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This week's devotions are written by my son, Bryant Forshee, Junior High Pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church.
- Pastor Danny
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We will take a break from the Elf references for today. :)
Today we will examine three passages: Colossians 3:12-17, Ephesians 6:10-18, and Romans 13:11-14.
If you live in Texas, you may have experienced this phenomenon a few times, but not too often: putting on a coat! I recently bought a "puffy coat" (that is what my wife calls them) for the cold weather. It all started with my church doing an outdoor event, and I needed a good jacket. Black Friday sales were still going on, and I got a jacket that boasted of being extremely warm. Well, their boasting was correct; however, I only experienced the beauty of warmness from the cold when I actually put on my coat. This is what I want to share with you today, this idea of putting on.
If you have not read the three Scripture passages listed above yet, take a moment to do so now. You will probably recognize at least one of the passages. In all three, you will see this verb "put on".
In Colossians 3:12 ESV it says, "Put on...compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..."
In Ephesians 6:11 ESV it says, "Put on the whole armor of God..."
In Romans 13:14 CSB it says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ..."
This verb "put on" is derived from the root word, ἐνδύω, meaning, "to sink into, put on, or clothe oneself".
In all three passages, these items that we are told to put on (compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, the whole armor of God, the Lord Jesus Christ), are things that are naturally not on us. These are things that we must put on ourselves. These are things that we must consciously, intentionally do.
In the Colossians passage, we are supposed to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. These are not things that come naturally. Take a look at the world in which we live today; these attributes do not describe the "temperature" of our modern culture. Let's change the temperature, and let's put on these attributes that our Lord and Savior displayed so graciously.
In the Ephesians passage, we are to put on the whole armor of God. Every day, may we as believers be found ready for the day's battle that awaits us. May we not let our guard down or be caught lazy, because day in and day out, we have a fight that is ahead of us. May we daily be putting on the armor of God.
In the Romans passage, we need to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? So we can walk with decency and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. I love this verse because it shows how much we desperately need Jesus! We need to put Him on ourselves. May we be followers of Jesus who truly resemble Him because we are daily, hourly, secondly putting Him on, clothing ourselves in Jesus.
Which passage of scripture do you need to emulate the most? Which passage, by the power of the Holy Spirit, is jumping off the screen and into your heart today? Take the next few days, as Christmas is upon us and time off may be more readily available, and really study and memorize the passage that the Holy Spirit is impressing upon your heart. Fellow followers of Christ, let's put on.
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Challenging, Exciting Times
Although we are indeed living in very challenging and difficult times, there are also many new opportunities and many reasons to be excited about what God is doing and how each of us can be a part of it.
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