Colossians 3:11-14 Bound Together by Love
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 13, 2020 Colossians 3:11-14
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.
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) This is one of the most profound and revolutionary things that Paul writes in the Bible. In Jesus, there is no hyphenated follower. There is only follower. It is all or nothing. There are no barriers or separations between fellow believers. Culture doesn’t matter because our culture needs to be transformed into the kingdom of heaven culture. Physical differentiation and ethnic group don’t matter because we are going to have new bodies one day with no blemishes. Level of civilization, social class, education don’t matter because Jesus is the great equalizer. Compared to Jesus, we are all low on the civilization, class, and education scale. On the other hand, He has made us all royalty as children of the King, and Jesus is the firstborn heir to everything. We all need to be re-educated into the knowledge of God. Whether we were in prison or the head of the prison, we have all become freed from being prisoners of sin. We need to let Jesus into our lives to crowd out every other allegiance and concept of who we are. We are His, and He is our Lord. All other definitions of us are secondary and in some ways–illusions.
(Understanding the Passage) This passage is significant in that at this time, Paul was sending an escaped slave named Onesimus, who had converted to Christianity through Paul, back to his master Philemon. Onesimus was accompanying the bearer of this letter and either he or his master or both were probably known to the Colossians. Paul was saying that they should accept Onesimus as a brother in Christ in the same way that they should accept his master, who was also a Christian converted by Paul earlier in his ministry. Either Paul was addressing the issue of Philemon and Onesimus directly here, or these kinds of relationships were simply on his mind at this time. I think it was the latter.
(Application) What does it mean to have the culture of heaven? It means having hearts filled with compassion for others. It means being kind to everyone at all times. It means having the humility of putting Jesus and our neighbor first. It means not pushing ourselves forward, but instead pushing others forward. It means having patience with others’ problems and mistakes. It means forgiving others, even when they have done the unthinkable, not because we are doormats but because we have a Savior who has forgiven us, and we want to be like Him. This can only come together when we have love in our hearts–love for God and man.
(Prayer) I am not good at loving. Give me love for those around me. Teach me to treat them well and not arrogantly put myself above them in my mind. Give me an interest in others that will communicate their value in Your eyes. Bind my brothers and sisters in Christ together with me using ropes of love.