Colossians 3:12-15 - The Umpire of our Hearts

Today, Sunday June 13 The Umpire in our Hearts Colossians 3:12-15 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. If we are not careful, we can fall into the trap of fighting with the darkness and never really accomplish those things which will make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Remember we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. The Scripture also says, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.” (Proverbs 4:19) Especially in our world today, it appears that the vain and empty philosophies of man have taken over in almost every area of our culture. Our task is not to fight with these dear people, remembering that they might be sincere in thinking they have the answers to humanities problems. But actually, they are in the darkness of sin, under the control of the Evil One and they have no clue what they are doing! We get agitated and upset at these people when we should really be praying for ourselves to become the “light” in the midst of the great darkness. I’m convinced that if we as followers of Jesus Christ would begin to practice the verses we have before us today, the world around us would begin to see the glory of God and desire and be willing to repent and accept the great salvation that God has made available for everyone! The “peace of God ruling in our hearts” means that it has become like an “umpire” (rule) as we encounter the issues that come into our lives every day. When we are feeding on God’s Word and worshiping Christ in Christian fellowship we are “safe”, secure and have peace. But if we begin to feel fear, worry, bitterness, a critical and judgmental spirit, we will lose the “peace of God.” He will call begin to call strikes and eventually call us “out”. We should ask the Lord to forgive us and then forgive one another and “put on love” which will bring us back together in “perfect harmony.” Oh! May the Lord make this happen in our fellowship with other believers today! God bless!