NOV 28

Colossians 3:8-9
Memorise Ephesians 4:26
“…ye have put off the old man…”

Colossians 3:8-9 tells us “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” The clear message here is that it is not enough for Christians to only put away the grievous earthly affections listed previously. We must strive towards progressive sanctification, with Christ as our role model. These are therefore some sins that also need to be put away. These are sins of the passion that must be dealt with within the heart of every believer. We must realise that they are indeed sins that are wrong, and pray that the Lord will help you to overcome them. It is therefore a command given, that we are to put off, to lay aside all these sins.

Do note that all these passions are easily interlinked, and depending on the situation, one passion can easily lead to another. One turns anger into the fierceness of wrath by constantly thinking about the anger (Ephesians 4:26) instead of forgiving the person. As teens, I know that one source of anger and resentment is often in your relationship with your parents. Do you easily forgive your parents, or do you harbour resentment against them for never seeming to understand you? Anger can also turn into malice when we want to get back at those who made us angry in the first place. Do you give snide or sarcastic replies to parents, or do you always reply them with due respect no matter what? Anger can turn into blasphemy when we get angry with God for our circumstances, and we start to profane the name of God. Do you blame or curse God for giving you such parents who always seem to want to know what you are up to, or do you always thank God for your parents in spite of their faults? Anger can turn into filthy language when you feel you need to express exactly how unhappy you are to those around you. Have you ever used swear words against your parents, or used such language when complaining about parents to your friends? Anger can finally tempt you to lie to others. Have you ever lied to parents just so that they will stop bothering you, or do you tell them the truth no matter what your punishment will be? How you think of parents is just one example of the danger of letting passions run riot over your life.

Thought: I must put these passions away before my Christian testimony is destroyed.
Prayer: May I be more like Christ, and less of myself.