Jan. 7

Read Colossians 3
 ^5-8And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It's because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn't long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it's all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. (The Message)

While Paul wants us to put Jesus first in our lives and not focus upon rule keeping he also has some expectations as to what a life lived following Jesus looks like. He makes it clear that those who follow Jesus have lives that are changed. He points out in a number of places that we can not change on our own but that with Jesus we do find freedom from those behaviors and compulsions that end up controlling us. The difficult part is being willing to be completely honest with ourselves and seeing what parts of our lives we have not yet allowed Jesus to take control of. When we profess to be followers of Jesus and then turn around and lose our temper on a regular basis there might be a problem. The life of a Jesus follower is not perfect nor easy but it should be guided by change, each of us changing more and more into the likeness of Jesus that he wants to shine through us into the world.

Some thoughts to ponder and share with others:

• How do you think Paul's warning to the people that they were still doing what they wanted rather than what God wanted might have been received by those who heard it the first time?
• How do you feel when you see someone who professes faith in Jesus do something that seems completely different than what Jesus would do?
• What part of your life do you need to have Jesus change so that you might be more consistent in your faith?
• Talk with someone you trust about the message your life and actions send to those around you. Encourage them to be brutally honest with you so that you might focus upon bringing Jesus into those parts of your life that need to change.