WEDNESDAY November 6, 2024
Mindful of Your Wickedness
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—
Colossians 1:21-22
False teachers in Colossae tried to cause doubt in the minds of the believers by saying that Paul was an illegitimate Apostle. In writing his letter, Paul realized the situation and knew that the Colossians needed to know they could trust him.
Paul understood his calling and began to speak words of his sincere intent for them. He had already exalted Jesus Christ. They perceived he loved Jesus Christ, and he wanted them to grow to love Him too. Paul explained different aspects of his ministry to the Colossians––his call to share the Gospel, his suffering for the Gentiles’ sake, and his stewardship in striving for their care and maturity in Christ.
Paul began to unfold who they were before they came to Christ. They were once enemies of God, alienated from Him because of their sinful works. The word alienated in the Greek language means “to be cut off.”
As sinners, we have all done some of the wicked things we thought about. Sin caused us to be separated from God––we were cut off from Him. In Jeremiah 17:9, we find a description of our hearts and how God knows the thoughts in our minds:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”
In the ignorance of our sinfulness, we did not know God; not until conviction came by the Holy Spirit, we believed in Jesus, repented and forsook our sin. Helpless people, addicted and enslaved to drugs and alcohol, have to admit, “Yes, I have a problem with addiction. I am a sinner. I need God’s help!” If they reach out to Jesus, just as they are, He will touch their lives and deliver them. Once born-again, they are reconciled to God though Jesus Christ, and their lives are transformed!
The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.
~D.L. Moody~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
