Raised To A New Life With Christ

MY DAILY COVENANT WITH GOD DEVOTIONAL

Devotion for Friday April 21, 2017

Topic: Raised To A New Life With Christ

Text: Colossians 3:1 – 11

Repentance without noticeable change amounts to mere deception. It is very important we understand our status and expectations as Christians. You can never live well as a Christian with poor understanding of your status and what that status has conferred on you. Here, Paul tells the Colossians and us by extension that our lives have been raised to the realm above where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. By our salvation, we have been raised with Christ. Our status is not just ordinary person walking on the street; rather we now have special qualities that distinguish us from unbelievers. For this reason, we should seek the things that are above. This implies that now as Christians we should set our priorities right by having the heavenly priorities take precedence over our own. It is expected that we should concentrate more on the things eternal than the things temporal.

As Christians who have been raised to new life, we should seek heavenly things with a strong desire to possess them. We must take our focus off the worldly and temporal things and place them on Christ in the heavenly place. The reason for this is that the strength and grace we need to run this heavenly race so well comes from Him. Moreover, we should not brag with our new status in Christ. Rather, we should be humble enough to appreciate where God has placed us by serving Him in humility and a heart of gratitude.

Food for Thought: Ephesians 2:4 – 7

Memory verse: Colossians 3 verse 1

Prayer: God, grant me the understanding of my status in you so I will live according to what you have made me in Jesus name.

REDIRECT YOUR FOCUS: Devotion for Friday July 29, 2016

REDIRECT YOUR FOCUS: Devotion for Friday July 29, 2016

Text: Colossians 3:1 – 4             

Memory verse: Colossians 3:2 - Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

The essence of going to learn in a school is to improve ourselves and to make us have better understanding of ourselves, and our society. If after leaving school there is no improvement in your understanding of yourself and your environment, it means your efforts in school were wasted. Likewise, when someone repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, it is expected that such should have a better understanding of how best to serve God. It is on this premise that Paul started in this chapter by saying, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your eyes on the realities of heaven …” (New Living Translation). This means that before their repentance, their focus were on worldly things. Now it shouldn’t be so. They should begin to focus on Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2).

Because Christians had been raised from sin into life of righteousness, they had a clear responsibility to Christ, who had raised them. They must set their sights on the realities of heaven so as to avoid the distractions of the world. The Greek word for “set” means to seek something out with a desire to possess it. The believers must take their focus off the world and turn it to Christ, who sits at God’s right hand in the place of honour and power. They should concentrate on the things eternal rather than the things temporal, letting their thoughts dwell in the realm of Christ. They were to focus on the Lord Jesus. Thoughts can influence actions, so if the believers would place their thoughts above and not only here on earth, their actions would please God. Are your thoughts focused on Christ now as a Christian or you are still concerned about worldly affairs?

Food for Thought: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

Prayer: Lord God, redirect my focus from the things worldly to the things eternal. Help me to live  in Jesus name.