Father, thinking over yesterday, I want to thank You for being with me throughout the day. Holy Spirit, I know Your presence is with me 24/7, but there were several instances yesterday when I felt You were guiding and directing me. My response to one particular incident set the tone for the day, and because I prayed and followed You, You were glorified. I, in my selfishness, could have hindered Your kingdom, but because I was obedient, Your kingdom was lifted up. Thank You for working in me and through me. Thank you for patiently working with me, chiseling away at my hard heart, and molding me more into Your likeness.
Colossians 3:5-11 (<<click here to read the passage)
Lord, reading this passage brings so many visual images to mind – “zombies,” gardening, and disease (illness), to name a few.
I’m really not a fan of anything “zombie,” but putting “to death…sinful, earthly…lurking” things brings them to mind. We are called to “strip off [our] old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds,” but the undead things regularly come back and want to eat my brain. I know this is a weird train of thought, Lord, but without You working in my life, “sexual immorality, impurity, lust,…evil desires…greed…anger, rage, malicious behavior and dirty language” don’t want to stay dead. Those things, and more, rear their ugly heads and want to destroy me!
Vegetable gardens come to mind, too. We clear off a plot and work up the soil. We rid the area of rocks and debris, then plant seeds in anticipation of a good harvest. But inevitably, weeds show up, and if we are not diligent, they can overtake the good we have sewn. Evil sprouts up everywhere. We must regularly go to the Master Gardener for help – to rid ourselves of the “weeds,” to learn how to keep disease from destroying the harvest, to discover how best to ward off critters that would eliminate the fruit of our labors.
Sometimes, things can pop up that look “good,” and our curiosity allows them to continue growing. However, they take our time and energy from the essential tasks at hand, and we end up with problems. Lord, help me to maintain my plot fastidiously and to come to You at every opportunity for guidance.
We are always on guard against disease and illness. Some things are easy to avoid because we know they are not good for us, but sometimes, we like things that are detrimental to our health and well-being. We may love peanut butter, but if it causes an allergic reaction, it could kill us.
Sometimes, we encounter things that have never bothered us before, but You call us to let them go. Help us to be obedient, or our “spiritual” health will suffer. They may even be things we didn’t realize were hurting us, but we must be wary and avoid them.
Lord, You want us to keep ourselves pure and free from sin. Help me listen to and obey You even when it doesn’t make sense to me. Help me to continue to rid myself of my old sinful nature and to wrap myself up in my “new nature and be renewed as [I] learn to know [my] creator and become like [You].”
(June 18th, 2015, Thurs, 6:21 am)
June 30th, 2024, Sun, 9:28 am
