There are scenes in at least two spy movies, that I know of, showing the main character sneaking into someplace wearing a wet suit then once inside, taking off the wet suit revealing a tuxedo underneath, and the spy proceeds to blend into the fancy event.

Though farfetched, this is the image that comes to mind when I read the passage from Colossians 3:9-10 where Paul writes, “since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”

I like to envision that we take off our sinful self, and underneath lies our new self, that God sees as righteous because of the sacrifice made by Jesus to pay for our sins.

Dear Lord, It is only a result of the grace we receive through Jesus Christ that we are able to be seen as acceptable to God. Like peeling off an old outer layer, we can leave our sinful self behind and be made new. Lord we thank you for this grace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you have traveled internationally, to places where the primary language is not your primary language, you may have experienced the feeling of being a foreigner, in a place that was not your home.

This is how Jesus describes his followers, us, when he prays in John 17:16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.”

The closer we get to Jesus, the more we feel like strangers in our world, but the closer we feel to other believers and to our true homeland with Jesus.

Dear Lord, it is a joy to know we are citizens of your world. In Jesus name. Amen.

Many people grew up in Christian families, and carried on with their Christian lives from childhood into their adult lives. There are also many Christians who practiced different religions, were avowed atheists, or just didn’t think about God in their lives until God called them to his mission. Many of these conversions are amazing stories.

The most amazing conversion in the Bible is the apostle Paul, who turned from being the biggest persecutor of Christians, to the leading Evangelist in history and the author of much of the New Testament.

These conversions are not coincidences to God. Paul writes in Galatians 1:15-16, “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.”

Dear Lord, Thank you for being active in our world, calling and empowering people to bring your love and Salvation to others. Help us find your calling in our lives so that we may do our part. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have heard it said that there is really only one sin, and that is the sin of Pride. All others sins result from this one. Pride is the desire to satisfy our self-centered focus above all other things.

There is a difference between the pride of feeling good for accomplishing something, or the pride in the success of our friends and loved ones and Pride of superiority. The problem occurs when, like many good things, the pride it is distorted and becomes above everything including God.

Pride was the cause of Satan’s fall. He was originally one of the angels, Lucifer, star of the morning. Isaiah 12:13 says about him, “You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God” Ezekiel 28:17 writes about Satan, “Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. Your wisdom was corrupted by your love of splendor.”

We rationalize our sins when we put our love of ourselves, our pride, above God. “I want this or that,” gives us the reason, for greed, envy, lust, hate, etc.. Psalm 10:4 writes, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.”

I believe the antidote to this sinful pride is gratitude, or thankfulness. It is very difficult to be self-absorbed and be truly thankful at the same time; Particularly, we need to be thankful to God for all he has given us.

Dear Lord, everything good that we have comes from you. Help us remember to give our thanks to you for our success, intelligence, health, strength, family, friends and all good things, and protect us from the devils lure toward sinful pride. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I think most people have used a microscope at one point in life or another, high school science class, or maybe a birthday present as a child. One thing I remember about using a microscope was how important it was to have light on the specimen; a bright light pointing right on it. Without the light, you could not see any of the detail through the microscope.

In a similar way, Jesus says in John 3:19-21, “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

Jesus came into the world as the light of the world. Like the microscope, Jesus’ light exposes our sins, and shows us our need for forgiveness. The beautiful part is Jesus also forgives us of our sins when we repent, so that we can live our lives with the peace of knowing we will not face punishment for our sins. Jesus paid that price.

Dear Lord Jesus, expose our sins to us so that we might recognize and repent of them and become right with you. In your name we pray. Amen.