Join us as we uncover the profound teachings of Colossians 3, reflecting on how to embody the qualities of kindness, humility, and forgiveness in daily life. Allen shares reflections from his Bible reading journals, illustrating how these timeless principles have shaped his faith and approach to life. Whether you’re seeking encouragement or practical tips for living a Christ-centered life, this episode offers valuable guidance for believers at any stage of their spiritual journey.
Welcome to AddBible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
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Today brings us to Colossians chapter 3. Listen to our guest reader Gwen Olson read the 25 verses of this chapter. Gwen is the one who edits, transcribes, and publishes every AddBible recording. She’s also the voice at the introduction of every recording. So let’s listen to Gwen on Colossians chapter 3.
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Colossians chapter 3. If, then, you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 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 and 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. 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 that the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged. Bond-servants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. for the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
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Back in 1986, when I was 31 years old, I read Colossians 3 in three days. So I started with the description of the first two verses of Colossians. Seek the things above, not the things of this world. On the next day, I read 3, 1 through 17, and I wrote a lot about this. I wrote, “‘Die and let life be hidden with Christ in you.'” Die to old self. Allow Jesus to renew a new man in me. Concerning verse 12, I wrote, put on a heart of compassion. Verse 14, put on love. Verse 15, let peace of Christ rule in your heart and be thankful. Verse 16, let the word richly dwell within you. Sing with thankfulness. Verse 17, whatever you do in work or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. And on the third day, I finished Colossians with verses 18 through the end. I wrote family guidance and referred to verses 23 and 24. Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men. And it is the Lord Christ whom you serve. At 41 years old in 1996, I read Colossians 3 and I wrote, set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth. Put on tender mercies and kindness. And at 51 years old in the year 2006, I wrote, I need this encouragement. Set your mind on the things above and not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. And I was referring to verses 2 and 3. Then I wrote, how should we Christians live? And I quoted verses 12 and 13. So as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so also you should forgive. That ends my journal entries, but let’s go back to that question I asked in 2006. How should we Christians live? Paul answers it in verse 2. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. In the next several verses, he makes a distinction between earthly things and godly things. He says, put to death what is earthly in you, such as sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk. Do not lie to one another. And put off the old self with its practices while putting on the new self. That’s a long list of what’s earthly. Let’s find out what is putting our minds on the things above. That list begins in verse 12. Compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other. putting on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts. So Paul makes a pretty clear distinction between the things above and not on the things that are earthly. How are you doing with all that? Where is your mind? If you have a Bible, go back through those lists and see where your attention focuses. Are you taking Paul’s advice to set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth? As a practical application from today’s lessons out of Colossians 3, just take one of the things that are putting our minds above and think about that thing today. Maybe it’s a compassionate heart. Maybe it’s kindness or humility or meekness or patience. Maybe it’s forgiveness. Maybe it’s putting on love. Or maybe it’s letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Or lastly, maybe it’s just being thankful. Pick one of those things and set your mind on that particular item today. Also, as you think about the activities of your day, think about verse 17. And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus. Is that how your day will go? Will you do everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus? Will you be an ambassador for Christ today? Why? Verse 23 says, Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men. knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Is that how you approach your day? Is that how you walk through your day? Will you do everything today heartily as for the Lord and not for men? For you are serving the Lord Christ. Father, thank you for the challenge today in Colossians chapter 3 to set our minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. Thanks for listing what is earthly and things that are above. Thanks for teaching us how to live life as a Christian. Holy Spirit, help us today to do everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus. Do everything heartily as for the Lord and not for men. Help us truly be ambassadors for Christ today. In the name of Jesus, we ask it. Amen. Thanks for listening to AddBible today. Across our listening audience, more and more of you are supporting AddBible by visiting our website at EzraProject.net and purchasing resources like Club 365 subscriptions, Bible reading journals, and one or more of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. We thank you so much and encourage more of you to do the same. These make great Christmas gifts for families and friends. It will encourage them to join you in Bible engagement in 2026. You will find helpful and inspiring tools to enhance your personal time in God’s Word. We have a few weeks left in 2025. Most people decide their Bible reading game plan for the new year in December. Today… I want to review a few tools you may want to consider for your reading plan in 2026 and share it with others. First, Club 365. This is a monthly subscription opening our vault of all AddBible audio recordings and all printed pages of the entire Day by Day Through the Bible devotional series. By joining Club 365 for only $7 a month, you have access to both audio and written information on all 66 books of the Bible. Club 365 is a goldmine, and it is completely flexible to your personal Bible reading plan. So if you are reading Matthew or Isaiah, Psalms or Revelation, you have access to audio or written comments, applications and prayers on any of them at your fingertips. Get Club 365 at EzraProject.net today like many others have. other tools are our bible reading journals we offer two one is a chronological bible reading journal that contains a daily bible reading plan chronologically you don’t have to buy a chronological bible just get our chronological bible reading journal it has over 200 pages so you can journal your way through the entire bible this book is our number one bestseller over the last two decades The other journal is called the Trio Journal because it has three annual Bible reading plans in it. A New Testament schedule, an Old Testament schedule, and if you do them both on the same day, a complete Bible reading plan for the year. We have limited supplies of the Trio Bible reading journal. The cool thing about our journals is they start when you start. Day one of the schedule is the day you start. Yes, it can be January 1, 2026, but you could start now if you want. Again, completely flexible to your Bible reading habits. Order your journals for just $9 at EzraProject.net, and we will ship it free. The other product is one of our day-by-day through the Bible devotional books. There are only 11, but they cover all 66 books of the Bible filled with comments about the passages, applications from the passages, and prayers related to the passages. Listeners are understanding Bible passages in a whole new way thanks to digging deeper with a day-by-day supplement to their daily devotions. You can find all 11 books on our website at EzraProject.net. They are available in print or digitally. Get ready for the new year by selecting your plan and ordering today at EzraProject.net. That’s all for today. Join me tomorrow for another chapter of AddBible. I know you’re going to enjoy it and want to share it with others.
