Day 22: Colossians 3 and Worldly Versus Godly Living, Part 1

How is it best to live this next year? That’s the question we are addressing in this 40 Day Devotional Bible Study. How do we color each moment of our lives (think of the parable in Day 1)?

One way is to address how we live the things of this world, our temptations, and our sins.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 How do you live of this world and not of godly things?

2 What are your temptations?

3 What is the thorn in your flesh? Or thorns? (You know… The things you keep repeating over and over and don’t meant to do so, but it happens, so you have to try again.)

4 How have you sinned this week?

5 How have you sinned today?

Let’s take a look at Colossians 3. We will take a look at this chapter for the rest of this week. Let’s do a read-through today and prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

Colossians 3 HCSB

1 So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. 8 But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.

12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 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. 14 Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 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. 17 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.

18 Wives, be submissive to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

19 Husbands, love your wives and don’t be bitter toward them.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so they won’t become discouraged.

22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.

23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.

-- HCSB: Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

PRAYER JOURNALING AND CONTEMPLATION QUESTIONS

1 Prayer journal anything that comes to mind.

2 What are the key verses or the ones that jump out most at you? Identify all of them.

3 List why each of the verses you listed in #2 jumped out at you.

4 What is a verse from this chapter you want to focus on today—morning, noon, and night?

MEMORY VERSES

Don’t forget your yearly Bible verse or your memory verses. Pray them back to God at this time, whether by memory or by looking at them. They are: Philippians 4:4-8; Psalm 90:12; 1 Samuel 2:1; Colossians 3:23-24; Ephesians 5:1-2.