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Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Colossians 3:11 I’ve previously discussed my evolving relationship with the Muslim population in our community, but I’ll outline it again for today’s blog. Briefly, we moved to West-central Minnesota in 2002, less than a…
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But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.…
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Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5 Several times in the Bible, we’re instructed to kill our evil, sinful behavior. I’ve always wondered what they meant, and I’ve often wished those passages would be a little more detailed in their…
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For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:3-4 My addiction didn’t happen all at once. Like any self-destructive, evil behavior, it started slowly. I didn’t just jump into the deep end. Rather,…
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If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:1-2 In my drug addiction, I made up my mind a thousand times to stop.…
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Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism . . . Colossians 2:16-18…
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You, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14 In my drug addiction, I…
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In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. Colossians…
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See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 There was a time when I’d have questioned the faith of anyone struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction. I knew that…
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Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him . . . Colossians 2:6 I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but I love hiking. I love being outdoors. I love the exercise. I love the scenery and the experience. The only thing better than hiking is hiking with my family, because I…
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