We as Christians tend to get very caught up in the world around us. We worship God in church on Sundays, but the rest of our time seems to be focused on worldly goals and ideas. When we get together, rather than discussing scriptural topics or praying together, we recount TV shows and last night’s game. Our focus is on the “things of this world, rather than the things above”. But what does that mean? Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at exactly what that means. This week, we’re going to look at what things we need to cast aside so that we can look at things above.

Paul, in Colossians 3:1-4, tells us that we’re not of this Earth since we were raised with Christ, so rather than focusing our minds on things of the world, we need to be focused on the things concerning Christ, and forsaking things of the world. In verses 5-10, Paul gives a list of worldly things that we need to cast aside.
Some of the things he lists are obviously sinful and don’t need much exposition. Things like immorality, blasphemy, uncleanness, passion, anger, filthy language and lying are all obviously not godly, and while we may struggle with them , we all probably are working to cast those aside. Others, like covetousness, and malice might not be so obvious to us, so let’s take a look at them in a little more detail.

Covetousness is defined as desiring something that someone else has to an inordinate degree. It’s not seeing something a friend has and thinking for a second that it might be nice to get one of your own, it’s more of looking at it, and wishing that you had it and not them, and then focusing on that thought constantly. Paul even states point blank that it’s idolatry, which makes complete sense when you think about it. By focusing that intently on an earthly object, you’re definitely focusing on it more than you would God, which is wrong. We need to watch our thoughts about earthly possessions, even when we own them.

Malice is another one that we might need a little more information on. Most people think that malice is just being mean to someone else. While that is correct, there is another part to the definition. Malice is also when one takes pleasure in another’s misfortune. It’s very easy to celebrate inside when we see someone who’s been cruel to us get hurt or be in a bad situation. When we celebrate, not only are we sinning, but we’re not showing the Love of God. Sadly, a lot of Christians get happy and excited when they see sinners suffer the consequences of their actions, rather than trying to reach them for God. This is a very sad, but very common example of malice in everyday life. We need to watch ourselves constantly to make sure that we’re keeping a positive, loving, godly attitude, even on the inside.

Before we close part one, I just wanted to mention one other thing. Some Christians take the above verses to mean that we can do nothing that the world does, which is an incorrect interpretation of the passage. The passage isn’t saying we’re not to have anything to do with the world, but rather we need to be “in the world, but not of it”. If we want to discuss the game or a TV show that everyone is interested in, that’s fine, but we need to be very careful that that is not the depth of our fellowshipping with fellow believers. If that’s all there is, besides being sinful, what’s the point of fellowship? The fellowship is supposed to strengthen us in our walk with God, and if all we do is talk about the game, how are we strengthening our walk with God?

Next week, we’re going to look at what virtues and qualities that Paul uses as an example of seeking things above. Let us all try to remove the malice and covetousness from our lives.

Colossians 2 talks a lot about false teachers and false religion. These are a different type of false teachers than are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament. These false teachers are adding on to what you need to do to be a Christian. They were mixing Christianity with a large amount of human tradition and human ideas (Colossians 2:8). This kind of false teaching is especially dangerous because it removes Christ from the equation, and it’s unfortunately so much more prevalent today.

Let’s look a little bit closer at what was going on when Paul was writing to them. Colossians 2:16-19 make it clear that the false teachers were making extra rules regarding what people ate and what celebrations they needed to observe. They were even advocating the worship of angels and were surrounding themselves with false humility. Paul told the believers not to let people judge them for what they ate or how they worshiped, since all the old rules regarding that were eliminated when Jesus died (Colossians2:20-23). These things, while not necessarily evil, and may even seem wise, have no bearing on our salvation or our walk with God, and it weakens our walk with God if we’re relying on them.

Now, these verses have been taken out of context to say that believers can do anything since they’re covered by Jesus, but that’s heresy and not at all what the verses say if you look at the context. Paul is speaking against people using human laws and traditions as part of Christianity. At the opposite extreme, these verses also have been used against Christian rock music and basically anything “new” that churches have started using in their services. That’s taking the verses out of context as well, since those things are generally not being taught as a requirement for salvation or Christianity but rather an option for those who are interested.

Paul, in the next chapter, puts forward a very simple list of what Christianity is all about. First and foremost, Colossians 3:1 states that the primary focus of our minds must be on Christ and things above. Nothing on the earth lasts; it simply does not matter in the end. Earthly pleasure and earthly riches will pass away and have no bearing on your heavenly life. Paul lists out a bunch of sins in Colossians 3:5-9 that we must cast aside. Obviously, we’ll never be able to attain perfection on Earth, but we must do our best to try. He also makes an incredibly strong statement against racism in Colossians 3:11, stating that in God’s eyes it doesn’t matter what race you are. Paul continues in verse 12 through 17 listing what qualities as Christians we should have. We need to be humble and loving to everyone, and it needs to be real, not just put on cause we have to.

Now, while we have an enormous amount of freedom as a Christian, we need to be careful with how we use our freedom. As we’ve seen in previous devotionals, just because something is a “good thing” doesn’t mean it’s always the right choice, especially when there’s a “great thing”. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:12 that just because everything is lawful for you to do, doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a good thing. We need to make sure that our use of our Christian freedom from the old law and traditions doesn’t hurt our walk with God or those around us. For example, while drinking is permitted for Christians, if you’re an alcoholic, or around former alcoholic people (Christians or otherwise), it would not be right for you to drink around them. Look around you before you exercise your Christian freedoms, the things on earth are not worth harming any Christian’s walk with God.

Real Christianity is so much simpler than all the rules and traditions people try to weigh it down with. We need to be careful to make sure that our walk with God is genuine and not weighed down by false human beliefs and ideas. Over the next few devotions we’re going to look at some of the sins that we’re supposed to cast aside, and some of the virtues that we need to live.

Christians today tend to have a tendency to forget who God is. One can see this just by looking at their attitudes and actions, from referring to God as the “Big Man Upstairs”, to viewing Him as the friendly, harmless old guy. Some Christians even take the Name of God in vain and not even see that what they’re doing is wrong. This kind of an attitude, besides being wrong and sinful, also belittles God. Why would we, as believers, want to belittle the very God that we worship?

God made the entire universe and everything in it (Genesis 1:1). He made man from the dust of the Earth (Genesis 2:7). Just in those two verses we can see the amount of power that God has. Not only does the Bible give many more examples of His power, God Himself describes His power and rebukes Job for trying to put himself on equal footing with God (Job 40-42). Even Jesus, in the New Testament, shows deference to Him. Let’s look at it like this, if Jesus Himself shows reverence and the highest amount of respect to God, who in the world are we to reduce Him to nothing more than “the big guy upstairs”? God’s name is sacred too, to use it as nothing more than an interjection or as part of an acronym online is not just disrespectful and belittling, but it’s sinful as well.

Our culture loves to make fun of God, and portray wildly inaccurate ideas about who He is. These ideas have a tendency to trickle into churches and then gradually get accepted by believers. We’re the ones who worship Him, so shouldn’t we be the ones who know who He is? We need to be very careful to show God the worship, reverence, and respect that He not only deserves, but commands as well.

In these tumultuous times, Christians are bombarded with ever-changing entertainment, information, advertising, objects and more. While some of these things are obviously evil and are generally avoided by Christians, there are many, many things out there that are not immediately evil, and may even appear good. This is where discernment comes in. Discernment is using the Bible to find good from evil.

Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” So, if using or doing or watching something causes you to sin or think about sinning, it’s sinful, and should be shunned. Going one step farther than that, if it causes your fellow Christians to sin or think about sinning, you should at the very least not do it around them, and should also seriously think about not doing it at all. There is nothing man-made in the world that is worth causing fellow Christians to sin.

Another good way to discern, is to look at what happens to people who do or use this thing. Matthew 7:15-20 talks about knowing good from evil by the “fruits” or results of the thing. If it causes people to sin, it’s best to avoid it. Now, I know that some people get addicted to things easily, but still, if it causes people to become addicted to it, one should seriously pray about it before trying it, and make sure that they watch themselves around it. God needs to be the focus of our lives, and anything that takes Him from the focus, should be removed from our lives.

An interesting verse is Philippians 1:9-10, which states that we must approve what is EXCELLENT. The verse could have said good, but instead chose excellent. I believe there is a deeper point with the word choice. There are lots and lots of “good” things in life that may not be bad, but if they keep us from the excellent things in the world, they may as well be bad. Examine your life; is there anything that is taking time away from God and the EXCELLENT things in your life? If so, remove them, and focus on Him and the excellent.
More and more Christians are taking the concept of individual soul liberty too far, and teaching that people need to try things for themselves to see if it’s evil or not. Based on the above verses, and the rest of the Bible, that view is not supported by Scripture, and is in fact wrong. If we try something out, or read something, or watch something just to see if it’s “wrong to us”, and it does turn out to be sinful, we’ve sinned. There is no such thing as a “small” sin, sin is sin is sin. So we’ve now done wrong, for no good reason. We don’t need to touch the fire to know that it’s hot. It’s better to discern from a distance, and maybe miss out on some “good” things in life in order to protect us from sinning and missing out on the EXCELLENT things in life.

Now, for this media saturated culture, it can be very difficult to discern on entertainment. For this purpose, several organizations have viewed the material, and listed what sorts of objectionable content are in them, so that you may decide for yourself about it. PluggedIn (a part of Focus on the Family) does movies, TV shows, and music reviews, along with articles on pop culture trends. If you’re looking for computer or video game reviews, I’d recommend CCGR.

Discernment can be hard, which is why we need to pray and seek God’s wisdom on it. Additionally, talk to your fellow Christians and get their insight.

God, in the Bible, makes it very clear that we’re not to pursue vengeance on people who harm us. However, at the same time, He makes it very clear that there must be Justice. The line between Justice and Vengeance can seem very thin sometimes, so let us take a look at it.

First, let’s look at what the words mean. Vengeance means “Revenge or reprisal or retaliation taken for an insult, injury, or other wrong”. On the other hand, Justice means “Judgment and punishment of a party who has wronged another”. Just from looking at the definitions, there are definite differences between the two.

The first major difference is that justice involves a group of people passing judgment. It’s not supposed to be an emotional reaction. It takes the laws of the land into consideration. The punishment that it hands out are consistent and reasonable to the crime in question. With vengeance, it’s one person reacting with strong emotions, with no thoughts to the process of the law or right and wrong. It’s an emotional reaction to a situation.

Vengeance is different in another way. It’s a direct retaliation for something done wrong to the individual. There’s not an impartial body dealing the punishment, but rather the victim taking the law into his own hands for his own satisfaction. Justice isn’t retaliation; instead, it’s a punishment for something done wrong.
Justice is impartial; the victim doesn’t decide who is guilty or not, nor does he carry out whatever punishment is decided on the wrong.

It’s hard sometimes letting the system of Justice work, especially when we or someone we love is harmed, but we must let the system work. Not only is it the Biblical way to handle things, but it makes the world safer. If everyone just lashed out and took matters into their own hands, the world would be filled with chaos and anarchy. People sometimes feel like the system doesn’t work, and yes, there are times that the guilty get away, but the Bible makes it clear that Vengeance is God’s and He’ll deal with them in the end.

Christians are called to be in the world but not of it. Even though a large amount of the people around us ridicule Christianity and mock our beliefs, we need to keep living as we’re called to live. Nothing hurts Christianity more than Christians professing to be Christians, but don’t live a life like God has called them. Unbelievers see the hypocrisy and it causes them to reject all of Christianity based on that. Paul, in the book of Romans, laid out a list of how Christians are supposed to treat each other. It’s sad to say that Christians have a tendency to have disdain for their fellow believers. Not only does this make us look bad, but it holds us back. If we can’t get along with each other, how can we possibly expect to bring other people to Christ?

First off, all Christians have different gifts and abilities. That doesn’t mean we’re more or less important in God’s plan for all of us, it just means we have different roles. Romans 12:3-8 lays it out very clearly for us. Whatever gift we have, we need to use it for God. During the time, people were arguing over which gifts were more important, and the ones who had the “best” gifts were flaunting them in front of the others. We need to be careful not to be prideful in what we can do, but be humble about it as we use it, and not show off. Otherwise, it destroys what we’re trying to accomplish.

We need to do is be supportive of our fellow Christians. Romans 12:13-15 tells us that we need to laugh with those who are laughing and cry with those who are crying. If a fellow believer is going through a rough time, we need to be there for them. Whether they need a shoulder to cry on, or someone to help them through a rough time, as Christians, we need to do what we can. The same applies to joy. If they’re happy about something, we should celebrate with them.

Romans 12:16 is an interesting verse. It tells us that we need to humble ourselves, and be able to live in harmony with one another, regardless of our respective lots in life. During Paul’s life, there was an enormous lifestyle difference between the rich and the poor, and there was a lot of favoritism and pride between the two classes. The rich or powerful were getting better treatment when they went to worship, while the poor were being cast to the side. This was damaging to the church, and flew in the face of what Jesus preached. Regardless of our place in life, we need to accept and associate with people who are poorer or less powerful than we are. We can’t allow the barriers that separate the classes in the rest of the world to enter into the church. We are all sinners saved by grace, wealth or power means nothing.

Paul continues in Romans 12:18, he states that we need to live in peace with all men as much as possible. Obviously, if they are doing something sinful that’s harming other people around them, we need to do what we can to make it a better situation, but otherwise, we need to just get along. We all know that guy (or lady) at church. You know who I’m talking about, the one with the annoying stories or obnoxious laugh, or perhaps worse the different political or life views than ours. They’re probably not a bad person, but we just can’t seem to get along with them. We need to set aside our differences and respect them, and treat them with the same Christian love that we show our family and close friends. It’s not easy, but it’s something we have to learn how to do.

The next verse is one that most of us probably will have trouble with. Romans 12:19 says that we’re not to try to avenge ourselves, as that is God’s place. If someone hurts us or rips us off, we can’t pursue them to get even or get back at them. That’s God’s place. Now, that doesn’t mean that we’re supposed to let ourselves just get walked all over on, but rather that we can’t try to take matters into our own hands to hurt them. There’s a huge difference between “justice” and “vengeance” but I think that’s a topic for another devotional.

This is a lot to cover in a single devotional, but it’s extremely important. As more and more churches split over stupid things like the color of the carpets or because of random comments that were said in anger and then blown out of proportion, it becomes very clear that we all need to take a step back and look very hard at ourselves and how we feel about our fellow Christians.

I’m sure all of us have heard the acronym WWJD?. What would Jesus Do? It’s been placed on bracelets, necklaces, tshirts, Bible covers, and pretty much anything else one can think of. It’s a nice thing to think about, but I think it’s more important that we think about what Jesus DID.

Jesus didn’t consider anyone not worth His time. He taught and talked to all the people that His society didn’t care about. He taught the children, even when His own disciples tried to make them leave. He ate meals with prostitutes and tax collectors. That is something that most Christians today would immediately condemn without giving it a second thought. Beyond that, He even taught a Samaritan, who was a member of a group of people hated and looked down on by the entire Jewish culture.

If one looks at Jesus’ life, they’ll see that the main group of people that He was harsh with were the Pharisees. See, the Pharisees knew what was right, and yet they twisted it around to make themselves look better. They knew better, and yet they still deliberately sinned. The other people didn’t pretend to be something they were not. They were willing to admit that they were sinful, and were willing to make a change in their lives. Jesus called the Pharisee’s white washed tombs, meaning that they looked clean on the outside, but were dead inside. Too often Christians judge non-Christians without even giving them a chance to hear the Gospel in a non-condescending or loving manner.

Jesus gave without any thought to Himself. He went without all of the comforts of His day to reach as many people as possible. Beyond that, and far more importantly, He died in a most agonizing and painful way in order to save the world from their sins. How many of us would truly be willing to do that? I know it’s so easy to say “oh yes, I’d die for someone” in casual conversation, but think about it seriously for a few minutes. Would we really be willing to?

Jesus did so much, we should all spend some time contemplating what He did with His life, and then try to live like Him. Pray, search your hearts, and see where you can do more. Think about what Jesus did.

Time is often an extremely cliché subject. Our culture is full of different expressions talking about how fast time goes or how we need to make the most of the time we have. As true as those statements are, cliché statements tend to be repeated without them actually being thought about or considered. I think that we as Christians need to seriously examine time, and how we use the time that is given to us.

The Bible has a lot to say about time. The first thing that we should know about time is how no one knows when it’s going to run out. Jesus, in the New Testament, uses a parable of a rich man who was planning on building more grain storehouses so that he could make a lot more money. However, he died later that night, and was never around to enjoy his riches. We may have many plans and hopes and dreams, but we may not have enough time to follow through on all of them. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t plan ahead, indeed, planning ahead is critical in our lives, but we need to make sure that we don’t put off the important things. Our culture glorifies the “work very hard so we can retire and then spend time with our families and do good in the world” attitude. This attitude is dangerous, for we might not live that long, or the ones that we love may not live that long. We need to keep God and our families as a focus in our lives, they are far more important than any earthly work could be. Spend time with God everyday, and don’t let your families take the backseat to your career. The time with your family when they’re young goes by so fast, and once it’s gone, you’ll never get it back.

Because none of us know when time is going to end for us or other people, we need to take the chances we have to witness. You could be the only Christian person in someone’s life, and if you don’t take the chance to witness to them, who will? People are fond of saying that they will talk to the unsaved people in their lives “later” or when it’s “more convenient”. You may only have one chance with some of these people, so we should use it.

Not only should we take advantage of the time we have for large purposes, such as God, family and witnessing, but we need to be careful not to waste our time. Our culture is big on mindless entertainment because it’s fun and enjoyable. Entertainment in moderation is not in and of itself wrong, but when its done to excess, it is wrong and wasteful. Doesn’t it seem foolish to spend so much time doing something that gives no return on the time that is put into it other than temporary pleasure? We should be careful not to waste the time we have on Earth in frivolous pursuits, but rather “Redeem the time, for the days are evil” as Paul says in Ephesians 5:16.

We only have one life on this earth; let’s make the most of it. Don’t waste time on idle pursuits, but rather focus on God and the things in life that truly matter.

It’s been 2 years since we started this site. Here’s looking forward to another one.

Every single one of us is surrounded by sin. The unsaved world revels in it, and even Christians can get caught up in it. Sin is evil, there is no excuse for it, we need to be on guard against it at all times, however a lot of Christians lash out not only against the sin, but against the sinner as well. The Bible makes it very clear that this isn’t the way it should be.

Jesus condemns people who judge people, saying in Matthew 7:1-3 that we shouldn’t judge, because then we ourselves will be judged. He says not to worry about the tiny thing wrong that our brother is doing, but to first deal with the major sin in our lives. This doesn’t mean that we accept what our brother is doing, but rather we need to make sure that our own lives are pure before criticizing their lives. When we do confront our brother over the sin in his life, we need to do it in a loving manner. We can’t act holier than thou with them, because then we are prideful. Pride is a sin just as much as whatever they are doing , so if we do that, are we any less sinful than they are?

Now, what about the unsaved world around us? How do we handle that kind of sin? Obviously, we need to reach out to these people, and lead them to God. When they are doing something that’s wrong, we should let them know, in a loving manner, not jumping down their throats every single time they breath wrong. Again, we need to make sure that our lives are pure before we start telling them that they are wrong, otherwise, we’re hypocrites and we’re destroying our witness.

Another thing we need to do is to make sure that these people genuinely know what is right and wrong. How can we expect an unsaved person to act like a Christian? They have no clue. We need to come alongside these people and witness to them and invite to church, and let our lives be living witness as to what Christians are. With new believers, we need to come alongside them and show them the way. Keep in mind that God will convict people as they study the Bible, sometimes we don’t have to say anything at all.

It’s easy to fly off the handle when we see someone doing something we know is wrong, but rather than lashing out, we need to take a moment and pray for the wisdom to know what to say. By just lashing out, especially with an unsaved person, we’re just going to push them away. Look at Jesus, He came alongside the sinners to show them the way. These weren’t just average sinners, these were harlots and tax collectors, the worst of the worst, and yet He just came alongside them. The only times He lashed out at sinners were the people like the Pharisees, the people who already knew better and deliberately chose to sin.