12-8-2016

Good Morning All,

                   Colossians 3:12; “Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience”

     We are entering the time of the year when being properly dressed is important.  Our weatherman is telling us the high temperatures will be well below freezing the next few days.  This means finding the winter coat, the gloves and hats, making sure that the warm clothes and blankets are in the vehicle in case we need them.  It is time to put the summer clothes away for another year.  We all know that if we don’t wear a coat and hat; mom won’t let us go outside.  We have to wear the right clothes for the season.

    Our verse speaks of putting on the proper “clothes.”  We are to be clothed with a compassionate heart, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.  This is the right kind of clothing for a Christian.  Christ calls us to have the same heart that he has.  We are to have compassion for those around us.  Compassion is to actually experience the other person’s pain or sadness.  True compassion does not merely pay lip service to a problem but earnestly seeks to offer comfort and, above all, hope.  Kindness is to offer another person the warmth of Christ.  It can be in the form of a smile, a kind word but above all it is an attitude of seeing the best in others.  Humility and meekness call for us to place others first.  We are to truly have a servant’s heart.  We need to see that our wants are second to others needs and that the needs of others may even supersede our needs at many times.  We are also to be patient; waiting for those who are still struggling with God’s grace in their life.  We need to encourage without judging.

    This all sounds good but sometimes, my clothes don’t fit as well as they should.  It seems that, at various times, I have put on some weight and my clothes don’t fit right.  The same can be true in our faith life.  We can’t carry the extra weight of jealousy, anger, selfishness or an uncaring heart.  This extra weight will not fit into the clothes that Christ gives to us to wear.  In order to wear the clothes that Christ we must shed the weight of sin.  We need to repent of our sins, ask God to guide us away from the things that lead us astray.  It might mean that we need to avoid places or people that can lead us into sin.  We have been freed from the slavery to sin and the bondage of the Law so we need to shed the weight that grows on us when we hold onto sin.

    God’s grace is there to help us shed the weight of sin that keeps us from wearing the clothes that he wants us to wear.  We need to stop fighting him and instead cling to his promise of hope and eternal life and turn from our sin and to wear the clothes that he desires for us.  Put on God’s righteousness for proper wear.

Father of all mercy, we rest in your loving arms.  Give us the courage to shed the weight of sin that keeps us from putting on the clothing of your righteousness.  Move us by your Spirit to live as you desire us to.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret