๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Have you ever won or lost a competition by a very small margin? What happened? How did you feel?
โข Share about something you learned to do after a long time of practice. How was that for you?
โข Have you ever tried very hard not to do something you should not do, but failed? In what ways did you try? What happened after you failed?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ช๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐, ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ญ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ.ย ๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ฏ
In this letter to the Colossians, Paul draws a clear line between who we were before our life with Christ, and who we are after. Before Christ, we were ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, and ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด. There was nothing we could do to change that. In Christ, we could now be presented ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด. However, life in Christ asks us to ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต. Today, letโs look at two truths that when understood and reflected on, will empower us to live lives that reflect Godโs holiness.
๐ญ. ๐๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐, ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐.ย ย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ . . .ย ๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ญ-๐ฎ๐ฎ
Truly, we were alienated from God and were His enemies because of sin. However, Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to God by offering Himself to die for our sins. Through faith in Him and in what He did, not only are we restored to a right relationship with God but we are also made holy, that is we are set apart for God Himself. This is our status or standing before God. How have you seen this truth affect your life?
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐.ย
. . . ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ง๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ, ๐ช๐ง ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐ข๐ด๐ต, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐, ๐๐ข๐ถ๐ญ, ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ข๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐ญ:๐ฎ๐ฎโ๐ฎ๐ฏ
Though believers in Jesus have been made holy, set apart for God, there are still many different aspects and things in our lives that are not Christlike and need to be set apart for God. We still struggle with sin. We still have many flaws and imperfections in our thoughts, words, and actions. The good news is that as we continually put our faith in Christ, God continuously works in us to make us more Christlike so that we can one day be presented to Him as holy and blameless. We will not only be holy in our standing before God but our lives will reflect Godโs holiness. What does it mean for you to ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ต๐ฉ?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Have you been made right with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Would you like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior by faith today?
โข How challenging would you say it is to obey God and live holy? How often do you find yourself attempting to obey or be holy through your own power? How could what weโve learned today help you?
โข To whom can you share the encouraging truth that Christโs work has provided a way to make those who put their faith in Him holy and that we can live in holiness through Him? Share your testimony and the gospel to this person this week.
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for making us holy through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thank Him for making a way for us to become close to Him again.
โข Pray for Christ to transform you as you follow Him and live in holiness by His power. Ask Him to give you a deeper understanding of who He is and His heart for the world.
โข Ask God for open doors to share Jesus with your family members and friends. Ask Him to give you the words to say as you preach the gospel and talk about Jesusโ work that makes those who believe in Him holy.