Colossians 3:4-6 Don’t focus on the earthly.
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: October 9, 2020 Colossians 3:4-6
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
(Understanding the Text) Paul assures us that we will grow into the people who can be glorified at Jesus’ coming. Citizens of heaven don’t sleep around with people who are not their spouses. Citizens of heaven don’t tell dirty jokes, watch people having sex in movies, or talk dirty. Citizens of heaven don’t live lives controlled by their passions. Citizens of heaven don’t follow evil desires that hurt others and themselves. It’s interesting that the first four on the list can be grouped together in abusing sexual desire. They could be extended to a wider application, but they all seem to be related. Then Paul throws in covetousness. On the surface that is not an obvious abuse of sexual desire. However, given the context, I wonder if Paul is thinking about coveting a neighbor’s wife. In placing our desire for another’s legal spouse over our desire for God, we are committing not just adultery, but also idolatry. We are putting a person in place of God in our affections.
Paul says that sexual immorality is one of the reasons that people will be rejected by God. Thus, he says that God’s people need to stop doing the actions that God rejects. Why does God reject these actions? Because they are a distortion of the real thing. They are a perversion of something beautiful that God gave us, and He wants us to have the real beautiful relationship. God wants us to be glorified in all ways, including having glorious relationships with each other.
(Revelation of God) God’s objections to the actions mentioned aren’t because He is overstrict or because He wants to limit our freedom arbitrarily. It’s because He knows what those actions will do to us. He knows how we harm ourselves and others with those actions. He doesn’t want us to be crippled, not just for our own sake but because broken people hurt others and break them so that they hurt others. It’s a chain reaction in our world. God wants all people to be free to enjoy life without brokenness and pain.
(Application) My application for myself is that I need to believe the promise that Jesus is working in me now so that when He comes, I will be ready to be made new. I need to live now as a member of the kingdom of heaven, which means that I need to not participate in anything sexually immoral so that I do not hurt others or injure myself. I need to trust God that He wants me to have the best of the best that will be better than anything I can imagine and that the options given on earth are the worst of the worst, even though the world tries to convince me differently, and they will hurt and cripple me and those around me.
(Prayer) Transform me into the best that You see I can be. Develop the potential that You see in me, and help me to always contribute to others’ wellbeing and never break them in any way.