Freedom For Today

Take a moment to read Colossians 3:16-17 before reading the devotional below.

Sometimes I love the specific words chosen to be spoken through the Bible. It is unlike any other book, and it has a literary beauty that can be appreciated on natural and supernatural levels. In verse 16, the words “in all its richness” stir my soul. Paul could have just written, “Let the message of Christ fill your lives.” Instead, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul added that phrase “in all its richness,” giving it the power to soak more deeply into our hearts. Pause right now and just sit with the richness of the Gospel before you rush about your day.

This rich, supernatural power and blessing is not just for us to keep to ourselves. After we soak it in like a sponge, we next allow God to wring us out over the lives of others so that the Spirit pours into them as well. We can teach, offer counsel, lead in worship, and demonstrate gratitude to bless and encourage each other. And when God has squeezed our sponge-hearts, we must sit and soak again to refill.

Here’s your freedom for today: everything you ever need to give flows directly from the Holy Spirit. There is not one single thing you need to offer the world all by yourself. If you are feeling spent or depleted or dry, then you are in a soaking season. It is okay to stop giving for a time in order to refill. Verse 17 says that everything we do or say comes from the position of “representative of Christ.” We cannot do that well if we do not sit with him long enough to know his heart. We are the spokespeople of Jesus’ message. If you want to operate in that position, be sure you have a solid handle on his talking points and action steps.

Take a moment to read Colossians 3:12-15 before reading the devotional below.

In yesterday’s post, we talked about getting some new clothes — fine linens instead of tattered rags. But how do we do that? Where do we get these fancy new things? In verse 12 we find the answer: mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. Let’s examine these before you go setting round 2 of New Year’s resolutions that are bound to fail. “Try harder” is not going to be the way we put on these new clothes.

We always have to start by receiving before we have anything to give. What does it mean for you to embrace God’s mercy, kindness, and love towards you? How can you experience God’s gentleness and patience when you are struggling or you make mistakes? When we simply sit in the presence of God, he changes us. Often we default to self-help because that is what our culture says we need. But what we need is God-help, and it involves a lot more sitting than we tend to prefer.

Here’s your freedom for today: the Holy Spirit will fill you when you hold still. Take your spiritual to-do list and throw it away. Get a blank piece of paper instead and keep it in your Bible or posted somewhere to remind yourself that you are no longer striving. Imagine what the Church might be like if we all spent a whole lot more time just sitting in God’s presence. It is only out of that place that we can offer mercy, kindness, and love to the rest of the world. Be filled before you pour and you’ll find you never run out.

Take a moment to read Colossians 3:5-11 before reading the devotional below. 

When you are no longer living by rules, how do you do the right thing? Most people imagine throwing out rules and doing whatever they feel like doing. Sometimes we call that freedom. But following Jesus is about getting free from yourself. You don’t need rules because you aren’t driven by the sinful impulses that made you need rules in the first place.

There’s a clear line between who you are when you are living in sin and who you are when you are living in Christ. Today’s passage lists a host of sins, which Paul says are “lurking” within all of us. These desires must be killed in order to freely step into the new normal God has for us. And that new normal is available to anyone who wants to enter it.

Here’s your freedom for today: Jesus is all about making a new you. He’s got so much freedom just waiting for you. Imagine wearing a whole bunch of filthy rags for clothes because you don’t know any other life and then being handed a new suit. You might not even know how to put it on right away, and you have to get naked first by taking off your tattered rags. But the new look and the new you is worth it.

Take a moment to read Colossians 3:1-4 before reading the devotional below.

When you are so completely changed that your heart goes from dead to very much alive, things are never the same. This is Jesus’ transforming power. When this happens to you, you see the world from a whole different view. It’s like finding out that you have been looking at everything completely upside-down and then someone flips it right-side-up.

This chapter starts with a phrase that just hits you right between the eyes: “…set your sights on the realities of heaven…” Wow. Just sit with that for a second. There is something so hopeful and inspiring about setting your sights on realities that you have so much confidence in you don’t even need to see it first. That’s real faith. And your real life is so deeply embedded in Jesus that the only way to truly find yourself is to press in further and further into who he is. By the time the fullness of his glory shows up, you’ll be right there in the center of it all.

Here’s your freedom for today: one day your eternal hope for will become a reality. You will live in the place you long for. You will find home. If you feel like you are searching and searching for a deep sense of belonging and freedom, it is because your heart was made for that search. And you won’t stop feeling that longing until it is fulfilled eternally deep in the heart of God. While you wait for that place, don’t waste your time. There is a lot you can do to bring a piece of that home into the world right now. Go love somebody a little, make someone’s day better, and shine into dark places until you find a bit of heaven.

Take a moment to read Colossians 2:20-23 before reading the devotional below.

In case I didn’t make the point strongly enough in yesterday’s post, we get to spend another day dwelling on the truth that all your rules need to get thrown out the window. What do you think it takes to be a “good Christian”? What do you try to do to prove yourself to God? For me, I mash together the American values of productivity and “go big or go home” with spiritual ideas of doing big things for God. Is there some value in that? Sure, God can use it. But when I fall into that does it harm me? For sure. All that effort makes me forget that God just wants to sit with me.

Zoom in to verse 23: “These rules seem wise because they require strong devotion…” We can justify hanging on to our rules in a host of ways that sound super spiritual. But they do not make our hearts right. So the question is, “Why do we hold on to our rules?” I think we hold on to things that make us feel secure. If I do a “quiet time” for 15 minutes everyday in order to feel like a “good Christian,” then I can make a simple chart and track my devotion to God by checking off a box every day. The problem is that is not how God works.

Here’s your freedom for today: checking off boxes won’t get you closer to the heart of Jesus. So don’t check any boxes. Throw all your boxes away. How’s your heart condition? Can you sit with the fact that God loves you even if you don’t keep a spiritual chart? Do you truly believe he loves you even when you don’t feel like you measure up? Religion says that we need to do more good than bad to earn our way to God. Jesus says, “Let me take care of the impossible things, you just come with me.” Do you trust Jesus enough to let him save you?