Morning Devotional

As I travel around and also listen to people near and far it seems the anger is spilling over into everyday life. Now with the elections the name calling, the slanderous comments are going to be even more present. So I thought maybe the passage below could or should be an EOCC theme through the elections.

Colossians 3:12-15 12 Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. 14 And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people.
In a time of turmoil, hatred and violence the Apostle Paul is calling his readers to take off the old human nature with its retaliation, vengeance, anger and negativity ( and I would add in this period of time writings on Social media) and put on a new nature. No longer are we to conform with what the world is doing, our leaders and such, but instead change into the gift that God is giving us. In today’s reading Paul listed six positive qualities we can “put on” (verses 12, 14), with love as the crowning quality in the list. The image of “putting on” these lovely qualities reminds us that their ultimate source is God, not us. God offers them to us—it is up to us to decide to “put them on” to make our relationships, our communities and overall general well being, better and more resilient.

“Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint…, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Doing this will let others know we are Christians, reconciled people of God and no longer will we resort to the old way of tearing others down to build ourselves up. We are all God's children so may we act and treat each other respectfully. Words do matter.

I pray we all begin the process of putting on the nature of Christ. See you a bit later, pastor Carl