Hill Country Bible Church

Day Thirty Five

Posted: Feb 27, 2010 by Heather Lods

Heather Lodovico

Heather Lods Lodovico- Christ following, sarcastic yankee from New England who loves her family, college students, the U Conn Huskies, NY Yankees, NY football Giants, my dog, & jeep. I connect people to Jesus, His community, and His calling on their life. I also have 5 tattoos and magical powers.

Colossians 3: 3-17

Let's get a little deeper with this passage now. What do you find yourself putting on? What are you "wearing?" The world notices, and we need to as well. 

So I got saved late and I'm a little slow, I know that, but there are some things I don't understand. Why is it that Christianity has been reduced (by us) to describe a people that are conservative Republicans who shop at Lifeway and don't drink, smoke, swear, or have sex before marriage? These things are not listed as fruits of the Spirit… the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness (Galatians 5:22).

 Jesus didn't give us new hearts and bring us back from the dead to fit more perfectly into a socio-political mindset. People don't come to know Jesus because you don't drink or swear. That Christian t-shirt you wore or the verse you posted on Facebook probably isn't going to explain Jesus to your neighbor. Rather than fixating on these surface-level changes, we are to put on "compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive". Knowing Jesus as our Savior is about a heart change that is deep and whole and true, which causes us to live in freedom and faith. 

Confession is an admission of one's guilt. How about we confess what we've reduced the gospel to, what we've reduced Christianity to, take off the t-shirts, and instead ask God to help us put on the image of His Son. Confessing our sin to God is about our relationship, the relationship that Jesus died to restore. When we lose sight of His death and how it changes our lives, we begin to hide behind our own ways of righteousness, our rules and legalisms, which are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Our attempts at appearing Christ-like always come up short, because they have to do with fear and not freedom. When we embrace and rest in Jesus, who lived among and walked with all types of sinners, we are changed from deep within. So we confess our reduction of Christ, our lack of faith in Him and our prideful attempts at manufacturing a love for Him. 

The world will notice..and may begin to listen to us again.. and then, with the holy spirit on 3.. may be changed. As our devotion towards Christ changes, as our hearts turn towards Him, our lives are changed in a deep and meaningful way.

1. What would you like to ask God to work in you to put off? How about put on? Look at the passage and be specific!

2. Ask a few friends that don't know Jesus yet what bugs them about the church and Christians. Confess thouse genuine complaints to God and ask him to change us to be more like him.

3. Have you ever done/not done anything simply because you love Jesus ?

4. Your convictions/lifestyle/dress/talk etc. should come from the scripture and Jesus.. not from traditions..