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Sunday, April 17, 2011

Where Are They When You Need Them? - Chapter 1

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Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

I love the analogy that Kelly uses of clothing our spiritual being with Christian virtues and I can totally relate to the statement on page 21: “I think I have plenty of each [Christian virtues] when I don’t need them. It is only when I am in the situation that I discover that the one I need is the one that I am short of.” When someone runs their fingers down the chalkboard of my life, I see that my closet is full of black short-tempered garments and greatly lacking the color and vibrancy of patience and gentleness.

How about you, can you relate to this struggle? Have you also found yourself lacking in one or more of the virtues from Colossian 3:12? Let’s remember to start where Kelly suggested, at the beginning, as God’s chosen people. You are chosen dear sister! God picked you to be on his team. He loves you and welcomes you with open arms, even when you find yourself falling far short of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, or patience.
The question for today’s discussion: What spoke to you most in Chapter 1? Please share your comments by clicking on the comments link related to this post. If you have a prayer request, you may indicate this by clicking on the prayer request box below the post. We might not know what your request is or who clicked the box, but God does, and he will be faithful to meet your need as we lift it to him in prayer.

6 comments:

Lisha said...

I was most moved by Kelly's statement on page 22. "See, we can't really get to the virtues in Scripture until we have a good handle on the truth that we have been chosen, made holy, and are dearly loved. If we take this introductory line away, we are left with a list of dos (cloth yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience...)without any context for them." I don't need any more lists of dos in my life. I have plenty of my own so this is a freeing concept to me. It's not about me measuring up to another bar that I will fall far short of. I'm looking forward to the delving further into this study.

Unknown said...

On page 22, Kelly states, "But leaving the old behind can be suprisingly liberating, because it leaves us poised to wear the virtues..." I loved this statement because it made me aware of the hope I have in Christ. It also reminded me of the ongoing deliverance the LORD offers. Though I have come a long way in my faith walk, at new situations and new turns in my life, I am made aware of the old that still dwells within me. Nevertheless, as I continue to grow in Christ and in my relationship with God, the old is being discarded and the new is being worn. It's a moment by moment renewal process. I love it!

Faith said...

I was also moved by Kelley's statement of the truth that we have been chosen, made holy, and are dearly loved. I praise God for that. My sister made a comment on facebook recently that I need to accept that I am good enough through the grace and righteousness that salvation brings through Jesus Christ. I have accepted it and am walking in it. I did always feel like I was never good enough even though I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior as a child and rededicated my life a few times since then as well. I just want to continue drawing nearer to the Lord and allowing Him to shape me and mold me to be more like Him and His will for this life he has created.

Patti said...

I was reminded of something I had read, written by a 13 year old boy, "Love is a verb", it is an "action" word. So are all these other virtues, we need to see them as "action" in our lives, living them out, using them, putting them to use, working them out, etc. I think that's when we take them from head knowledge to heart transformation.

diana cummins said...

Diana checking in

Lisha said...

So good to read everyone's comments. Keep on sharing ladies.