11-11-20

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
November 11, 2020
Scripture: Colossians 3:8-10
But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.

Thought for the Day: The church is currently collecting winter clothing and other items for the Hope Center of Houston. In the last seven months, most people have thought a lot less each morning about how they dress. “Should I actually put on pants or not,” has probably been asked in many households. Yet for those sharing in this devotional thought, the choice is not just between wearing pants or not, but also trying to choose from the multitude of pants we could wear. Yet our sisters and brothers who live on the streets of our city do not have such a luxury. Having even one pair of long pants might be considered lucky. We should be both thankful and mindful when we dress ourselves each morning. And if we are intentional in how we clothe ourselves in Christ Jesus, we will discover certain expectations for how we are to live our lives. Today is Veterans Day, and though I don’t know a specific number, I imagine many of those who the Hope Center of Houston serves are Veterans. I do not want to suggest that any group of people deserves homelessness less than another group. No human being should be living on the streets. Period! With that said, a couple of homeless veterans I have worked with over the years have been dealing with mental health issues, brokenness within their lives that was rooted in their military service. Houston, along with many other cities in our country, has done some really good work on confronting this problem. We cannot go backwards, and in fact, we need to take what has been learned and begin applying it on a much larger scale. For those who have been clothed in Christ, we are concerned about the daily needs of others, but also about finding more systemic change where everyone has shelter and clothing.

Prayer: Strip away what is not of you so that I might clothe myself with you, O Living Christ. Not only do I need your presence woven into my life, but so does the world around me. Amen.

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You can also watch the devotional here…

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