Colossians 3:1-11 The Message – “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ ⎼ that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life, even through invisible to spectators, is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too ⎼ the real you, the glorious you.”
Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.
And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.
Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe.
Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. Form now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.
3 Ways to Transform Your Life
1. Develop a New Mindset
Colossians 3:1-2 – “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ ⎼ that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too ⎼ the real you, the glorious you.”
Colossians 3:10 – “… Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it.”
2. Develop a New Lifestyle
Colossians 3:4-5 – “Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life, even through invisible to spectators, is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too ⎼ the real you, the glorious you. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God.”
3. Develop at New Speech Pattern
Colossians 3:8 – “But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.”
No Slander – Your goal is to build one another up – not to tear down.
Speak Truth – Make the decision to only speak truth.
Colossians 3:9 – “Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe.”
Satan is a Liar
John 8:44 NIV – “…for there is no truth in him, (the devil). When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Jesus is the Truth
John 14:6 NIV – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Live life on purpose. Become the whole person you were intended to be. Your new life is a witness to the world.
