Colossians 3 v 12 - 17

Becoming a Christian brings us freedom to grow into Christlikeness. Before we accepted Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, our attempts at goodness were constantly stymied by our sinful nature-that is, given a good choice and a bad choice, we generally chose the bad choice, despite sometimes knowing clearly that it was bad! Paul reverts to the image of dressing: in the morning, you will generally dress yourself in clothes which make you look nice if you know you will be meeting other people. Paul urges his readers to clothe themselves in Christlike behaviour and character: kindness, humility, patience, gentleness, tender-hearted mercy, a forgiving spirit and most of all ,love. Some of those clothes may be harder to put on than others; many of us find patience difficult. We should actively seek to bless others, to recognise that when we meet as a Christian fellowship, we are all pointing in the same direction. Yes there may be discussion about slightly varying points of view, but we are not to be in opposition to each other, because we are all seeking to know God more and to become more like Jesus. Teach each other, support each other (and I've heard so many stories about you doing that in Bearfield!), sing to God with THANKFUL hearts-let that singing come from a heart of gratitude. Constantly seek to grow so that Jesus Christ become more and more your all-in-all. We can never reach the end of that goal. Just as Jesus became perfect-complete-through what He suffered (Hebrews 2 v 10 NIV), even though He was always perfect, so we are seeking to be complete, to experience absolute fulfilment through the love of Jesus, above all else. May God bless you on your journey today!