8/12/11  “The body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will appear once more in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.”  Benjamin Franklin   .

Col 3:5, 12-14 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. . . 12-14Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Do we understand the reality of what we gained when we accepted Christ’s sacrifice for us and His forgiveness of our sin? Do we understand that the power that raised Him from the dead also raised us from the dead through Him? And because we now live a life unto Christ our past, the good, the bad and the ugly is dead and buried. Whatever vice we entertained before He saved us, whatever sin we were enslaved to, is dead with our old self, our old nature. Habit and memory keep us from a full understand of these facts and often keep us from leaving the sins and thought habits behind. So we must put them to death. We have to make a conscious choice to be dead to sin until it is so natural that we don’t have to be conscious of it anymore. 

Leave dead stuff dead, choose life

Dead people don’t get drunk, they don’t lie or steal, and they don’t commit adultery or get addicted to pornography. Dead bodies don’t lust after other people’s husbands, wives or girlfriends; they don’t yearn for riches and things they cannot have and should not have. Dead people are dead, there is no fight to overcome sin, there is nothing to fight. This is why we are to put those past habits and sins to death; this is why we can put them to death. We make it so much harder than it has to be, because we use our own strength and understanding based on our past – the past that is dead. Yes, now you begin to see, dead people don’t have any strength to overcome sin, they don’t need it. But we who are alive in Christ are not dependent on our own strength; we are dependent on the strength and wisdom of God.

Therefore get up and get dressed. Don’t bother with the old, worn, torn rags of the old life, the burial shroud of your past; no clothe yourself with the realities of God’s Spirit living in you and the new nature you have been given. Put on the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience of Christ – not your best “Sunday-go-to-meetin” clothes of your good works – rather take up the attributes that come into your life and thinking because you are putting on Christ Himself. And with these new clothes put on forgiveness and love, robes that will bring you to the very gates of Heaven. What not to wear? Sin and the comfortable, dowdy life you lived when you were dead in sin, with no challenges and no hope. What to wear? The perfectly matched outfit of Christ’s life in you, complete with power, wisdom and armor fitted for your new life.

Read Col 3 click on http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=col%203&version=NASB

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Deut 28:1-10 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

God’s intention was to bless Israel. He intended it from the day He called Abram to leave his home and follow the Lord. He had been teaching them about Him and who He was all along so that they would willingly choose to follow and obey Him for themselves. He had never been been shy about letting them know they were a chosen people. He had proven it to them again and again. Blessings and abundance beyond what had been seen it the world was to be theirs, if only they would take their stand and live as people of God.

Blessed in the places they would live, wherever they chose to make their home. Blessed with the fruit of the seed they planted, whether that was children, crops or livestock. Not only the sowing would be blessed with harvest but the harvesting itself would bring more blessing. Bringing in the grain, preparing it, baking it – all of life was to be blessed. Everything from the sacrifices made at the temple to the food they put on the table was to be brought into the realm of God’s oversight and blessing. There was no part of life He did not want to be a part of, no part of life He did not want to bless them in.

Established as a holy people they would live under the abundant hand of God. Their enemies would fear them for His sake. Their enemies would flee before them simply because the reputation of God would go before them, cover them, protect them and empower them. This is the life God wants us, His people today, to live in. To find ourselves blessed in every aspect of life. To not separate our lives into the Sunday choices and then the Monday through Saturday choices and responsibilities. God wants to bless us every day and through us, bless all He puts into our hands. Do you believe this? Can you believe that you are the focus of His blessings? Will you believe? Lead us on oh Lord, lead us on.

Read Deut 28 click on http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=dt%2028&version=NIV