Hill Country Bible Church

Day Thirty Four

Posted: Feb 26, 2010 by Rick and Vicky Peralez

Rick and Vicky Peralez

Hey there, we are Rick and Vicki Peralez. We are founding members of HCBC UT. We’ve been married for 27 years and have two grown children. Vicki is the facilities coordinator at HCBC NW and Rick owns an accounting business. We love movies, watching UFC with our friends, and riding in our Miata with the top down.

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, 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. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:12-17

A spirit of forgiveness does not just happen; a daily choice is required to be forgiving.

We love to people-watch and Austin is a great place for it. You see quite a variety out there, and occasionally you see that person that just begs the question, how did that person look in the mirror and think, “I look good?” Was there a power failure at their house or do they just have really bad taste? But our appearance can be a very good indicator of our character, life-choices and what someone truly cares about. It goes much deeper than a hair style or pair of jeans. The appearance of our character speaks even louder.

In Colossians 3:12-17 the apostle Paul challenges Christ-followers to be forbearing, forgiving people, and he lays out a process to do that where he encourages us to “clothe ourselves” with various virtues. Just as we must physically clothe ourselves each day, Paul makes it clear that we must also spiritually clothe ourselves each day. There is a certain preparation for each day that everyone goes through. Each step involves several choices. Because of what Jesus Christ did for us when we were dirty and poorly clothed, we now have a choice about what we choose to "put on." We can make choices like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience that will lead to a forgiving spirit toward others. However, we can also make “clothing” choices that will beg the question, how did that person look in the mirror and think, “I look good?” It's on these days that we often forget the forgiveness we once received, thereby having no patience for others. That's definitely a far cry from the fullness of life we've been talking about this week.

1. What do you do each morning to take a look at yourself in the spiritual mirror?

2. Who do you have in your life to tell you when you are missing a piece of spiritual clothing?

3. When someone tells you that you’re spiritual clothes aren’t looking very good, how do you react?

4. Ask someone who knows you well if they would characterize you as a forgiving person and one who bears well with others.