Colossians 3 Lesson

FOLLOWING JESUS AND NOT THE WORLD

What does it mean to, “Set your minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth?” (Colossians 3:2)

Simply put, it means to follow Jesus and not the world!    

In Colossians Chapter 3, the Apostle Paul lists ten things that followers of Jesus should notpartake in:

1. Immorality,
2. Passion,
3. Evil desire,
4. Greed,
5. Anger,
6. Wrath,
7. Malice,
8. Slander,
9. Abusive speech,
10. Lying.

These are the sins of the world, and they are not things that Christians should partake in.  

As Children of God, we have a higher calling.  

As Jesus’ disciples, our focus needs to be different than that of the world.

As Christians, we are to spend our time on earth doing two things:

1. Glorifying God,
2. Serving others.

Anything else is a distraction.

As Christians, we are supposed to demonstrate the following virtues:

• Compassion,
• Kindness,
• Humility,
• Gentleness,
• Patience,
• Forgiveness,
• Love.

WE NEED TO CHANGE WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE THINK

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:

• “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2.

What does the above scripture mean?  

In practical terms, it means that we are to stop doing a lot of the things that we used to do and align our behavior with God’s wishes.  

This means developing new habits fueled by a desire to glorify God and serve others.     

A transformation is a lot of little things, not one big thing. And the time for us to get right with God is now!

• “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – a Chinese proverb.

BEGINNING EACH DAY WITH A PRAYER

For starters, we can begin each day with a prayer.  

Maybe we have something that we want to thank God for?  

Or maybe we have something that has been worrying us and we want to ask for His help?  

Perhaps we have a big decision to make, and we want to pray for wisdom.

Starting off each day with a prayer sets the proper tone for the day, it pleases God, and it makes us feel great!

Being transformed means carving out time to pray. 

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

After we wake up and pray, many of us will review in our minds what we have planned for the upcoming day.  

This allows us to prioritize what we will do that day.

Being transformed means that scheduling time to be in God’s word is our priority.

Regular Bible study is critical if we want to make it to Heaven. It is one of five matters of salvation that are mentioned in the Bible.

GIVING THANKS

Another thing that we can do every day is to give thanks to God.

Even during our worst days, we have something to be thankful for.

We need to make sure that our thoughts and actions convey an attitude of gratitude towards God.  

Paul wrote in his first letter to the Thessalonians:  

• “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:18.    

BEING KIND

Kindness is contagious, and it is free!

It costs us nothing to be kind to people, and it can have a profound impact on their lives.

Kindness also has a ripple effect.

As others see our smiling faces and our humble demeanor, they are more inclined to smile and be humble themselves.  And this pleases God.

Every interaction that we have with a person is an opportunity for us to be kind to them. 

More importantly, kindness is a fantastic way to spread the Gospel!

Why?

Because when we are genuinely kind to people, they can sense our authenticity.

When they trust us and know that we are kind and gentle, they are more likely to share their testimony, and how they are doing in their Christian walk.

And this can lead to all kinds of good things, one of which is we may very possibly be presented with the perfect opportunity to share the right scripture at the right time with this person.

Theodore Roosevelt famously said:

• “People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

He was right!

The more we show kindness to others, the more opportunities we will be presented with to share the Gospel. And this brings glory to God.

And once people are presented with the Gospel, God can do incredible things!

• “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth .” – 1 Corinthians 3:6.

SERVING OTHERS

A transformation can be as easy as committing to doing at least one thing each day for someone else. Serving others makes us feel great and it shows others that we care.

It is also one of the best ways to evangelize.  

Acts of kindness bring people together in miraculous ways.

If we want to please God, we need to look for opportunities to serve others and not ourselves.

If we do, our reward in Heaven will be great!

• “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” -James 1:12.

Jesus said:

• “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” – Mathew 20:28.  

Jesus was always seeking out ways to serve others.   Shortly before His death, He washed the feet of His disciples.   They did not understand why Jesus, The Son of God, would do that.   Jesus explained it to them as follows:

• “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.  Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” – John 13:14-17.       

ENDING EACH DAY WITH A PRAYER

And the last thing that we can do each day to transform our lives is to end the day with a prayer.

If we begin each day with a prayer, and end each day with a prayer, we will be amazed at how God will work in our lives, and we will be transformed, spiritually.

God wants us to share what is on our minds and in our hearts.  

• “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears

and rescues them from all their troubles. ” -Psalm 34:17.

CONCLUSION

There are six things that we can do every day that will transform our lives:

1. Start every day with a prayer,
2. Set aside time to study the Bible every day,
3. Give thanks to God,
4. Be kind to others,
5. Serve others,
6. End our day with a prayer.

According to the book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey, it takes twenty-one days to make a habit.  

Why not start your transformation today?  

If Dr. Covey is right, in just three weeks, you will have developed habits that will transform your lives and feed your souls!

We will conclude today’s lesson with the following scripture taken from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Brothers and Sisters in Colossae:

• "Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth." – Colossians 3:2.