Sunday I attended Christ the Rock Community Church and as usual, Pastor Darrell was on fire for Jesus. The sermon was based on Colossians 3:12-13, but the overall message was about verse 13 and forgiveness.

Colossians 3:12 reads in the NIV Bible, “therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” In this verse the Apostle Paul writes that God wants us to clothe ourselves, or put on the attitude, behavior, etc. of being compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient. That is how we are to act. Last week Pastor Darrell discussed verse 8 & 9 which tells us to put off, remove from our behavior, attitude, etc. anger, wrath, malice, filthy communication (language) from our lips, and lying. Here our Lord is telling us through Paul’s letter how we are & aren’t suppose to act.

Verse 13 reads in the NIV, “bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”  That last part of verse 13 is straight to the point. We need to freely forgive others because our Lord freely forgave us. What did we need to do for Jesus to be sent by God our Father in heaven? Nothing; we weren’t even alive then, but God loved us so much He sent Jesus (His only begotten Son) so He could die on the cross (John 3:16) & rose on the third day so our sins can be forgiven and we can live in heaven. The first part of that verse takes out the , “what if someone did…” Why? The verse says we are to bear with each other and forgive any grievance. It doesn’t say any grievance except…

If you want, ask God to help you lead a Christian life. We need to forgive, be humble, compassionate, kind, etc.

Dear Father I Pray in the Name of Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to come and die on the cross so our sins can be forgiven. Thank You for loving us as much as you do. Please, throughout our everyday lives, when presented with the opportunity to be kind, gentle, humble, compassionate, patient, and forgiving to actually be kind, gentle, humble, compassionate, patient, and forgiving. Thank You Jesus. Your will be done Lord. In Jesus’ Name, I pray AMEN.

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