Thank You for a good weekend, Father—the energy to work and worship, and especially love. Time spent with Karen is priceless, and I am so blessed to serve my congregations. Please enable me to be what You need me to be in the days ahead. Amen.

Colossians 3:12b (<<click here to read the passage)

Lord, since You chose me to be a holy person that You love (12a), I must clothe myself “with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility gentleness and patience.” (12b)

This list may be short, but Lord Jesus, it is a lot to process! I am not complaining whatsoever; I just want to get every possible benefit from it! There is so much to take in and learn from.

“tenderhearted mercy” – compassion (NIV), bowels of mercy (KJV), heart of compassion (NASB). Lord, You call me to love others without reservation – to extend to them the love You extend to me.

“kindness” – not harsh or rough, not brutal, but a genuine desire to be benevolent to others – caring

“humility” – not full of myself, but thinking of others and their needs and feeling first

“gentleness” – amiable, mild, not severe or rough

“patience” – the beauty of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain without complaint, loss of temper or irritation

Wow! This is not a little list but a BIG list! And really, it boils down to clothing ourselves with Christ! It is a lot to live up to. On some of these fronts, I have a decent handle most of the time, but sometimes I fail miserably. Of course, patience is often a struggle.

Lord, all I can do is give myself over to You every moment of my life! I see You working through me. I know there is still a lot of “bad” me to work around or sometimes through, but with all my heart, soul, and mind, I truly want these attributes—Your attributes—to shine through in how I live my life. Use this broken vessel to touch others, to love others, as only You can.

As the old song goes,

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.”
~ Daniel Iversion, 1926

If you would like, here’s a simple but beautiful rendition.

(June 21st, 2015, Sun, 6:26 am)
June 2nd, 2024, Mon, 5:35 am