Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 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. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:5-11
Father God, this morning I ask for the strength and resolve to break from the sinful impulses of my past, embracing the new life that I have in Christ Jesus. LORD, I have the tendency to “play old tapes in my head”, acting out and living in a manner not befitting a child of God. Worse, however, is the fact that it is easy for me to refrain from some of the “major” sins, while allowing those hidden sins of the heart to go unchecked. As a result, I have a form of godliness seen on the outside but my actions in thought, word and deed deny the the transforming power of the Holy Spirit on the inside. Today, I ask that You would take control of my life. Open my eyes to those sinful behaviors that slip blow the radar, that often come disguised as acceptable. Remind me that You have removed the shackles that have controlled me, and I am free in Christ Jesus from the clutches of sin. Help me to honor You not just by who I do that can be seen by others, but also what I think on with my mind. Renew me today in the knowledge of Christ, that I might in all my ways acknowledge Him and His Lordship over my life to Your ultimate glory. I pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.