Kindness is the second "piece of clothing" we are given in our spiritual makeoever in our lives being made to look more like Jesus. We started with compassion, an emotion that motivates us to do something in the lives of those in need. Kindness is the action that compassion motivates us to. And while kindness may seem like an easy attribute to add to our lives, when we hear who Scripture encouragtes us to show kindness to and what that looks like, we might find that it a mroe difficult piece of clothing to wear than we might have imagined.

Once we have rid ourselves of our old life before we committed to following Jesus, He begins the process of making us over into His image. The first new piece of clothing in our wardrobe is compassion. What exactly is compassion and who are we suppossed to have this compassion for? As we look to Jesus as an example of compassion, we are also reminded of the compassion He has shown us and will always show us.

In coming to faith in God, we are being made over into a new person, recreated into the image of Jesus. As Paul has encouraged them to through away the old life, there is one last piece of old clothing to throw away: the way we see each other. When we se each other with worldly labels and divisions, it causes us to divide oursleves and diminishes our own value. But when we set our eyes on things above, we see that Christ is all that matters. And when all of us together focus on Him, the things we see in each other that seperate us won't be out focus any more.

When we accept the message of God's grace, it changes us. God changes us. He is constantly changing us into His image, shaping us and molding us to be more and more like Him every day. But before we begin this process of God making us new, we have to get rid of that old life that just doesn't fit anymore in a life with Christ. What "old clothes" do you need to throw out so God can clothe you with more of Himself?

There will always be storms that threaten our faith, storms we bring on ourselves or just never see coming. Being rooted in Christ is what gives us the strength to make it through those storms, but Paul is writing to the Colossians about something that threatens to wekaen them and uproot their faith. In listening to this threat to their faith, we are reminded of how rules and rituals and religion don't keep us strong or make us close to God but are ultimately being reliant upon ourselves which uproots our foundation in Christ. How do we remain rooted in Christ so that the coming storms don't wreck our faith?

Our relationship with Christ should be a constant cycle of change, of dying to our old selves and continuously being created to a new life. In writing to the Colossians, Paul is encouraging them to stay rooted in their faith in Christ in the midst of the storm of false teaching they are facing. It is being rooted in Jesus Christ that allows them to have the faith and strength to stand firm in the storms of life. Are you seeing the changes through the seasons and storms of your life that naturally occur when your roots are set in Jesus?

Who do you give you heart to? For whom would you struggle and suffer and go through great agony for? The apostle Paul writes of his suffering for the Colossians and as we look at what his suffering is, why he woudl endure this suffering, and how he is able to accomplish this difficult task, we are challenged with how we live for the people God gives us the opportunity to love and sacrifice for.

Our world is filled with "songs" that distract us, discourage us, and convince us to follow a path in life that only leads to damage and destruction. How do we avoid being pulled in and deceived by those "songs"? In Colossians 1, Paul writes of the one song that overcomes all the songs of this world - the song of the truth of Jesus Christ, of who He is and of what He has done for us. If we are continuously listening to that, it will overcome the noise of this world that leads us down the wrong paths.

When we call ourselves Christians, we represent Jesus to all the people in our lives. Does what you do and what you say and who you are offer the people in your life the right representation of who Jesus is? There are things in your life that threaten your ability to live that kind of life, but Paul reminds the Colossians here of what the kind of life that honors God and pleases Him. Are you seeking the knowledge of God's will through the deceptive voices of the world that allows you to live the kind fo life that God is calling you to live?

In Exodus 32 as Moses comes back down the mountain to see for himself what the people are doing, it starts a process of Moses confronting the sin taking place. In this process, we see 3 reactions. Some recognize the sin but continue to choose to live in a way that rebels against God. Some make excuses and try to blame others for their choices. And some choose to repent, to change, and to make a stand to fight forthe Lord. We all have sin in our lives that needs confronted. How will you choose to respond?