Devos for Dec. 7th (Jenny's post)

Hey Ground Zero! Hope you are all keeping up with your devos. It is so important for you guys to get into your Word! Read, meditate, listen, and pray! God WILL speak but we have to put ourselves in a position to hear him.

Scripture
Ok, so today's reading was Colossians 1:15-29 and ch. 13

Observation/Application
God kept bringing me back to 13:12. It says, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,"
Everything changes when you're born again. A total transformation takes place. You actually "have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (v. 3). Jesus becomes the center of your life, and you're transferred into a new Kingdom.
God calls us to express this change in practical ways, through the choices we make. Paul said we are to "put on" new attitudes. The Greek word describes putting on a garment. "You must clothe yourselves" (v. 12 NLT)- this is a picture relating to our daily life. We get up and get dressed every morning. Some of us spend a lot of time in front of the mirror making sure we look just right before heading out to school or our job or to even just to run errands. Pastor Ben will tell you that I like to take my time getting ready for the day. Its almost painful for him to sit and wait and watch me getting ready to leave the house. I know a lot of you are the same way. Trust me, I thought I took a long time getting ready in the mornings, but then I saw some of you girls getting ready when we were in CA and I was shocked at how long some of you take to make yourselves just perfect, ready to face the day. You certainly made me feel like I wasn't so bad after all. :-)
Just like clothing, we are to put on our new nature. Instead of being like the world, and governed by the flesh, we need to be compassionate and kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Even with all of the time that we spend getting ready in the mornings, and with all of the money we spend on wearing the "right" clothes, most of us still the the house way under-dressed. We don't take the time to clothe ourselves in these attributes that are part of our new identities in Christ. They are there for us, Christ calls us to walk in them, but we have to make the effort for it to be part of how we go out and interact with the world.  Today, put on these new clothes, wear this new attitude in everything you say and do.

Prayer
Father God,
You are so good! How you love me still amazes me!
I ask that you would help me to ready myself everyday with the things that you ask me to. In my human nature, its not easy for me to always be compassionate and kind and patient. I get so self-focused that I don't pay attention to how I am treating those around me. God, help me to set my eyes on the things above, not on this world, for I know that when I'm focused on you, I will be a better imitator of you.
Thank you for your Word, that is still alive today.
Amen!