Wednesday, November 19, 2008
In truth, the word of God
Skeptics. Skeptical. Skepticism.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary.
skeptic also sceptic (skèp´tîk) noun
1. One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.
2. One inclined to skepticism in religious matters.
3. Philosophy. a. Often Skeptic . An adherent of a school of skepticism. b. Skeptic. A member of an ancient Greek school of skepticism, especially that of Pyrrho of Elis (360?-272? B.C.).
One who instinctively or habitually doubts...questions...or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.
Do you fall into this category? Are you a skeptic? Do you or others consider you a skeptic? Is it good to be skeptical? Habitually doubting and disagreeing with generally accepted conclusions? A skeptic might doubt the believability of God, while the majority of people in the world believe that He exists and is in charge of things.
Is it safe to say there are more skeptics when it comes to believing in God, or more when it comes to believing Jesus is God's only son, that He was made man and dwelt among us and died for us, only to rise again and live for us?
I believe there are a lot more skeptics when it comes to Jesus. You've the entire Allah worshipping community that only believe that Jesus was a good prophet, not God's Son as well as the entire Jewish community, not to mention the many religions that worship nature as if it created itself, pagans and such as a religion the majority while accepting the validity of God they reject His Son.
Back when Jesus lived among people before His death He did many, many miracles of the like the world had NEVER seen. He did it taking no glory to himself but giving it all to God, His Father. Jesus didn't come to earth to be an earthly King and to be worshipped in the way man tends to worship their earthly kings. He didn't come seeking accolades and blind worship, worship without knowing who exactly you were worshipping. Earthly kings tended to glory in others worshipping them, showing them obeisance, they took accolade after accolade as something worthy of them, something due to them. Jesus gave all the glory to God, all of it.
Not unsurprising, Jesus was put to death, condemned by important religious and secular leaders of the day, allowed to die even though He boasted nothing of Himself, nothing. He was a quiet threat to them because while He didn't seek the worship, others wanted to give it to Him, others were building Him up because of their witness of Him, because of their belief in Him and their belief in His amazing claim to be the Son of God. If He weren't crazy and ready to be locked up in a room with padded walls (uhm did they even have those sorts of rooms? Probably not.) If He weren't ostracized as a lunatic claiming sonship with God, if He weren't accused of being totally mad and deserving more of the care they gave to lunatic, then they had to believe in His claim enough to be scared of its validity. They had to believe just enough that what Jesus claimed might be true and therefore they had to get rid of Him to prove Him a liar. Crazy people can't admit to their craziness, delusional people under the control of the delusions cannot admit to their craziness, how can they? The very face they believe their delusions makes them crazy. So the only way this crazy man thinking He's God's Son could be a threat is if people BELIEVED Him to be what He said He was. Enough people believed that His followers grew in numbers. As He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey he was herald befitting a king! If he quieted the crowd honoring Him even the rocks would have cried out. It was time for the revelations to be made fully and while a lot of people believed, a lot in the high places didn't. The realization to those skeptics wasn't that God's Son was truly among them, but that a MAN claiming to be God's Son and FOOLING many people had gained too large a following, so large it was threatening their authority. Oh yes, the authority God placed on them as priests and such. If a Messiah was going to come, if the Son of God really were going to grace earth with His presence He come from the priests themselves, the priests would have a hand in His arrival and in His upbringing, in His existence. They surely wouldn't be left in the dark about a Son of God, what a claim to glory-- for THEM.
Jesus, Son of God, took no glory to Himself but gave it all to God, the Father.
Listen to this...
1 Thess.
{2:13} For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
*
Beautiful isn't it? Read it again.
1 Thess.
{2:13} For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
*
Thanking God without ceasing...why?
Because when the word of God was spoken by them, people heard it and didn't believe it came from man, but of God.
What was that we said earlier-- many people in the world believe Jesus was a good man, a good prophet, but not God's Son, it's true, that's what they believe, really, really believe.
They believed what He said and did was good, but NOT the word of God. They liked what they heard, but gave no power to the words spoken. Powerless words, nice to hear but beyond that they mean little. Good ideas perhaps, a good philosophy but man's philosophy not God's.
Is it any wonder that thanks without ceasing is made when people truly believe? When people believe with their hearts and their minds, truly believe the word they receive is of God how could they not be affected? How could it not be counted towards them as something wonderful. Believing and claiming all the power that God has in the words He's spoken, means claiming the Truth, validating the truth.
In truth the word of God.
Not the word of mere man. Not the word of a very good man. Not the word of the greatest orator, the greatest humanitarian solely a man.
In truth the word of God.
We can take what men say with a grain of salt, but the word of God is something we need to holdfast to, something we need to believe in wholeheartedly.
1 Thess.
{2:13} For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
There is power in the word of God, great power to save, but the power isn't forced on anyone, it must be believed.
Glory be to God! Glory be to the Father and to the Son!
All glory to God and God alone, now and forever. May the power of God in each word of His continue to forever be effective towards those that would believe.
Amen.
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”- Psalm 1:1-2
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages...
Colossians
{1:18} And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
**
Christ, our Lord and Savior, the head of the body. We all know that without a head a person dies. You can lose so much but there are a few vital things you can't lose and still live. You can lose a finger, a hand, an arm, a toe, a foot, a leg, and you can lose a few internal organs as well and still live. Without the head the body is dead, and vice versa, without a body the head is dead.
Christ is the head of the body which is His Church, His people. Christ had no reason to take on the flesh of man, to consign himself to being crucified, he had no reason to die for save He did so for us. Without having a people on earth, without having those who would truly believe and have faith in Him, there was no reason for him to exist in human form. He did what he did for us, out of love.
We as children of God need Christ first and foremost as the head of the body if we're to live.
{1:18} And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The firstborn from the dead.
People who believe you did and go straight to heaven or to hell as it were, how do they reconcile this statement truly? Christ is the firstborn from the dead. Christ alone lived after the weight of all the sin in existence was placed upon him and he prevailed by faith in His Father to save Him, even when He was totally shut off from the contact He had with His Father. Sin separates us from God and dying not only physically, but dying from taking on sin and separating Himself from God made Christ Jesus the firstborn from the dead. He died sinless for us, willing to take on our sins and die for us. He overcame sin and yet allowed our sins to be placed upon Him. He lost all life and was cut off in death, for three days he lay in the grave, for three days He didn't live again. There was no instantaneous separation that sent Him flying off to heaven. Death isn't like that, not for Jesus the firstborn from the dead, nor for any of us.
{1:19} For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell
**
It pleased God, Jesus' Father that Christ should have all the fulness of humanity, that He should take on human form, that He should live by faith in Him and that He should die sinless to save the sinners. This was God's will.
{1:20} And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
**
All things in heaven and on earth, all things the human, the angelic, all things would be reconciled to Christ. When sin began it was with an angel, one-third of the angels rebelled and followed Lucifer united against God. It seems only right that Christ would be able to reconcile even angels. Doesn't the Bible say we shall judge angels?
1 Corinthians {6:3} Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
Yes, Christ died for us, Christ died and paved the way for true, everlasting peace to exist. Christ reconciled ALL things to Himself.
{1:21} And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
**
Wicked works separate us from God. People don't seem to understand that fully. Sin separates us from God and a way to be reconciled with God had to be made and that way was and is Christ.
{1:22} In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight
{1:23} If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister
**
Through Christ's sacrifice we alone can be presented blameless and unreprovable- it's something we need to live daily! Live daily renewing the precious promises we have been given by Jesus for salvation.
What is said here? If ye continue... IF ye continue... IF, meaning we have a choice to make and the choice has to be made constantly as we continue in the faith.
If ye continue in the faith.
Grounded and settled.
Be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.
Faith, hope, truth, gospel.
We cannot be moved from this hope of Christ crucified and risen.
It's when the hope is taken from us that we are left in darkness, hopeless.
Everyone has access to the hope found in Christ, everyone.
{1:24} Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
{1:25} Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
{1:26} Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints
{1:27} To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
{1:28} Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus
{1:29} Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
**
Amazing isn't it? The dedication, the importance placed up all things Christ.
The mystery that was hidden now revealed.
The promise for thousands of years hoped for, finally obtained. The wonder that is salvation through Jesus Christ, son of God. Christ in us is our hope of glory.
Preach to others, warn others, teach others these things are so necessary because the mystery is uncovered and a secret no longer. Redemption is through the blood of the Lamb, our Savior Jesus Christ died for us to obtain salvation in Him, through Him we are to be reconciled with God our Heavenly Father.
We seek the truth of life, we seek hope, we strive to find something to make life all meaningful and not a pointless existence. We realize that no matter what achievements we make that they mean nothing without Christ, without being reconciled any victory we claim is hollow, empty, and meaningless. Christ is our hope, our everlasting hope! May we all cling to the hope found only in Jesus.
Amen.
{1:18} And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
**
Christ, our Lord and Savior, the head of the body. We all know that without a head a person dies. You can lose so much but there are a few vital things you can't lose and still live. You can lose a finger, a hand, an arm, a toe, a foot, a leg, and you can lose a few internal organs as well and still live. Without the head the body is dead, and vice versa, without a body the head is dead.
Christ is the head of the body which is His Church, His people. Christ had no reason to take on the flesh of man, to consign himself to being crucified, he had no reason to die for save He did so for us. Without having a people on earth, without having those who would truly believe and have faith in Him, there was no reason for him to exist in human form. He did what he did for us, out of love.
We as children of God need Christ first and foremost as the head of the body if we're to live.
{1:18} And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
The firstborn from the dead.
People who believe you did and go straight to heaven or to hell as it were, how do they reconcile this statement truly? Christ is the firstborn from the dead. Christ alone lived after the weight of all the sin in existence was placed upon him and he prevailed by faith in His Father to save Him, even when He was totally shut off from the contact He had with His Father. Sin separates us from God and dying not only physically, but dying from taking on sin and separating Himself from God made Christ Jesus the firstborn from the dead. He died sinless for us, willing to take on our sins and die for us. He overcame sin and yet allowed our sins to be placed upon Him. He lost all life and was cut off in death, for three days he lay in the grave, for three days He didn't live again. There was no instantaneous separation that sent Him flying off to heaven. Death isn't like that, not for Jesus the firstborn from the dead, nor for any of us.
{1:19} For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell
**
It pleased God, Jesus' Father that Christ should have all the fulness of humanity, that He should take on human form, that He should live by faith in Him and that He should die sinless to save the sinners. This was God's will.
{1:20} And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
**
All things in heaven and on earth, all things the human, the angelic, all things would be reconciled to Christ. When sin began it was with an angel, one-third of the angels rebelled and followed Lucifer united against God. It seems only right that Christ would be able to reconcile even angels. Doesn't the Bible say we shall judge angels?
1 Corinthians {6:3} Know ye not that we shall judge angels?
Yes, Christ died for us, Christ died and paved the way for true, everlasting peace to exist. Christ reconciled ALL things to Himself.
{1:21} And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
**
Wicked works separate us from God. People don't seem to understand that fully. Sin separates us from God and a way to be reconciled with God had to be made and that way was and is Christ.
{1:22} In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight
{1:23} If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister
**
Through Christ's sacrifice we alone can be presented blameless and unreprovable- it's something we need to live daily! Live daily renewing the precious promises we have been given by Jesus for salvation.
What is said here? If ye continue... IF ye continue... IF, meaning we have a choice to make and the choice has to be made constantly as we continue in the faith.
If ye continue in the faith.
Grounded and settled.
Be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.
Faith, hope, truth, gospel.
We cannot be moved from this hope of Christ crucified and risen.
It's when the hope is taken from us that we are left in darkness, hopeless.
Everyone has access to the hope found in Christ, everyone.
{1:24} Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
{1:25} Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
{1:26} Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints
{1:27} To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory
{1:28} Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus
{1:29} Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.
**
Amazing isn't it? The dedication, the importance placed up all things Christ.
The mystery that was hidden now revealed.
The promise for thousands of years hoped for, finally obtained. The wonder that is salvation through Jesus Christ, son of God. Christ in us is our hope of glory.
Preach to others, warn others, teach others these things are so necessary because the mystery is uncovered and a secret no longer. Redemption is through the blood of the Lamb, our Savior Jesus Christ died for us to obtain salvation in Him, through Him we are to be reconciled with God our Heavenly Father.
We seek the truth of life, we seek hope, we strive to find something to make life all meaningful and not a pointless existence. We realize that no matter what achievements we make that they mean nothing without Christ, without being reconciled any victory we claim is hollow, empty, and meaningless. Christ is our hope, our everlasting hope! May we all cling to the hope found only in Jesus.
Amen.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Giving thanks unto the Father
Colossians
{1:12} Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
{1:13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son
{1:14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
{1:15} Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
{1:16} For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him
{1:17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
**
With Thanksgiving just around the corner this is something that is very pertinent. Giving thanks.
When you thank someone (not being sarcastic) it's a genuine feeling of gratitude isn't it? An appreciation of something they've done, something they've said. An act of kindness usually precedes a thank you, and sometimes a thank you come beforehand in anticipation of a forthcoming kindness. You done it haven't you? Asked someone to do you a favor and thanked him or her before the favor is done. You're thanking them in anticipation of the act being done. More often than not though, we thank people after they've helped us out. Can you remember the last time you thanked someone? I do. Last night and I believe it was Matthew for taking the Garbage out to the curb. What about the last time you were thanked? I believe Jo thanked me for giving her money for a treat after school, last night. In both cases there were acts precipitating the thanking.
There are a lot of things we need to be thankful for, a lot. The most important thank you should go to God, the Father.
Just as an Oscar award winner stands up and says-- 'I'd like to thank my father without whom I'd never have come this far.' We need to thank our Heavenly Father because with Him we would never be partakers in the inheritance to come. The Bible says so...
Colossians
{1:12} Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
{1:13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son
{1:14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
**
Here mixed up in this thankful moment are bits of both types of thanking- after the act of kindness and before the act of kindness.
We thank God because the way to Him has been forged. We thank God because we know He'll keep His promises for the future when we are translated to the kingdom of Jesus.
The way is forged and there is nothing that can change that at all whatsoever. The promises to us are very real.
We talk about the powers of darkness dragging us down, but we can thank God for delivering us from that power of darkness. We have hope, great hope and that has been made possible through the Son of God. It's through Christ's blood we are redeemed, it's through Christ's blood we have our sins forgiven.
Christ by whom all things are possible-
{1:15} Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
{1:16} For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him
{1:17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Amazing isn't it! Truly amazing. We weren't created and left to flounder. We were created and loved. We were created, watched over, and when we chose wrong a way was made for us to find redemption.
No matter what our circumstances on earth, and some truly have circumstances we find hard to comprehend, we all have Christ in common. From the richest to the poorest, from the healthiest to the sickest, we have our Creator, our Redeemer to look to for hope, for salvation, for a new life, for a future kindness. We thank God the Father for the Son. We thank the Son for revealing the Father's love and offering us hope through His great sacrifice. We thank the Holy Spirit, the comforter sent to us while we make our way through the time we must spend here on earth waiting for the promise to come when Christ returns.
There is so much for us to be thankful for, but first and foremost, God. God who offers us the greatest hope of all through His son, in offering us a life without the sin that brings so many so much heartache and pain.
Our hope is in Heaven.
Our hope born of the blood of the Lamb.
Our hope is grasped onto now tightly, and our hope will be realized.
Thank you God for all You've done, for creation, for redemption, for hope when the powers of darkness would have us to believe life is hopeless.
Amen.
{1:12} Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
{1:13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son
{1:14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
{1:15} Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
{1:16} For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him
{1:17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
**
With Thanksgiving just around the corner this is something that is very pertinent. Giving thanks.
When you thank someone (not being sarcastic) it's a genuine feeling of gratitude isn't it? An appreciation of something they've done, something they've said. An act of kindness usually precedes a thank you, and sometimes a thank you come beforehand in anticipation of a forthcoming kindness. You done it haven't you? Asked someone to do you a favor and thanked him or her before the favor is done. You're thanking them in anticipation of the act being done. More often than not though, we thank people after they've helped us out. Can you remember the last time you thanked someone? I do. Last night and I believe it was Matthew for taking the Garbage out to the curb. What about the last time you were thanked? I believe Jo thanked me for giving her money for a treat after school, last night. In both cases there were acts precipitating the thanking.
There are a lot of things we need to be thankful for, a lot. The most important thank you should go to God, the Father.
Just as an Oscar award winner stands up and says-- 'I'd like to thank my father without whom I'd never have come this far.' We need to thank our Heavenly Father because with Him we would never be partakers in the inheritance to come. The Bible says so...
Colossians
{1:12} Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light
{1:13} Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son
{1:14} In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
**
Here mixed up in this thankful moment are bits of both types of thanking- after the act of kindness and before the act of kindness.
We thank God because the way to Him has been forged. We thank God because we know He'll keep His promises for the future when we are translated to the kingdom of Jesus.
The way is forged and there is nothing that can change that at all whatsoever. The promises to us are very real.
We talk about the powers of darkness dragging us down, but we can thank God for delivering us from that power of darkness. We have hope, great hope and that has been made possible through the Son of God. It's through Christ's blood we are redeemed, it's through Christ's blood we have our sins forgiven.
Christ by whom all things are possible-
{1:15} Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature
{1:16} For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him
{1:17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Amazing isn't it! Truly amazing. We weren't created and left to flounder. We were created and loved. We were created, watched over, and when we chose wrong a way was made for us to find redemption.
No matter what our circumstances on earth, and some truly have circumstances we find hard to comprehend, we all have Christ in common. From the richest to the poorest, from the healthiest to the sickest, we have our Creator, our Redeemer to look to for hope, for salvation, for a new life, for a future kindness. We thank God the Father for the Son. We thank the Son for revealing the Father's love and offering us hope through His great sacrifice. We thank the Holy Spirit, the comforter sent to us while we make our way through the time we must spend here on earth waiting for the promise to come when Christ returns.
There is so much for us to be thankful for, but first and foremost, God. God who offers us the greatest hope of all through His son, in offering us a life without the sin that brings so many so much heartache and pain.
Our hope is in Heaven.
Our hope born of the blood of the Lamb.
Our hope is grasped onto now tightly, and our hope will be realized.
Thank you God for all You've done, for creation, for redemption, for hope when the powers of darkness would have us to believe life is hopeless.
Amen.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Strengthen with patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.
Colossians
{1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
{1:2} To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
{1:3} We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
{1:4} Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
{1:5} For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
{1:6} Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth:
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
***
{1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Amazing isn't it? Strengthened with all might- according to HIS glorious power-- not physically. We think strengethening with all our might as being physically powerful. Using all our might to commit tasks, to endure and yet here Paul is praying for those saints, those believers at Colosse, wanting them to be strengthened with all might according to Jesus' glorious power unto ALL patiences and longsuffering with joyfulness.
Let me tell you having such a strength is very rare. Very rare.
We don't have patience, we are filled with impatience, filled to the brim with it. Our lives are focused on here now, getting what we want as soon as we can with the least delay. We have a desire and we want it filled instantly. Fast food, fast check outs, fast commutes, fast service, fast work days, fast falling in love, fast waits for every situation the faster the better. When it's time to relax we cut back on that *fast desire* a little bit wanting our leisure time to be prolonged- however during that leisure time we want our comforts quickly. We want our pizza delivery in 30 minutes or less, we want commercials on our television to speed through the less the better, we want any home chores needed to be done on our days off to go very quickly. Interrupted by another we want the interruption to quickly be over- precious time is a wasting.
Patience.
Strengthened with all might - unto all patience (according to Jesus' power).
Strengthened not just a little bit but with ALL might! Unto patience.
Why would the followers of Jesus need to have such patience? Maybe because when people don't see end results instantly they lose sight of their goal, they grow bored, they grow disillusioned, they stray. Just because the life of those living back 2000 years was totally different than our lives today doesn't mean they were any less impatient for their lives to be freed from the burdens they were under and Christ to return to save them. Today and for the last 2000 years Christians have been looking for the promised return of Christ. Some might call Christians crazy disillusioned fools to hold fast to this hope for so long! 2000 years! Fools? Well, some might say definitely, that sooner or later people need to give up hope, if He's not returned after 2000 years what would make people believe He'll ever return?
Faith.
Christians have faith and no wonder Paul used those words- Strengthened with all might....ALL MIGHT...according to HIS glorious power until ALL PATIENCE!
Such patience is needed for Christians, all Christians. If we are strong in patience then we're not going to be like those who say--
'Matthew
{24:42} Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
{24:43} But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
{24:44} Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
{24:45} Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
{24:46} Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
{24:47} Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
{24:48} But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
{24:49} And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
{24:50} The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him,] and in an hour that he is not aware of
{24:51} And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Evil servants say in their heart- the Lord delays his coming and as a result no longer walks upright.
Patience. We have to have patience. Christ will return and Christ will strengthen His saints with all might in that patience and not only in patience but in -- {1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness
Longsuffering with joyfulness!
Did you read that?! Read it again.
Longsuffering with joyfulness!
We don't suffer with joyfulness, why it's absurd! Only those amazingly heroic people perhaps with some terminal illness somehow manage to suffer and be happy. These people write uplifting books for others suffering. These people are pointed out and put on the news specials and documentary, people exclaim and marvel over the ability of the few to suffer with joyfulness. On a tv show called HOUSE- about a very caustic brilliant doctor- there was a show about his disbelief that a patient could be happy all the time regardless of circumstance and you know what, he was proven right- the person in question had a medical condition that made him happy all the time. I don't recall the details but suffering with joyfulness is an oddity really.
Yes, people suffer all the time, all the time. Each person has their own unique suffering. What might be painful to you either emotionally or physically, might not be so to me, but that doesn't make your pain any less and vice versa.
We suffer in many ways and Jesus is there to strengthen us.
Paul is praying that Jesus will strengthen us with all might according to His glorious power unto all patience and LONGSUFFERING WITH JOYFULNESS.
Strengthen with patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.
Truly it's amazing when we can suffer with joy.
We will suffer, we will be tempted towards impatience. There is no wonder that Paul would pray such a prayer.
May Paul's prayer for the saints at Colosse be our prayer today.
Colossians {1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.
We need this! We need strength now more than ever 2000 years later. We need strong patience and we need the ability to suffer with joyfulness and not give in to our suffering which is so easy to do. We suffer and we want sympathy, we suffer and we want to cry and wail. We suffer and want others to suffer with us, or at least give us a lot of sympathy, suffering with a smile isn't something we're prone to doing. We need the Strength of Christ in all might to live lives acceptable unto him now and always.
By His grace, by His mercy.
Amen.
{1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
{1:2} To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
{1:3} We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
{1:4} Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
{1:5} For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
{1:6} Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth:
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
***
{1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
Amazing isn't it? Strengthened with all might- according to HIS glorious power-- not physically. We think strengethening with all our might as being physically powerful. Using all our might to commit tasks, to endure and yet here Paul is praying for those saints, those believers at Colosse, wanting them to be strengthened with all might according to Jesus' glorious power unto ALL patiences and longsuffering with joyfulness.
Let me tell you having such a strength is very rare. Very rare.
We don't have patience, we are filled with impatience, filled to the brim with it. Our lives are focused on here now, getting what we want as soon as we can with the least delay. We have a desire and we want it filled instantly. Fast food, fast check outs, fast commutes, fast service, fast work days, fast falling in love, fast waits for every situation the faster the better. When it's time to relax we cut back on that *fast desire* a little bit wanting our leisure time to be prolonged- however during that leisure time we want our comforts quickly. We want our pizza delivery in 30 minutes or less, we want commercials on our television to speed through the less the better, we want any home chores needed to be done on our days off to go very quickly. Interrupted by another we want the interruption to quickly be over- precious time is a wasting.
Patience.
Strengthened with all might - unto all patience (according to Jesus' power).
Strengthened not just a little bit but with ALL might! Unto patience.
Why would the followers of Jesus need to have such patience? Maybe because when people don't see end results instantly they lose sight of their goal, they grow bored, they grow disillusioned, they stray. Just because the life of those living back 2000 years was totally different than our lives today doesn't mean they were any less impatient for their lives to be freed from the burdens they were under and Christ to return to save them. Today and for the last 2000 years Christians have been looking for the promised return of Christ. Some might call Christians crazy disillusioned fools to hold fast to this hope for so long! 2000 years! Fools? Well, some might say definitely, that sooner or later people need to give up hope, if He's not returned after 2000 years what would make people believe He'll ever return?
Faith.
Christians have faith and no wonder Paul used those words- Strengthened with all might....ALL MIGHT...according to HIS glorious power until ALL PATIENCE!
Such patience is needed for Christians, all Christians. If we are strong in patience then we're not going to be like those who say--
'Matthew
{24:42} Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
{24:43} But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
{24:44} Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
{24:45} Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
{24:46} Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
{24:47} Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
{24:48} But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
{24:49} And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
{24:50} The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him,] and in an hour that he is not aware of
{24:51} And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Evil servants say in their heart- the Lord delays his coming and as a result no longer walks upright.
Patience. We have to have patience. Christ will return and Christ will strengthen His saints with all might in that patience and not only in patience but in -- {1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness
Longsuffering with joyfulness!
Did you read that?! Read it again.
Longsuffering with joyfulness!
We don't suffer with joyfulness, why it's absurd! Only those amazingly heroic people perhaps with some terminal illness somehow manage to suffer and be happy. These people write uplifting books for others suffering. These people are pointed out and put on the news specials and documentary, people exclaim and marvel over the ability of the few to suffer with joyfulness. On a tv show called HOUSE- about a very caustic brilliant doctor- there was a show about his disbelief that a patient could be happy all the time regardless of circumstance and you know what, he was proven right- the person in question had a medical condition that made him happy all the time. I don't recall the details but suffering with joyfulness is an oddity really.
Yes, people suffer all the time, all the time. Each person has their own unique suffering. What might be painful to you either emotionally or physically, might not be so to me, but that doesn't make your pain any less and vice versa.
We suffer in many ways and Jesus is there to strengthen us.
Paul is praying that Jesus will strengthen us with all might according to His glorious power unto all patience and LONGSUFFERING WITH JOYFULNESS.
Strengthen with patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.
Truly it's amazing when we can suffer with joy.
We will suffer, we will be tempted towards impatience. There is no wonder that Paul would pray such a prayer.
May Paul's prayer for the saints at Colosse be our prayer today.
Colossians {1:11} Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.
We need this! We need strength now more than ever 2000 years later. We need strong patience and we need the ability to suffer with joyfulness and not give in to our suffering which is so easy to do. We suffer and we want sympathy, we suffer and we want to cry and wail. We suffer and want others to suffer with us, or at least give us a lot of sympathy, suffering with a smile isn't something we're prone to doing. We need the Strength of Christ in all might to live lives acceptable unto him now and always.
By His grace, by His mercy.
Amen.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Being fruitful in every good work
Colossians
{1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
{1:2} To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
{1:3} We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
{1:4} Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
{1:5} For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
{1:6} Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth:
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
*
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Walk worthy of the Lord
Unto all pleasing
being fruitful in every good work
increasing in the knowledge of God.
Here you are, you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you've repented and asked for forgiveness for doing things that would keep you separated from God and that moment is amazing, it's wonderful, the newly formed relationship with the Lord is beyond words. Yet very few people accept Christ into their lives and then die a moment later so that they don't have to live a life in Christ.
Accepting Christ as your Savior is step one- living in Christ is step two.
Paul in writing to the new believers at Colosse had much to say.
He's telling them this-
'Walk worthy of the Lord.' What does it mean to walk worthy of the Lord?
Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work increasing in the knowledge of God.
Walk Worthy- be fruitful - how? In every good work. AND increasing in the knowledge of God.
Every good work.
A stumblingblock for so many people who shout- WE'RE NOT SAVE BY WORKS!
I shout back- NO, WE'RE NOT SAVE BY WORKS BUT BY GRACE, BUT GRACE DOESN'T MEAN THERE SHOULD BE NO GOOD WORKS. Good works aren't going to save you and it's a mistake to think they will, but good works are necessary because Christ's entire ministry here on earth had to do with being an example to us and the good works HE did are countless! He didn't sit back and say do nothing just believe. He didn't say believe and do nothing else at all. If our Savior who did all manner of good works in His ministry on earth wants to live in us through His Holy Spirit it stands to reason that we would live a life similar to Christ's- ministering to others in all we do.
Seriously.
Our lives are to be lived- walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work.
Truly I will shout from the rooftops that I am not saved by a single good work, not one! But in the next breath I'll proclaim walking in Christ, walking worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God.
Do you see? Every action we make after we are forgiven by God and seek a life in Him through the sacrifice of His Son can draw us closer to Him- increasing our knowledge of Him or further away.
Ask yourself what the outcome of your actions are as you're going through the day but be careful when you do so because it's dangerous.
I mean it.
It's dangerous.
Why?
It's dangerous because the revelation of just how much we do that has nothing to do with drawing closer to God, increasing in the knowledge of Him, will tend to lead us to despair and we know where despair leads us, completely away from Christ.
If there is a single thing you do each day that helps you draw closer to God that's wonderful! Truly wonderful. Yet like the Pharisee who claimed didn't I pray every day, ten times a day, didn't I give to the poor, didn't I do this and that- held up against the lowly man who cried out, forgive me Lord, I'm a sinner- we have to remember none of our actions save us only Christ saves us and the actions afterwards become the shared ministry of Christ.
It's like you become a policeman and as soon as you take off your badge and gun after work you go out and live a life full of crime. Instantly we all agree that policeman is corrupt! Like a doctor who hangs up his smock and stethoscope only to go out and get pleasure from inflicting injury and pain on others- corrupt! Like a fireman who turns out to be an arsonist, like a preacher who turns out to be deep in gambling and sex addiction.
We cry corrupt! We shout it out and point our fingers boldly, corrupt!
Yes, we as Christians claim Christ and go and continue on in our sins readily, we claim Christianity but to an outsider watching us through the day they would have no idea we were a Christian, none, not by our actions, not by the way we live our lives. Oh, we smile at them and say, I'm a Christian, and they blink at us in confusion, nod and smile and silently wonder what our idea of Christianity is.
That old bumper sticker, 'Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven', is so misleading! It is. Is there any truth to it? Yes. A whole lot of truth but it's not something any Christian should be proud of in the sense we blame any action others might catch us in that is unseemly for one who claims Christianity and we say, I'm forgiven, don't worry, God understands He knows I’m not perfect.
Is that true? It very well could be true because we cannot judge another's relationship with Christ to the point of judging their eternal life, but we have to have the ability to discern actions whether they are actions Christ would perform or actions He would condemn.
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God
We cannot throw out good works as much as we might want to do so because we don't want to be accountable for our actions.
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
We are Christians. We are followers of Christ. We take on the mantle of a Christian just as a doctor takes an oath to save lives, a policeman takes an oath to serve and protect, we are Christians and our oath is claiming the Salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and living a life with Him in us through His Holy Spirit, seeking to forever be closer and closer to God. Our actions should reflect our claims. And our actions like a new doctor who makes a mistake and has to learn the ropes, or like the policeman who makes a bad judgement call as a rookie while they're learning-- might seem far from what we imagine a Christian's actions to be but we are learning and growing in Christ, it's a process and while I don't know where you are along that line of growth in Christ, you don't know where I am, and we have to pray for one another that no matter where we are - in rookie/resident land- or further along- that our walk will be one of constant growth towards furthering our knowledge of God. Christ came to show us the way to the Father and it's Him we all should seek to know fully.
May the Grace of Christ be with us all as we walk in Christ.
Amen.
{1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
{1:2} To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
{1:3} We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
{1:4} Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
{1:5} For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
{1:6} Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth:
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
*
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Walk worthy of the Lord
Unto all pleasing
being fruitful in every good work
increasing in the knowledge of God.
Here you are, you've accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you've repented and asked for forgiveness for doing things that would keep you separated from God and that moment is amazing, it's wonderful, the newly formed relationship with the Lord is beyond words. Yet very few people accept Christ into their lives and then die a moment later so that they don't have to live a life in Christ.
Accepting Christ as your Savior is step one- living in Christ is step two.
Paul in writing to the new believers at Colosse had much to say.
He's telling them this-
'Walk worthy of the Lord.' What does it mean to walk worthy of the Lord?
Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work increasing in the knowledge of God.
Walk Worthy- be fruitful - how? In every good work. AND increasing in the knowledge of God.
Every good work.
A stumblingblock for so many people who shout- WE'RE NOT SAVE BY WORKS!
I shout back- NO, WE'RE NOT SAVE BY WORKS BUT BY GRACE, BUT GRACE DOESN'T MEAN THERE SHOULD BE NO GOOD WORKS. Good works aren't going to save you and it's a mistake to think they will, but good works are necessary because Christ's entire ministry here on earth had to do with being an example to us and the good works HE did are countless! He didn't sit back and say do nothing just believe. He didn't say believe and do nothing else at all. If our Savior who did all manner of good works in His ministry on earth wants to live in us through His Holy Spirit it stands to reason that we would live a life similar to Christ's- ministering to others in all we do.
Seriously.
Our lives are to be lived- walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work.
Truly I will shout from the rooftops that I am not saved by a single good work, not one! But in the next breath I'll proclaim walking in Christ, walking worthy of the Lord, being fruitful in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God.
Do you see? Every action we make after we are forgiven by God and seek a life in Him through the sacrifice of His Son can draw us closer to Him- increasing our knowledge of Him or further away.
Ask yourself what the outcome of your actions are as you're going through the day but be careful when you do so because it's dangerous.
I mean it.
It's dangerous.
Why?
It's dangerous because the revelation of just how much we do that has nothing to do with drawing closer to God, increasing in the knowledge of Him, will tend to lead us to despair and we know where despair leads us, completely away from Christ.
If there is a single thing you do each day that helps you draw closer to God that's wonderful! Truly wonderful. Yet like the Pharisee who claimed didn't I pray every day, ten times a day, didn't I give to the poor, didn't I do this and that- held up against the lowly man who cried out, forgive me Lord, I'm a sinner- we have to remember none of our actions save us only Christ saves us and the actions afterwards become the shared ministry of Christ.
It's like you become a policeman and as soon as you take off your badge and gun after work you go out and live a life full of crime. Instantly we all agree that policeman is corrupt! Like a doctor who hangs up his smock and stethoscope only to go out and get pleasure from inflicting injury and pain on others- corrupt! Like a fireman who turns out to be an arsonist, like a preacher who turns out to be deep in gambling and sex addiction.
We cry corrupt! We shout it out and point our fingers boldly, corrupt!
Yes, we as Christians claim Christ and go and continue on in our sins readily, we claim Christianity but to an outsider watching us through the day they would have no idea we were a Christian, none, not by our actions, not by the way we live our lives. Oh, we smile at them and say, I'm a Christian, and they blink at us in confusion, nod and smile and silently wonder what our idea of Christianity is.
That old bumper sticker, 'Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven', is so misleading! It is. Is there any truth to it? Yes. A whole lot of truth but it's not something any Christian should be proud of in the sense we blame any action others might catch us in that is unseemly for one who claims Christianity and we say, I'm forgiven, don't worry, God understands He knows I’m not perfect.
Is that true? It very well could be true because we cannot judge another's relationship with Christ to the point of judging their eternal life, but we have to have the ability to discern actions whether they are actions Christ would perform or actions He would condemn.
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God
We cannot throw out good works as much as we might want to do so because we don't want to be accountable for our actions.
{1:10} That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.
We are Christians. We are followers of Christ. We take on the mantle of a Christian just as a doctor takes an oath to save lives, a policeman takes an oath to serve and protect, we are Christians and our oath is claiming the Salvation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and living a life with Him in us through His Holy Spirit, seeking to forever be closer and closer to God. Our actions should reflect our claims. And our actions like a new doctor who makes a mistake and has to learn the ropes, or like the policeman who makes a bad judgement call as a rookie while they're learning-- might seem far from what we imagine a Christian's actions to be but we are learning and growing in Christ, it's a process and while I don't know where you are along that line of growth in Christ, you don't know where I am, and we have to pray for one another that no matter where we are - in rookie/resident land- or further along- that our walk will be one of constant growth towards furthering our knowledge of God. Christ came to show us the way to the Father and it's Him we all should seek to know fully.
May the Grace of Christ be with us all as we walk in Christ.
Amen.
Friday, November 14, 2008
That he might bring us to God
{1:6} Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew
the grace of God in truth:
*
The gospel was preached every, everywhere, people like to imagine that there are tons of people that never heard of Christ and salvation, but the world has heard. Lots of people have rejected the gospel and continued on in their own paths which make us believe that they've never heard. But the gospel which came to those in Colosse was being spread throughout the all the world. No, I'm not saying that there aren't those that have been denied hearing, but I fully believe that all have a chance, all in ways we can't imagine. It's arrogant of us to presume that God doesn't have His own ways to get His word to people, that *we* alone can preach the gospel. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't preach the gospel, I'm just saying that we can't claim that it's IMPOSSIBLE for all the world to have a chance to hear the Gospel.
The gospel brings forth fruit, it did to those Colosse and it does to us today. Once we hear the truth of the gospel and know the grace of God in that truth we can't help but bring forth fruit. Our lives can't help but change.
Colossians
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
*
Amazing! Here Paul is telling the Colossian that he hasn't ceased to pray for them, pray that they might be filled with the knowledge of HIS WILL in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
The knowledge of HIS WILL. Christ's will. What is Christ's will? That we come to the Father through Him. In all Christ did he revealed the Father on earth to mankind. It is His will that we come to the Father by His grace, accepting the sacrifice He made, accepting the forgivness He offers.
Imagine being touched by Christ and looking up into His eyes filled with compassion, with love and hearing him say, 'Your sins are forgiven you, go and sin no more.'
Just imagine it for a moment without letting your overwhelming guilt crush away the moment. I mean it, we hear the words 'go and sin no more' and we feel a crushing weight of guilt because we know what sinners we are and that sin not yet committed by us is just lurking around the next corner. We can't LET that guilt crush us and bring us to despair, we can't or we've lost already. If we holdfast to despair and ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit to repent then we truly are lost. Jesus taught us to pray the Lord's prayer and in my study of it the part where He told us to pray- 'Lead us not into temptation' in the Jewish form of that prayer, it is more along the lines of 'Lead us not to despair'. Think about that for a moment. When we are tempted into sin it is a road that leads to despair isn't it? Despair that we'll ever be able to 'go and sin no more'. We truly need to pray to not be taken by temptation in that place of despair. Satan holds up our sins and tells us we're too bad to ever be saved and covers us in a cloak of despair but we don't have to listen to him, our sins are forgiven and when we by our weak sin-filled flesh fall into sin we have an advocate that once told an apostle that he had to forgive others not just once but over and over again. In that example we know that though our flesh is very weak we do have an advocated with the Father, and advocate that will plead our cause before the Father. So when we hear Christ say our sins are forgiven, go and sin no more, we know that He has made it possible for us to be with the Father, His Father, in His Family, at One with God, God with us. The will of Christ is for us to be at one with the Father and all our wisdom and spiritual understanding needs to be centered around that and that alone. Here and now we are to accept the Way, the Truth, the Gospel and our lives there after are to be spent being filled with the knowledge of Christ's will in wisdom and spiritual understanding.
More tomorrow :) May God bless us all with His Will, may we through the forgiveness of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior live in hope of our new life one day with Him and Father in heaven.
Amen
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”- 1 Peter 3:18
the grace of God in truth:
*
The gospel was preached every, everywhere, people like to imagine that there are tons of people that never heard of Christ and salvation, but the world has heard. Lots of people have rejected the gospel and continued on in their own paths which make us believe that they've never heard. But the gospel which came to those in Colosse was being spread throughout the all the world. No, I'm not saying that there aren't those that have been denied hearing, but I fully believe that all have a chance, all in ways we can't imagine. It's arrogant of us to presume that God doesn't have His own ways to get His word to people, that *we* alone can preach the gospel. No, I'm not saying we shouldn't preach the gospel, I'm just saying that we can't claim that it's IMPOSSIBLE for all the world to have a chance to hear the Gospel.
The gospel brings forth fruit, it did to those Colosse and it does to us today. Once we hear the truth of the gospel and know the grace of God in that truth we can't help but bring forth fruit. Our lives can't help but change.
Colossians
{1:7} As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;
{1:8} Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.
{1:9} For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding
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Amazing! Here Paul is telling the Colossian that he hasn't ceased to pray for them, pray that they might be filled with the knowledge of HIS WILL in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
The knowledge of HIS WILL. Christ's will. What is Christ's will? That we come to the Father through Him. In all Christ did he revealed the Father on earth to mankind. It is His will that we come to the Father by His grace, accepting the sacrifice He made, accepting the forgivness He offers.
Imagine being touched by Christ and looking up into His eyes filled with compassion, with love and hearing him say, 'Your sins are forgiven you, go and sin no more.'
Just imagine it for a moment without letting your overwhelming guilt crush away the moment. I mean it, we hear the words 'go and sin no more' and we feel a crushing weight of guilt because we know what sinners we are and that sin not yet committed by us is just lurking around the next corner. We can't LET that guilt crush us and bring us to despair, we can't or we've lost already. If we holdfast to despair and ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit to repent then we truly are lost. Jesus taught us to pray the Lord's prayer and in my study of it the part where He told us to pray- 'Lead us not into temptation' in the Jewish form of that prayer, it is more along the lines of 'Lead us not to despair'. Think about that for a moment. When we are tempted into sin it is a road that leads to despair isn't it? Despair that we'll ever be able to 'go and sin no more'. We truly need to pray to not be taken by temptation in that place of despair. Satan holds up our sins and tells us we're too bad to ever be saved and covers us in a cloak of despair but we don't have to listen to him, our sins are forgiven and when we by our weak sin-filled flesh fall into sin we have an advocate that once told an apostle that he had to forgive others not just once but over and over again. In that example we know that though our flesh is very weak we do have an advocated with the Father, and advocate that will plead our cause before the Father. So when we hear Christ say our sins are forgiven, go and sin no more, we know that He has made it possible for us to be with the Father, His Father, in His Family, at One with God, God with us. The will of Christ is for us to be at one with the Father and all our wisdom and spiritual understanding needs to be centered around that and that alone. Here and now we are to accept the Way, the Truth, the Gospel and our lives there after are to be spent being filled with the knowledge of Christ's will in wisdom and spiritual understanding.
More tomorrow :) May God bless us all with His Will, may we through the forgiveness of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior live in hope of our new life one day with Him and Father in heaven.
Amen
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”- 1 Peter 3:18
Thursday, November 13, 2008
The hope which is laid up for you in heaven
That greeting Paul gave to those at Colosse was followed by an amazing letter to them. Here's the beginning, but lets start with the greeting once more--
Colossians
{1:1} Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,
*
By the will of God.
{1:2} To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
*
To the saints
To the faithful brethren in Christ
Grace
Peace
From God
Our Father
And...
From the Lord Jesus Christ.
{1:3} We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
*
We give thanks to God
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praying always for you.
{1:4} Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
{1:5} For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
*
The hope which is laid up for you in heaven.
The hope waiting in heaven for those faithful believers.
It didn't say the hope waiting on earth for them, oh no it didn't. The hope is laid up in heaven. We can desire an easy life here and now, no one really desires hardships, no one wants anxiety and upsets, as a rule people want things to go their way and easily so, good things, happiness, fun time, we want good days, and yet our hope shouldn't be wrapped up in how easy our life can be here and now, our hope for a life fufilled and truly happy should be in heaven. If we place our hope in heaven how can our lives here and now disappoint us? Oh I know how it can, but ultimately if our hope is truly in heaven should we let life here and now destroy that hope?
We hear a lot of inspirational stories of people getting through tough times and such, we hear how they live with the hope of rescue, the hope of a future, they looked beyond their circumstances and some of those circumstances have been beyond grim.
Daily we need to look beyond our circumstances. Yes, we have to live in the *world* but we don't have to be *of* the world. Our hope does not need to rest on anything that happens or doesn't happen to us today or tomorrow, or next week. As much as we'd like things to go smoothly without bumps in the road, those bumps are going to come whether we want them or not and it's how we choose to climb over that bump that matters. Do we scale it with despair and anger? We can. We can hate the bumps, some are very nasty and look more like mountains covered in glass spikes than grass covered hills with many a foothold. Yes, we can hate the bumps and we can let them consume us, fill us with anger and all sorts of emotions that keep us focused on the bump, that's what our anger does you know, it keeps us all focused and caught up in the bumps. How strange it would be to come face to face with a huge, ugly bump in what we want to be our smooth easy road of life and not let it consume us with anger or despair. We're so used to letting life's irritations take all our focus. I say this meaning me too, I'm not exempt at all. I just think it would be so wonderful if we could retrain ourselves by the Grace of God through the help of the Holy Spirit to come face to face with these bumps, ugly, irritating to downright infuriating bumps and be able to look up to heaven and somehow manage to focus on our hope there. No, we can't ignore the bumps we still have to get over them, but how amazing it would be to do so placing our hope in the world to come, to the life to come, the life promised to be bump-free. How marvelous to climb that bump without it totally consuming all our energy all our emotions.
'For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel'
The hope.
the hope.
We need hope more and more and more as life and all it's problems try to steal hope from us.
The hope which is laid up for us in heaven-
The hope we've heard from Jesus Himself, the Word of Truth, the gospel.
Yes, our hope lies with Jesus, in the Word of Truth of the gospel.
May the Holy Spirit fill us all, our hope of glory in Christ.
Hope.
More tomorrow on this letter, I know I didn't get very far today, but such is life. Hope is so important, so incredibly important but it has to be a hope that is laid up in heaven, truly it does. If we place our hopes here and now on earth we will only face disappointment after disappointment with enough happiness thrown in to keep us ensnared thinking we don't have to have our hope in heaven, our hope in the Word of Truth of the Gospel, our hope in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
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