How To… V

“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it” Col.3:12,14 [MSG]

What to “put to on”: “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with [put on] tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony” Col.3:12,14 [emphasis added]. Put on tenderhearted mercy; to be tenderhearted means soft hearted, don’t be hard or harsh. Mercy – bowels of mercy that is what it means. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. God says you should have tenderhearted mercy, sometimes people deserve for you to give them a knock on the head, tenderhearted mercy is not giving them that knock. That is being merciful. I agree your husband deserves a talking to but be merciful, do not give him what he deserves. I know your wife deserves to be disciplined, but do not give her what she deserves. Be merciful! The next thing to put on is kindness. Be kind! Then the next thing to put on is humility, be humble! The beauty of what you put on is that other people can see it. So if you are color blind, you put on purple and you think it is blue. Then five different people are telling you what you are wearing is purple and you are insisting it is blue. But guess what they can also see what you put on, so maybe you want to check because it may just be purple. So put on humility, if you are humble people will see. If you are proud, people can see. Gentleness, we all need gentleness. Some of us are more aggressive than the others but God wants us all to calm down. Be patient and above all cloth yourself with love, which binds us together in perfect harmony.

If you put to death, you put off, and you put on these things you will see how your life begins to take shape beautifully. You put to death lust, sexual immorality, and greed. You put off anger, rage, malice, blasphemy, and dirty language. Then you put on tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love. To radiate Christ becomes effortless when you put to death what you need to put to death, when you put off what you need to put off, and when you put on what you need to put on. Some people are difficult to love but there is a key to putting on love. “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” Col.3:13 [emphasis added].

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me put to death what I need to put to death, put off what I need to put off, and put on what I need to put on so I can radiate Christ, in Jesus Name.