Colossians 3:5-7

5). Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature;

---sexual immorality (sexual activity outside of a God ordained marriage)
--- impurity (this goes beyond sexual acts of sin to encompass evil thoughts and intentions as well)
--- passion (the acting out of an evil thought or intention)
--- evil desires (lustfully wanting anything that God has forbidden)
--- greed (which is idolatry)

6). Because of these (the things listed above), the wrath of God is coming.

7). You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

*Without looking at your neighbor, consider verse seven again. Is it true about you?

Or are you STILL walking in these ways?

For those who say, "I'm a Christian", these things should ONLY be a part of your history...not your current way of life. These are the obvious sins that even the non-Christians can discern and they rightly cry "hypocrisy!" because of those who call themselves "christians" who haven't left these things behind.

Don't give occasion for God or the church, or yourself to be mocked. Leave these things behind and move on to verse eight and nine (anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language and lying). And when we've mastered these...there's always pride.

All That Is Necessary

She sat at the feet of Jesus and simply listened intently to what He had to say. It was all that was necessary.  It is still necessary.  Be still and know that He is Lord.

Luke 10:42
"But one thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

One Lord

"I could never do what you do..."

I've heard this so many times I have lost count. In general when someone says this to me it is in reference to their assumption that I have been blessed with a better gift because I am able to get on a stage to sing and speak. But this a wrong assumption.

It isn't a matter of having a better gifting or calling from God. God has equipped each and every one of His children with a set of gifts and callings that are perfectly tailored to the person He ordains for any given ministry.

It is important to remember that HE is the worth of every gift and ministry, not the person who carries it out.  To God be the glory!  There are many gifts, many callings but One Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons."

My Joyful To-Do List

Proverbs 3:3-6
"Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday."

My responsibility,
Trust, do good, dwell, cultivate faithfulness, delight in Him, commit my way to Him.

Walk With the Wise

It's good to be a "fruit inspector". If the fruit of someone's life is rotten and sinful, chances are, their counsel is too.

"Sin causes spiritual blindness; the blindness causes a darkening of their understanding; and the ignorance that results breeds even more sin." John MaCarthur

So if someone's life reflects a sinful lifestyle, chances are, their understanding about Godly things is darkened by the very sin to which they are enslaved.

Ephesians 4:17-18
"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart"

Walk with the wise and grow wise.  Walk with the wise and be in good counsel.  

Sorrow Is Not Enough

Sorrow for sin is not enough to atone for it. And denying the severity of our offense does not diminish our guilt. To lie about it, blame others, or dismiss it will not excuse us either. The only way our guilt can ever be removed is to confess it and repent of it, placing our trust in the work of the Cross alone, where Jesus gave all that was ever needed to atone for our sin.

Thanksgiving

The Apostle Paul when speaking of his ministry and the afflictions and trials that accompanied it said, "For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 4:15 My heart is most filled with thankfulness when it is bowed low with the understanding of the wretchedness of my sin and the extreme mercy of the Cross. That He loved me and saved me is the most humbling gift for which I am filled with eternal thanksgiving. May your Thanksgiving Day be filled with much rejoicing!