Put Off, Put On

Take 2-3 minutes to quiet yourself and ask God to speak to you today through your devotional time.

Reading: Colossians 3:1-17

Be sure to highlight or note anything that stands out to you while you read.
After reading the passage, take the next 5-10 minutes and spend time reflecting on what you read. You can write these things down in a journal or record them in your phone. Be attentive to both what you highlighted in the passage and what is going on in your life.

Paul tells the Colossians to set their minds on things above and put to death whatever belongs to their earthly nature, i.e. the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, evil desire, anger, malice. Because these things come so naturally from our hearts this requires a work of the Spirit and daily, deliberate choices.

But Paul doesn't stop at putting off, he says put on: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love, which binds it all together in perfect unity. This is fruit language. We don’t just stop doing “bad" things, it is replaced with a desire and will to do “good.” As the old self dies, the new self, being renewed in the image of its Creator, grows exactly what the Spirit was producing all along.

Being specific and honest, what is one part of your old self you need to keep putting to death, and what new-self virtue do you need to put on in its place?

Now, take 10 minutes to seek God in prayer…

1. Begin your time in prayer by taking 1-3 minutes to sit in silence (You can take longer if you sense the Spirit already beginning to speak to you).
2. Pray through the things you sensed God speaking to you through the Scriptures or pray the following prayer: Jesus, I belong to You, and I choose today to put off the old self and put on the new. Let Your peace rule in my heart and Your word dwell richly in me. Keep clothing me with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and love. Amen.
   
3. Close by taking 5 minutes to sit in silence, asking God if there is anything else He wants to speak to you today.

Faith Step:
Choose one "put off, put on" pair from Colossians 3 — name the old pattern and replace it with the new virtue in one specific interaction today.