September 1 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Colossians 3:1-15:

¹If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
²Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
³For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
⁴When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
⁵Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
⁶For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
⁷In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
⁸But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
⁹Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
¹⁰And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
¹¹Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
¹²Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
¹³Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
¹⁴And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

Devotional

Believers realize that they have no abiding place here on earth, no continuing city, but they seek one to come. Even Abraham "sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country . . . for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." So all true believers lay hold in faith on the promises of God, "and confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth." This world is not their home, but their home is in heaven. Paul tells us, "Our conver­sation [citizenship or commonwealth] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." He died for us, and rose again and ascended into heaven, and so obtained for us a dwelling in heaven. God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us [made us alive] together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

This being the case, should we not set our mind on things above! Shall we not, "as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul." "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."

Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we would confess before Thee our earthly mindedness. The things of this world have such a great attraction for us. We are so earthbound. We are so prone to forget that we have brought nothing into this world, and can carry nothing out. Teach us to prize the heavenly things above everything else. May we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Make us more heavenly minded, and may we fully realize how rich we are in Christ Jesus. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

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Scripture in Devotional: Hab. 11:9, 10; 11:13; Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:4-6, 19; 1 Pet. 2:11; Col. 3:1.

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