Colossians

Deny Yourself

October 16, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus said if anyone wants to follow Him, they must first deny themselves (Luke 9:23). What does it mean to deny yourself? It means you must deny your ego. You have been bought for a price, and your life no longer belongs to you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). You are a slave of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:22). How could you, a slave, think more highly of yourself than anyone else (Philippians 2:3-5)?

Young man contemplating what it means to deny yourself as he seeks the discipline to surrender his priorities and live with a commitment to discipleship without fear

You don’t have the right to make your own decisions, as every choice must now align with God’s will and His Word. As slaves of Christ, we are the lowest of the low, deserving of nothing, and any good that comes our way is only by the incredible grace of our Lord and King (Ephesians 2:8-9). We are nothing, but that’s okay, because He is everything!

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Speak Truth

October 9, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Why is it we humans are so good at lying? Okay, maybe we’re not all good at it, but we all do it. Perhaps we don’t think of it as lying, but I don’t think any are innocent of “stretching the truth”, “exaggerating the details”, or “fudging the numbers” at some point in our lives. Lying seems to be a human obsession. My hope is those who choose to recognize Jesus as Lord and accept His gift of new life will not be in the habit of lying.

two men who speak truth to one another shaking hands while exuding honesty and humility

As Christians, we must speak truth whenever we open our mouths. We do it because God commands it (Exodus 20:16) and because being truthful brings Him glory (Proverbs 12:22). God is not a man, and therefore He cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). If we are to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16), then truth is always the only option for us.

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Who Are You Living for Today?

October 2, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

The Apostle Paul instructs us to do everything in life to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Popular music and society tell you to live for yourself. Jesus was clear in teaching we cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), so we can’t adhere to both worldviews. Each of us will live for Jesus or we will live for ourselves, which means we will live for Satan and the things of this world.

young woman mulling the question of who are you living for today as she seeks to focus her priorities on her commitment to discipleship

There are stark differences between these choices, and there are dramatic differences in the end reality as well. You can either live for now and spend eternity in Hell, or live for eternity and spend it with Jesus. Who are you living for today — yourself or Christ?

Busy, Distracted, and Noisy

August 14, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Our lives are busy, distracted, and noisy. As long as this is the case, we will never experience what God intends for our lives to be. We will never experience what it is to be close to Him. To come to the full knowledge of God, our lives must revolve around nothing other than Him (Matthew 6:33). It is no small blessing that nothing on earth compares to the glory and majesty of Jesus because that means we can set our affections on the One more valuable and magnificent than any other (Colossians 3:1–2)!

Man drinking coffee, signing papers, and talking on the phone all at the same time because his life is busy, distracted, and noisy

If only we lived as if we believed this were true. Instead, we fill our minds with indecency, our ears with heresy, and our lives with irrelevancy (Philippians 4:8; 2 Timothy 4:3–4). We can not conceive of how much better our lives would be if we eschewed the fallen things of this world and lived lives devoted to the Savior of our souls.

Downplaying the Devil

August 11, 2025 by Tim Sherfy

Christians spend too much time downplaying the Devil. I’m sure you are familiar with the old adage, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” The typical response to hearing that is a smile and a knowing nod. Did you ever consider how ridiculous that statement is? Hell has no fury like a fallen human? Are we serious? It’s one more example of how flippant we can be when discussing things we should take with the utmost seriousness.

commitment,fear,focus,discipline,salvation,downplaying the devil

We’ve reduced the power of Satan to that of a byline or a joke. This is where it is typical for a writer to give the caveat of something like, “We have to be careful not to take this to extremes, or fall into legalism.” But you know what? I hate caveats. Truth is truth, and the fact it makes some uncomfortable is no reason to soften it. We need to treat the power of Satan and the power of God with the respect and trepidation both deserve.