Philemon, Colossians: We are getting ready in January to do a 28 day detoxing the body, mind and soul. As I read the scripture in Colossians it reminded me so much of some of the things I have written for the devotion book. One of the major ones is that in order to get the spiritual toxins out of your life you must leave the old life behind. Colossians 3 lists many of those 3:5 “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.”
I love how it says “put to death”. When you put them to death they can’t come back and be a part of your life. One of the greatest struggles we have as believer is allowing many of the dead things in our lives to come back to life. At the moment you feel tempted to be angry, or say something you should not or watch something that would feed your fleshly desires, put it to death again. Keep it in the grave. If you entertain it even for a short time it gives it life again and it begins to grow in your heart again. Instead replace that dead with what you want to live and characterize your life.
3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13bearing 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. 14And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Feed what you desire to grow!