MY VERY FIRST BLOG ENTRY!

I am very excited to present to you my very first blog entry. It's been a long time in the making. I'm not sure if any of this will actually be read, but I am hoping that "blogging" will help keep me sane. So, this blog is ultimately for myself, but if you happen to be reading this - please enjoy :)

12.07.08 Devo

1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

Colossians 3:1-5 (NASB)

Ever since the beginning of my walk with Christ, Colossians 3:2 has been one of my favorite verses. I was obsessed. I would write it on everything in sight - in my notebooks, on my CDs, on my forehead...okay, maybe not my forehead, but it definitely was one of my favorites. However I wish that I would have spent more time looking at it in context (as I am learning to do now). The letter to city of Colossae addressed the struggles that they had with their philosophical speculations & false spiritual beliefs. The early church had many struggles with GNOSTICISM, which explains Paul's use of language - "you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." and "therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead". Paul is making a clear point to say "okay if you really believe your body is evil and you have no control over your sins, then consider your bodies as...well...completely DEAD. So congratulations, you are no longer slaves to sin. You are set free by Christ."

The other implications of these verses are just outrageous (in a good way). My mind can't even start to comprehend what verse 4 truly means - that we will be revealed with Christ in His glory? That's amazing! Verse 3 says that our lives are HIDDEN in Christ, then in 4 it goes on to say that when Christ is revealed, so will our TRUE selves. Personally, I cannot wait for the moment where that happens - where I am in the perfect state that God had created me in. And even though that won't fully happen until my earthly body passes, I feel the transformation coming upon me now. Layer by layer God is peeling off all the "opihis" I've acquired over the years, and my TRUE self is being revealed. It is truly a beautiful thing to feel so comfortable in my own skin. I can feel God peeling away the immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed all the idolatry and lies that I've bought into all my life. I definitely have a long ways to go, but I am determined to peel off ALL the "yucky stuff" and to seek, do, & speak ONLY what is good - only what is from my God above.


So those are just some thoughts on Colossians chapter 3 - verses 1-5. I firmly believe that God is at work in me & my life AND in the lives of everyone around me & everyone here on earth. Life is beautiful & God is awesome! cheehooo! :)