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 where 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, for chiseling away at my hard heart, for molding me more and more into Your likeness.
Colossians 3:5-11 (<<click here)
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 bring them to mind. We are called to “strip off [our] old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds”, but the undead 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, but they take our time and energy from the important tasks at hand and we end up with problems. Lord, help me to fastidiously maintain my plot and to come to You at every opportunity for guidance.
Disease and illness are things we are always on guard against. Some things are easy to avoid for 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 come in contact with 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 that we didn’t realize were hurting us, but we will need to be wary and avoid them.
Lord, You want us to keep ourselves pure and free from sin. Help me to listen to You 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, Thurs, 6:21 am
Very good, Thom! Oh how we have to constantly be on guard! The devil wants to destroy all of us!