Scripture: Colossians 3.  

OBSERVATION
(What is God saying here?)

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.

APPLICATION
(How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Sometimes we allow the simple things of this life to get under our skin and upset us so badly. Sometimes we lose our cool with others and really despise, or even hate them for what they have done or what they have said, or what they should have done or should have said, but didn’t. God revealed through Paul that we must examine ourselves and acknowledge who it is that we represent or who we are claiming to align ourselves with. In the few verses above Paul reminds us of the One that chose us to be His own. He chose us to be holy, just as He is holy and He loves us as His chosen children. In being a part of this privileged family, there are some important expectations from us. We must be the image of, and bear these characteristics:

• Tenderhearted mercy – sympathetic and empathetic towards others;
  
• Kindness – be kind in spite of whether the individual we are in contact with seems deserving of it or not;
  
• Humility – never consider ourselves better than the other person. God made us all equally, and He expects us to treat each other equally;
  
• Gentleness – When we are gentle with each other, we treat them like we would want to be treated;
  
• Patient – seeing that we don’t always think at the same level or act similarly, we must learn to be patient with each other and help each other to grow in the Lord;
  
• Make allowances for each other’s faults – yes we all have them, so let’s learn to help each other through our faults, and together grow to be more like Jesus;
  
• Forgive anyone that offends us – let’s not get on our ‘high horses’ and exclude anyone because of what we feel they may have said about us or done to/for us. We are children of the same heavenly Father, and if He forgave us in the mess we were in, how could we ever feel like we shouldn’t forgive our brother, or our sister? Of course we should.
  

PRAYER
(With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, considering all that You forgave me of, and all that You did through Calvary just for me, who am I to refuse to forgive my brother or my sister? You set the example for me. You sacrificed it all just for me. Thank You for loving me so much that You gave. Thank You for providing Your Word to guide me and direct me. Please help me to be a true example of You in every way today and in all phases of my life. Please speak to all that may read this devotional today, that they too may regain the desire to please You in the way that they act with their fellow brothers or sisters, so that You may be lifted up in all aspects of our lives. We want others to see Jesus in everything surrounding our everyday lives so that they will want to know You personally. Please help us not to be a stumbling block to others because of our selfishness and the wrong ways that we may treat others.

 

àWords underlined may be a hyperlink to a song that God laid on my heart while sharing this devotional this morning. Click it and be blessed by the song, like I was when I listened to it! …… I would be overjoyed to have the opportunity to pray with you about a need in your life that may, or may not have been highlighted by this Nugget today. Why not drop me a note and tell me about it? You may email me at:
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