Day Eighteen - Fixing our Minds on Christ

I'm so honored that you've joined me again today. I'm Cathy McIntosh with Strengthened by the Word Ministries. We are fixing our minds on Christ. Walking through our daily devotions through the book of Colossians. 

“Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” 

Colossians 3:16-17 (HCSB)

We need to look at the context of this verse once again and if we look clear back to chapter one in the opening verses of Colossians we see that Paul is writing to the Saints of Colossae. He's writing here to believers and he's telling them to let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among the church and then it will spread outward to those who are unchurched.

We also need to know and understand that in verse 14 -  just a couple of verses ago - Paul told us to put on love which is the perfect bond of unity. So when we are teaching and admonishing one another we’re to do it first to believers and then also with love and kindness 

To Warn with Gentleness

“To admonish” means “to warn with gentleness.” It doesn't mean to scold or reprimand or to get mad at. It means to go to someone with gentleness and speak love into their lives sharing the love of Christ. 

So many times I see us getting angry, not only inside the church but outside the church as well. It's almost as if we look at people who are held captive and those that don't know Christ (they are held captive by the enemy so that they cannot see the truth) and we get angry and mad and upset with them because they can't find freedom. Instead of sharing love, honor, tenderness, and gentleness with them and showing them with love and mercy and grace the love of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves getting defensive and angry and it doesn't work. It does not work.

So, we need to reach out to one another with love which is the perfect bond of unity and we looked at that just yesterday in our devotional time. 

Whatever We Do

Verse 17 is a great life verse and it reminds us that whatever we do in word or in deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him. What a great way to live your life.

Today's Challenges 

My challenges to you today are this:

First of all love.  Love someone else. Ask the Lord to show you how to reach out and show love to someone that perhaps you are disunified with or are experiencing some strife with.  Second of all to do everything that you do today and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that as if you were serving the Lord and representing Him. Whatever you do in word or in deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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I pray that you’re blessed today. I pray that you are strengthened by the word and I pray that you’ll come back and see me right here tomorrow as we fix our minds on Christ. Thank you for being here.

To watch 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.

Day Seventeen - Fixing our Minds on Christ

Do you ever look at all that God asks and commands you to do and think, "I can't do this"?

“Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful.” 

Colossians 3:12-15 (HCSB)

By His Strength  

When I look at this passage, I see one tall order and I say to myself “I can't. I can't do this. I can't put on patience and humility and kindness and gentleness, I can't."

Now, I can try. I can try to work in my own volition but I'll remind you again, as I reminded you many times over the last several days, we don't do this in our own strength. When the Lord calls us to an assignment He gives us everything that we need and we’ve learned through the book of Colossians so far that He gives us His strength and His power. 

It’s Christ in us, the hope of glory and his manifestation that looks like kindness and acceptance and forgiveness - even when we know in our flesh we can not pull this off. 

We don’t have what it takes. 

I want to encourage you today sister, walk in God's strength. Don't try to do this on your own but pray day by day for the Lord to give you encouragement, counsel, guidance, and strength -  everything that you need to do what He’s asked you to do.  

Love: The Perfect Bond of Unity

This passage also says to put on love which is the perfect Bond of unity. This is agape love. This is the unconditional love that comes from a decision, not necessarily an emotion. When we decide to love others, we do so in the strength of Jesus Christ. Love manifests itself in beautiful ways that touch lives, our own lives, and turn people toward Christ. That's our goal. 

Forgiving One Another

I also want to encourage you today that forgiveness, just like agape love, is a decision. I know it's hard. I have done a lot of learning, a lot of teaching, and a lot of speaking on the topic of forgiveness. I know how difficult it is but when you decide to forgive because Jesus has forgiven you and because He has asked you to forgive others, you walk in obedience. Eventually, your emotions are going to follow. 

Start with a baby step. Start by saying “Lord I'm going to forgive because you’ve asked me to forgive. I don't feel like it. I don't want to. But you’ve asked me to do it, so I’m going to step out in faith and do all that I can in your strength and trust that you will lead me down the path." And then know that He will.

Today's Challenges

So, two challenges for you today: decide to love and decide to forgive. And I know you will be blessed in those acts of obedience. 

Be blessed today and be blessed in the word and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

To watch 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.

Day Sixteen - Fixing our Minds on Christ

Thanks for joining me again today! I'm pleased to have you here as we fix our minds on Christ and walk through our daily devotion through the book of Colossians. Today we remain in chapter 3. We are going to look at verses 9 through 11.

 "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all." 

Colossians 3:9-11 (HCSB)

Intentional or Unintentional Dishonesty

When you consider the word lie, you might think of it as an intentional way of deceiving someone. But there are other ways to be dishonest that I want to look at with you today. 

First of all, are you pretending to be someone you're not? We talked yesterday about putting off things of the flesh and how we don't want to just put them off from time to time so that people will get the right image of us. We want to put them off once and for all with totality and completeness. So, trying to be someone that you're not or putting on a front that is not truly who you are is a way of deceiving someone. Think through that with me a little bit. We don't want to act in such a way. We want to be true to ourselves and who Christ is through us.

Another thing I'd like for you to think through is keeping your word. A lot of times we don't intentionally mean to deceive someone but when we don't keep our word, it is deceptive just the same. This pertains to every single area of our lives. From something simple like telling our children that we will be there to read to them at a certain time. We need to do it because we said we would. Or when we sign up for Bible study and commit to attending and showing up with our work done. We need to do it because we said we'd do it. If we tell our children's minister that we're going to be there to volunteer, we need to do it because we said we were going to do it.

Now, I understand sometimes life gets in the way and sometimes things happen and we can't do everything that we say we are going to do. But we do have a responsibility to follow through or make a phone call if we can't make it. We can explain even to our children why such and such didn't work out the way that we'd hoped. That teaches them not only to have grace and forgiveness but it also teaches them that life sometimes happens and things don't go exactly the way we planned. There are life lessons in all of this.

As we let Christ live in us and as we are ambassadors for Him, our role is to present to a watching world someone who is as honest, trustworthy, hard-working, faithful and dedicated as possible.

Now, I also want you to remember that it's not in our own strength that we do these things but it's Christ working in us providing the power and the strength and the will to do as He has called us to do.  

Today's Challenge

My challenge to you today is to follow through on something that you promised.  If it's something that you've already dropped the ball on, go back and make it right. Or if it's something in the future that you promised to do - and maybe you are starting to think even right now, "I can't pull that off," either make the phone call and let someone know, or drop something else and do what you said you're going to do.

Remember you're strengthened by His word.  Get out there and let it live in you and through you so that you can shine for Jesus Christ today. 

I pray that you're blessed as you walk to the study and I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow as we fix our minds on Christ. 

If you'd like to watch 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.