Day Eleven - Fixing our Minds on Christ

Today we’ll cover Colossians 2:13-15, but we need to think through some context.

Think back with me to day 6 of our devotions when we looked at Colossians 1:21-22. Paul told us we were once alienated and hostile in our minds because of our evil actions.

Remember that all of us were there.

Before Christ, we all were there.

But, Christ reconciled us through His physical body through His death and presents us to Father as holy, faultless, and blameless. Remember the beautiful truth that we learned. I pray you’re still embracing and walking in that truth.

In yesterday’s devotion Think back also to yesterday. The work that we see – the outward expression of our faith - is not by human hands. It’s done by the Spirit that lives within us who purifies our hearts and manifests Himself. That work comes through faith in God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

Keep all of that in mind as we look at today’s passage:

And when you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us, and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly. He triumphed over them by Him.
 Colossians 2:13-15 (HCSB)

We Expect Payment

When we seem crime in today’s society we expect there to be restitution, don’t we? When we see theft or someone breaks something, we expect them to pay for it. It’s an expectation that comes naturally to us.

In the heavenly realms, it’s the same way. When there is sin - something that's done against God or is displeasing to Him, - there needs to be payment. There needs to be restitution. Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross to pay the restitution, to pay the debt for you and for me.

Take that to heart today.

Christ Does All the Work

I’d like to emphasize that while we were still in our sins and trespasses, Christ did this. Paul says in Romans that, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). It’s the same truth resonating again here for us. He didn’t wait for us to clean up our act or make ourselves pure, faultless, holy and blameless all on our own.  No.

He did that work for us so that HE could present us to the Father as holy, blameless and faultless. He does all of that work in us. The scripture also tells that he basically made a laughingstock of the rulers and authorities. I want to show you Ephesians chapter 6 which gives us additional insight on who those rulers and authorities are. 

It says, “… the rulers … the authorities, … the world power of this darkness, … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6:12 HCSB)

The Rulers and Principalities are Disgraced 

According to this verse in Colossians, those rulers and principalities are disarmed. They’re disgraced and Christ has triumphed over them. So remember today and as you read this to be empowered by the fact that Christ has already won the victory. He is already the winner of this battle. It’s already done in Him. 

Today's Challenges

I have two challenges for you today. 

First, I want you to really ponder, and contemplate, and think through, and meditate on the reasons why Christ died for you and the difference it makes in your life today. I beg you to ask the Lord in prayer to show additional insights in His Word and reveal to you the true, deep meaning about what this is to you today. I pray He gives you something you can cherish and hold onto and tell others about. Shout it from the rooftops.

The next challenge for today and every day going forward is to walk in victory. The

Victory is already won. Christ has already defeated the enemy. So walk in that today. Know that you are on the winning side. You are on the winning team and Christ is with you every step of the way.

Thanks for joining me today. Please join me again tomorrow as we continue to fix our minds on Christ.

To view the video devotion, click here.

Cathy McIntosh is the author of Victorious: Finding Triumph When Hope Seems Lost. When you can’t see God’s activity in your situation, you might begin to feel hopeless. You’re tempted to doubt His care and involvement in your life because He feels so . . . absent. Victory feels elusive as if God intends it for everyone but you.

But God is never absent. He is as involved in your life today as He was when He protected Queen Esther and the entire Jewish nation from annihilation, and He will bring victory.  Click here to purchase.