, your confidence in the one who has called you. It is your knowledge of God’s forgiveness and the forgiveness that you extend to others.

With this wardrobe, the sky is the limit!