Colossians 3:5-11 (NLT)
5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

In these verses the apostle Paul is encouraging the Colossians to mortify the sin that lives inside them. Paul lists out sins which he said brings God’s anger against the world. He encourages them to know God so they can be more like Him. And he wants them to put aside prejudices and judgments because Christ lives in all who have placed their faith in Him.

There are many people who have been on diet programs. One person may get motivated to loose weight; so they go out and buy the best exercise equipment. But instead of changing their old self they continue in their previous eating habits. Later the exercise equipment they purchased is just sitting there because they gave up hope. There are also people who know they must change themselves in order to loose weight. They understand they need to take on good habits and follow good plans that have been laid out for them. They understand the struggles of others and they encourage and motive each other by their positive attitude to change. As Christians we should be willing to throw off the old self and take on the new habits and practices that eliminate sin from our lives. We should be an encouragement to others with a positive attitude letting them know they can move forward in life too. Pray that God would help you see the areas of life you need to throw away and change. Pray that as God helps you with your struggles that you can help others with their struggles.