Thursday – June 30, 2016
Let us open wide for the Thursday dose of the Word of God. Medicine goes throughout our natural body improving our life but the Word of God does so much more bringing health spirit, soul and body. As the Lord leads, I would encourage us all to make the following Scripture passage a guiding principle. To do so we must believe (have faith) this is the Word of God and that God means this for us in our life right now. For this Scripture to function in our lives we must approach it in love, meaning that we not only believe it but we are obedient to it. Find the many commands from the Lord in this passage and choose to do them. The hope of this passage is the reality that the Words of God are the source of our life flows. How do you and how do I want our lives to flow? We must read it all and do it all.
Proverbs 4:20-27 (GW)
20 My son, pay attention to my words. Open your ears to what I say. 21 Do not lose sight of these things. Keep them deep within your heart 22 because they are life to those who find them and they heal the whole body. 23 Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.
24 Remove dishonesty from your mouth. Put deceptive speech far away from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead and your sight be focused in front of you. 26 Carefully walk a straight path, and all your ways will be secure. 27 Do not lean to the right or to the left. Walk away from evil.
Now back to our text and ongoing study of Colossians.
Colossians 3:12-14 (KJV)
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Why are we to put on or be clothed in all of these attributes of our God? Is this some sort of exercise in futility or self-flagellation? God has spiritual organs (fruit of the Spirit) and spiritual clothing and He wants His children to look and behave like Him, just as we want the same for our natural children. We are of like kind with God, we are dear children, not like our dog or cat but we are in the image and likeness of God. We have a mandate in the earth and the ages to come to build the Kingdom of God both in the physical and spiritual spheres. We have experienced a marvelous rescue, impossible for us on our own to effect, from eternal death. We therefore have responsibly to the rescuer, our new Father (Colossians 3:1-4). Our old father was the devil. We are to renew our minds and stop those devilish behaviors and develop the attitudes, thoughts, words, and ways of our new Father, Father God.
Colossians 3:1-4 (KJV)
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Now let us focus on Colossians 3:13.
Colossians 3:13 (KJV)
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Because God has been forbearing with us, forgiving us and coming to peace with us then we are to do the same with each other. The act of forbearing (not a common word today) has to do with being patient, tolerant, lenient, merciful, and restraining ones self. As I am sure that everyone reading this is all too well aware that this is hard work, it is an all day job so to speak. This is how God has and is treating us and we are mandated to treat those around us the same. To forgive quickly is very important. Unforgiveness results in all manner of sickness and death.
We develop the fruits of the spirit and we wear the clothing of God because we are Kingdom children and in our diligence sons. We have been raised up with Christ to the right hand of Majesty on high. Our focus is on the same things that our Savior is focused upon. Jesus the Christ is our hope and our hope in Him is eternal life. Therefore as good children, sons, we emulate our Lord, our Savior, and our Father.
By Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
