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"When Christ who is our life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory."
(Colossians 3:4)
The focal passage for our devotions this week is Colossians 3:4. Dr. Charles Stanley said the key to living the blessed Christian life is found in this one passage of Scripture. The primary thing to focus on is being yielded to Jesus so He lives through our individual lives. It really is a powerful truth to ponder. God wants to bless us and empower us to be a blessing to others. Of course, the problem is not in the power of God but in us! We have to daily, at times, moment by moment, yield to Christ and get out of the way. Imagine the lives you and I could touch if we approached every person and situation from the viewpoint of, "How does Jesus want to use me at this moment?"
Colossians 3:1-7 states, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them."
Verse 4 states that Christ is our life. When Jesus is everything to us, it shows in how we live, what we think, and what we speak. There are key things that we are called upon to do. We are to seek Christ first in all things, set our minds on the things that are above, and put to death all sin. The only way we can do these things that Paul commands is by the power of Jesus. We do not have the ability or strength to live the Christian life, but we know Who does; it is Jesus living through us as we yield to Him! Jesus being our life is the key to living the victorious Christian life.
Stanley does a wonderful job sharing the basic doctrine of salvation. Before you and I were saved, we heard the truth of the Gospel, and the Holy Spirit convicted us of sins, regret, guilt, fear, and shame, and then we believed and repented. Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us our iniquities have separated us from God. Ephesians 2:1-3 says we are dead spiritually, even though we are physically alive. Many attempt to live a blessed life only through the ways of this world, without Christ. Self-improvement proves futile because we are spiritually dead. We must have a relationship with God. This happens when the Spirit of God convicts, we confess our sins, agree with God, then repent, turning from sin to Jesus for salvation. I praise God that He saved me on January 3, 1984. The Holy Spirit comes in and seals each of us forever as a child of God. Everything changes. We were spiritually dead, but now we are alive, and the Spirit of God lives within us. We are born again. The old is gone, and all things are new. Christ is now our life!
Have you believed in Jesus and repented of your sins? If not, I invite you to do that right now. Do not let any more time elapse without surrendering your all to Jesus. He will save you and empower you to truly live your best life!
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