We Died to Sin in the Death of Christ . . . Count on it! (Part 3)

We Died to Sin in the Death of Christ . . . Count on it! (Part 3)

Today is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think! Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts. In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the final judgment day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.

But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning. This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider. In other words, "count on something to be true". My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true. It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it. So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true…

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This Day, This Word

I'm going to be gut-level honest...I'm blah, feeling bruised and beaten, blank, done... I know it won't last forever...it never does.  But despite all the good things in my life, I'm low.

I'm depleted of energy after teaching 3 days in a row.  I'm facing long and arduous delay after delay in the publication of my Bible study book. I can't even "hire" an agent because I don't have a big enough "platform" (a.k.a. "following). And I've "failed" in a message that should have been an easy success (at least, from my feeble and presumptious viewpoint).

I know this is self-pity to the hilt! Did you see all the "I's"? But to tell you the truth, I don't feel guilty, because I know my Abba still loves me! Yes, even in the midst of my self-pity! In fact, "My Abba is very fond of me" as Brennan Manning used to say.

Can you identify, dear friend?  And do you know that very same truth...your Abba still loves you, even your self-pitying you! He is very fond of you too, so much so that He will meet you in all the mess!

He met me in the midst of my mess the other day...with just a word! Can I tell you about it?

As I was emotionally "crashing and burning" from all of the above listed stresses (and some), I cried out to the Lord,

Jesus, give me something...just a word...please!

Immediately, the words all, every, fullness came into my mind.  I knew them to be key words in my favorite letter of the apostle Paul's, the letter to the Colossians.  As my eyes began to take this beautiful Christ-exalting book of Scripture in, the Holy Spirit "highlighted" a word in chapter 1, verse 17:

...in Him, all things hold together!

Wow! He holds it all!

HOLDS was my word that day.

I sensed that He was saying that all the things in my life that seem to be totally out of control are NOT! Why? Because HE holds them all together!

Then He brought to mind another verse from my other favorite Bible book:

He holds all things by His powerful word! Hebrews 1:3

There it was again...holds.

HE holds it all!

I don't have to do the holding, the struggling, the striving to figure out the why's and wherefore's!  What freedom!

So I embraced my word that day, and walked it out in peace.

What are your struggles, your frustrations, your blankness and doneness?  No matter what it may be or how much self-pity you are wallowing in, cry out to the Lord! Ask Him for a WORD...just one.

He loves you...even your self-pitying, struggling you.  Your Abba is very fond of you.

Then your new "mantra" can be...

This day, this WORD!

May it be so for each of us, O our loving Abba Father! Amen!

PS I'll even let you borrow my word hold and my beloved Colossians to get you started.  Just listen for Him and His speaking voice in the depths of your soul as you wait to receive from HIM!

Overflowing with Gratitude

fall trees

fall trees

It's not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy. Anonymous

Several years ago, I started teaching language and writing to GED students.  Every Wednesday we would do an exercise together as a class to practice writing a five paragraph essay.

As the end of November approached, I chose the topic of Thanksgiving.  I thought that in this age of entitlement it might be a double "win" for the students to count their blessings and practice their writing.

So to prepare for my lesson, I sent out an email to friends and colleagues for quotes about being thankful.  I received some great ones!

Some were fun:

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? Erma Bombeck

pilgrim family

pilgrim family

May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump May your potatoes and gravy Have nary a lump May your yams be delicious And may your pies take the prize And may you Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs! Anonymous

Others, really profound:

Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of the vices. Thomas Fuller

The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts....nevertheless, they set aside a day of thanksgiving.  H.W. Westermayer

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

And my favorite:

It's not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy. Anonymous

But as always, God's Word takes the prize for the most profoundly sublime quote on being thankful.

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Col 2:6-7

Let's meditate for a few moments on this beautiful phrase, overflowing with gratitude:

What does it mean to overflow?

roosevelt dam overflow

roosevelt dam overflow

A reservoir holds water.  When it rains too much or the snows in the mountains melt, the water flows over the edge.  When my husband John was a child he lived near the Roosevelt Dam.  When the dam spilled over, it was quite an event...a wonder to behold!

And that's what this word in the original language means:  to be in excess, to have more than enough, to super-abound...to overflow!

What is gratitude?

This word means appreciation, thanksgiving and and praise to God...and to others who have enriched our lives. After all, ...what do you have that you did not receive? 1Cor 4:7

communion set

communion set

The original word in Greek is eucharistia. In Christian liturgical traditions,

Eucharist is used in modern language for Holy Communion, embodying the highest act of thanksgiving for the greatest gift from God, the sacrifice of Jesus.  It is the grateful acknowledgement of past mercies. Spiro Zodiates

In fact, Jesus Himselfgave thanks to the Father as He broke the bread and blessed the cup at the Last Supper with His disciples.  He acknowledged His Father as the Giver of every good gift and every perfect gift.James 1:17

So let us also, dear brothers and sisters, be a people overflowing with gratitude...not just at this season, but all year long!

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Thanksgivng Exercises:

  1. What 5 things can you thank God for right now? In your journal list them. Then chose one of the 5 and list 5 more. Keep going if you'd like. :) If you're having a hard time getting started, take a peek at this link and thank God for the gift of sight

  2. Have a time of family or personal communion, thanking the Father for the gift of His precious Son.

  3. Do this Bible study exercise:

Kaden the student

Kaden the student

Read through the book of Colossians and find at least one verse in each chapter about giving thanks. Be sure to read the context to get the complete message.

The Rest of the Gospel: Day of Reckoning

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:11 KJV

reckoning, ledger

reckoning, ledger

Today is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think!  Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts.  In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the Final Judgment Day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.

But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning.  This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider.  In other words, "count on something to be true".  My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true.  It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it.  So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true.  I can take it to the bank and live from it :)

Last week, I described how I got free from the LIE that held me captive.  As you may remember, it was by considering myself (reckoning) to be dead to it, because I AM dead to it through my union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection.

For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1

How this can play out in the life of a believer in a practical way is found in Paul's letters, especially to the Colossians and Ephesians.  There he uses the imagery of clothing to show what reckoning yourself dead to sin, self, flesh, legalism, and the lies of the enemy looks like in real life.   Paul then shows what it looks like to live alive to God.  It's all wrapped up in the key words put off and put on.

Taking off clothing and putting on other clothing are things we do everyday.  We hardly even think about it (except to chose our outfits ).  Let's compare this to the spiritual activity of living from the life of the indwelling Christ each day.

old nightgown

old nightgown

from the ragbag 2009

Let me illustrate from my own "world of fashion".  About 15-20 years ago, I bought a beautiful nightgown to keep me warm and feminine in the cold Ohio winters.  I've loved that nightgown!  I could wrap myself in it and be cozy and comfortable.   And despite the fact that it's faded and worn, I've had a hard time giving it up to the ragbag.  Every year as the weather has turned colder I've taken it out of said bag to put it on "just one more year".

Now my husband is not a rich man, but he is a good provider and has enabled me to have other beautiful options.  But they are not as comfortable to my "flesh" as that old "friend".

new nightgown

new nightgown

one of my beautiful "options"

Yet in reality, that old rag is not consistent with who I am as John's wife...a well-loved and cared for woman.  I just have a hard time putting on those new gowns.  So out "she" comes for yet another season.

It's kind of the same way with our spiritual clothing as beloved believers united to our True Lover Jesus Christ.  He has provided His own beautiful character as clothing for our human life on this earth:  love, forgiveness, kindness, truth, compassion, peace, self-control...

But what do we do?  We continually go back into the "ragbag" of our fleshly life before Christ and put on those comfortable characteristics that are inconsistent with who we are in Christ:  things such as sexual immorality & impurity, pride, greed, jealousy & competition, unforgiveness,... [For further study look at these passages:  Ephesians 4:17-5:21; Col 3:1-16; Gal 5:16-26; Rom 12:1-3,9-20; Rom 13:8-14; 2Tim 2:22]

God says to put those off!  Every time we are tempted to live out of the ragbag, we can chose to

put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Romans 13:14

After all, the indwelling Lord Jesus Christ IS our wardrobe!  In fact, by choosing Christ in all His fulness of character, we are at the same time laying aside the ragbag characteristics of life without Christ.*

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life...is with Christ in God. He is your life.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God...bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3:3-14  MESSAGE

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*For an inspiring, though challenging sermon on this very point, read The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers.  This is not for the faint of heart, but you will be incredibly blessed!

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: the Grand Finale

cheru, Raphael
cheru, Raphael

Back in 1995 we lived in Centerville, Ohio.  Centerville had a wonderful little post office in those days right behind Bill's Donuts.  In February of that year I stopped by to buy some stamps, noticing a large poster of the current stamp. As I awaited my turn in line, I reflected on the picture of the cherub I saw on the wall.

"Wait a minute," I said to myself, "I've seen that cherub before, but in a bigger painting."

I had taken art history in college and loved it! So I was wracking my brain to try to remember what painting it was part of.

cherubs
cherubs

I couldn't let it rest...so it sent me to the library to those big, dusty art books.

Sure enough, here's the painting those little cherubs are part of:

sistine madonna
sistine madonna

The cherubs are hardly noticed in this painting.  The obvious focal point is the mother and child...but the mother, more than the child!

"Wow," I thought, "Isn't that just like what we do in our Christian life?  We loose our focal point -- the Lord Jesus Christ!  Rather we focus on all the peripheral Christian things, as good as many of them may be.

In the book of Colossians, we have had our focus sharpened to see that truly...

Jesus + nothing = Everything

Earlier today, my husband and I were driving along, listening to a collection of old songs by the Carpenters.  They were popular during our "courtship" in the 1970's.

One of Karen Carpenter's most romantic songs is I Won't Last a Day Without You.  As it began to play, I remembered using it in a ladies Bible study with the statement, "The only One we could really sing this to is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lover of our Souls!"

Enjoy it with me, O Bride of Christ...sing it from your heart to your True Bridegroom:

I Won't Last A Day Without You

Day after day I must face a world of strangers Where I don't belong, I'm not that strong It's nice to know that there's someone I can turn to Who will always care, you're always there

When there's no getting over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you

So many times when the city seems to be without a friendly face A lonely place It's nice to know that you'll be there if I need you And you'll always smile, it's all worthwhile

When there's no getting over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you

Touch me and I end up singing Troubles seem to up and disappear You touch me with the love you're bringing I can't really lose when you're near

If all my friends have forgotten half their promises They're not unkind, just hard to find One look at you and I know that I could learn to live Without the rest, I found the best

When there's no getting over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you

When there's no getting over that rainbow When my smallest of dreams won't come true I can take all the madness the world has to give But I won't last a day without you

Thank you, dear sisters and brothers, for journeying with me. May the Lord continue to use His Word and His Spirit to reveal Himself to us.

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: a Day of Reckoning / Put off, Put on

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:11 KJV

Today is a Day of Reckoning...but not how you think!  Usually we use that term to mean to give an accounting, a calculation, a settlement of accounts.  In fact according to Wikipedia, it can mean a host of things from the Final Judgment Day to heavy metal albums and Nintendo games.

But in the Bible sense, EVERY day is a Day of Reckoning.  This word reckon in the Greek is often rendered consider.  In other words, "count on something to be true".  My reckoning doesn't MAKE it true.  It already IS true, so I count on it and live from it.  So each day is THE day to reckon to be true what God says is true...because it IS true.  I can take it to the bank and live from it :)

In my last post, I described how I got free from the LIE that held me captive.  As you may remember, it was by considering myself (reckoning) to be dead to it, because I AM dead to it through my union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection.

For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1

How this can play out in the life of a believer in a practical way is found in Paul's letters, especially to the Colossians and Ephesians.  There he uses the imagery of clothing to show what reckoning yourself dead to sin, self, flesh, legalism, and the lies of the enemy looks like in real life.   Paul then shows what it looks like to live alive to God.  It's all wrapped up in the key words put off and put on.

Taking off clothing and putting on other clothing are things we do everyday.  We hardly even think about it (except to chose our outfits ).  Let's compare this to the spiritual activity of living from the life of the indwelling Christ each day.

Let me illustrate from my own "world of fashion".  About 15-20 years ago, I bought a beautiful nightgown to keep me warm and feminine in the cold Ohio winters.  I've loved that nightgown!  I could wrap myself in it and be cozy and comfortable.   And despite the fact that it's faded and worn, I've had a hard time giving it up to the ragbag.  Every year as the weather has turned colder I've taken it out of said bag to put it on "just one more year".

Now my husband is not a rich man, but he is a good provider and has enabled me to have other beautiful options.  But they are not as comfortable to my "flesh" as that old "friend".

Yet in reality, that old rag is not consistent with who I am as John's wife...a well-loved and cared for woman.  I just have a hard time putting on those new gowns.  So out "she" comes for yet another season.

It's kind of the same way with our spiritual clothing as beloved believers united to our True Lover Jesus Christ.  He has provided His own beautiful character as clothing for our human life on this earth:  love, forgiveness, kindness, truth, compassion, peace, self-control...

But what do we do?  We continually go back into the "ragbag" of our fleshly life before Christ and put on those comfortable characteristics that are inconsistent with who we are in Christ:  things such as sexual immorality & impurity, pride, greed, jealousy & competition, unforgiveness,... [For further study look at these passages:  Ephesians 4:17-5:21; Col 3:1-16; Gal 5:16-26; Rom 12:1-3,9-20; Rom 13:8-14; 2Tim 2:22]

God says to put those off!  Every time we are tempted to live out of the ragbag, we can chose to

put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. Romans 13:14

After all, the indwelling Lord Jesus Christ IS our wardrobe!  In fact, by choosing Christ in all His fulness of character, we are at the same time laying aside the ragbag characteristics of life without Christ.*

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life...is with Christ in God. He is your life.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That's a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God...bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3:3-14  MESSAGE

[*For an inspiring, though challenging sermon on this very point, read The Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers.  This is not for the faint of heart, but you will be incredibly blessed!]

 

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Lesson from a family vacation

ibarnegat lighthouse

ibarnegat lighthouse

LBI...Long Beach Island, New Jersey -- sun, surf, and sweet memories.  Home of Surf City and Barnegat Lighthouse!   LBI was a favorite place for us Renners to vacation in our growing up years in the 1950's & 60's -- not every year but as many years as our family of 6 (and later 7) kids and 2 parents, living on one income, could afford. It was such a beloved place that my brother Conrad and family bought a beach house there in 1998...within a block from the beach, no less!

One year, when our kids were grown but not yet married and out of the nest, we had the most wonderful Renner family reunion at LBI.  Conrad scouted out other houses on his street that were for rent. And so several of us rented for the same week, and we all (along with in-laws, friends, and pets) descended upon that little beach community.

Family reunion at LBI 2000

Family reunion at LBI 2000

Renner Family Reunion 2000

Vacation Blog

Vacation Blog

It was a glorious week, filled with swimming, sun-bathing, sunrise watching, etc etc.  But the best thing was the love and togetherness and community that "happened".  We shared meals together, each family taking a turn.

A year or two later, some of us rented houses again at LBI.  I was hoping to recapture the same experience of that previous vacation together.  Well, you know how that goes.  Recapturing "glory" usually never happens.  And it certainly didn't happen this time...or so I thought!

For one thing, we all couldn't make it...for various valid reasons.  On top of that, my brother Paul's family, including his sister-in-law's family, rented a house that was germ infested (probably from the previous renters).  Everyday other members of their families "would drop like flies" with a terrible flu-bug.  So there was often a "skeletal crew" on the beach from that household.

Vacation Blog06

Vacation Blog06

Renner Reunion 2002..."a skeletal crew"

We didn't eat together like the other year.  There was little to no fellowship or community because of struggles going on in individual lives.  My widowed mom, then in her mid-70"s, was staying with us. (Remember her?  My hero in a previous post!)  She was frustrated with issues related to our family house, which was too much for her to handle at that stage of her life!  (We probably had waited too long to move her elsewhere.)  So our conversations were largely negative.  She had to get it off her chest, but with my expectations for a nice relaxed vacation, I was hardly as sympathetic as I could have been.

Not to bore you with too many negative details, let's just say that to me the vacation was a total bust!  And I left LBI mad, mad, mad...and feeling cheated!  For the 11 hour drive home from NJ to OH, I seethed.  I couldn't sleep that night!  And I stayed stuck for days despite dealing with some issues I needed to deal with.   Until...

Until the Lord broke through, "Enough!  It's done!  NOW when you think of this vacation, I want you to focus on the one hour of joyful bliss we had together."

Oh my goodness!  I had forgotten about that because of my absorption with my disappointment!

Bageleddi's at LBI

Bageleddi's at LBI

It was the Wednesday of vacation week.  I woke up at 5:45 am totally awake.  Grabbing a cup of coffee at Bageleddi's (the local favorite), I walked alone to the beach.  It was warm, and the sun had just started to come up but was not yet visible.

sunrise over ocean

sunrise over ocean

The cloud bank above the ocean was turning shades of pink, purple, and blue...and then the sliver of sun started to appear on the horizon. I opened my Bible and read in the Psalms,

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship... God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Psalm 19:1,4-6

So Jesus and I walked and talked together that glorious morning -- perfect rest in Him, enjoying together the most gorgeous sunrise I had truly ever seen.  And I had forgotten it all!

So whenever negative thoughts about vacation would start to again flood my mind, I remembered this one joyful hour of bliss with my Lord.

As the days went by, something amazing started to happen.

Vacation-Blog01.jpg

Vacation Blog01

Jeremy, Cortney, Beth, Jan and John @ Mud Hut 2002

Other pleasant memories of our vacation started to surface:  like my early morning walk to the beach only to discover a delightful sight -- my brothers and nephews fishing in the surf; and the fun supper at the Mud Hut with my husband and adult children; and a surprisingly wonderful conversation with an in-law that I didn't typically connect with.

By God's grace, He saved me from a root of bitterness in my heart.  As I began to reflect on what had happened in me, I started to realize what I've come to believe is a spiritual principle:  We become like what we focus on.

I remembered some of my favorite passages of Scripture:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another... For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 3:18: 4:6 ESV

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col 3:1-4 NIV

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthythink about such things... And the God of peace will be with you. Phil 4:8

So here's the question, dear friends:  What are you focusing on right now?

Maybe you need to hear the Lord say (as I did), "Focus on Me and remember joy!"

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

 

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Focusing Week

Carter in car
Carter in car
Evan in car
Evan in car

I have 4 adorable grandsons!  Two of them live close enough for me to see often. About a month ago, I had 5 year old Evan and 4 year old Carter for the day.  We decided to go visit G-G.  G-G is my 89 year old mother in law who lives at Trinity Retirement Community not too far away.

When we had visited before, I couldn't help but notice how the typically serious and sad looking residents seemed to "come alive!"  So as we were driving over to Trinity, I was preparing the boys to be greeted by many older people longing to, in a sense, "get a piece of them!"

"You boys are so special!  The older people here just love when you come!"  I told them.

"Why, Babci (my Polish name for "G'ma)?

"Because you're little (and not scarey) and loving and fun and friendly.  These people are lonely and sad and afraid."

So sure enough, as Rock Stars Evan and Carter walked in, the place came alive!  Every aged face was glowing and longing for a smile, a touch, a handshake, a hello...

Evan & carter in car
Evan & carter in car

Later as we were driving away after our visit, I said,  "Didn't I tell you?  You boys are so special!"

Younger brother Carter replied, "THAT boy (pointing to older brother Evan) is NOT special!!!"

"Why do you say that?" I ask somewhat taken aback.

"Because he's mean to me!"

Catching my breath, I respond,  "Oh Evan IS still special.  He's just not acting like the special boy that he is!"

And later I thought, what a good metaphor for how we "new creatures in Christ," filled with His fulness, still don't act like the special people we are in Him!

So far in our journey through Colossians, we've basically seen the truths summarized in this big idea:

Because of the mystery of Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ lives His full, divine, resurrection life in and through me, as me.

1.  He livesunited to me in His fulness(chapters 1 & 2).

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. Col 2:9-10 ESV

2.  He lives united to me for myfreedom (especially chapter 2).

In him also you were circumcised ...by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith... And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities...by triumphing over them in him. Col 2:11-15 ESV

And now...this week is Focusing Week (and our final week) in our continuing, restful, summer study in the book of Colossians.  And so this third point...

3.  He lives united to me as myfocus (chapters 3 & 4).

 In the last two chapters in this glorious epistle, Paul starts out...

If [Since...] 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. Col 3:1-4 ESV

Look for the key exhortations in Col 3:1-4.  Write them in your journal.  After that, look for the reasons, right in the same four verses.  List them also.

Then look for the metaphor of "clothing," starting in Col 3:5 through Col 4.  Make two columns in your journal titled Lay aside/Put off and Put on. List each of the exhortations in chapters 3 and 4 in one of those two columns.

Because of our indwelling Christ, we can live a holy, God-filled life...a life consistent with the special people we are in Him.  This is not because He "helps us" live it.  Rather He lives it through us as we let Him [faith].

In the next post in this series, we'll look at a principle that I wholeheartedly believe: 

We become like what we focus on!  Colossians 3:1-4

And then in our final post of our study in Colossians, we will explore Paul's metaphor of clothing and the principle of faith [reckoning].  Colossians 3:5ff

Then the Grand Finale :)

Thank you so much for journeying with me through this marvelous treasure of Scripture called the epistle to the Colossians.  We have barely scratched the surface, so keep reading and meditating and praying!

My prayer has been that in the course of these weeks together, our equations may have changed to be closer to that of our Father God:

Our Lord Jesus Christ (His glorious Son) +Nothing (not religion, wealth, pleasure, fame,...)  = Everything...LIFE itself!!!!!

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The rest of th gospel
The rest of th gospel

I highly recommend this life-changing book:

The Rest of the Gospel by Dan Stone

It speaks to the issues found in Colossians 3 & 4.

For excerpts of Dan Stone's writings, click here.

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Caught in the Web

LOOK carefully!  Can you see it?  A perfectly formed circular spider web hanging across a path...suspended by a "thread"!  This is the amazing sight my friend Penny and I happened upon early one morning as we were walking down some little-traveled paths in a wooded area in my neighborhood. Here was one spider who was serious!   She was ready to get a "good catch" that day!

There was a period of my life when I was a "good catch" in a craftily constructed web -- not made by earthly designs but that of the father of lies (John 8:44).

It started out with a series of real, and perhaps imagined, rejections...which then developed into a LIE.  It wouldn't have been so bad if I had recognized it for what it was...but I didn't.  And so I embraced it as truth and struggled for many years.

It caused me much pain, along with fear and confusion!  It influenced my behavior!  And it even started to poison other areas and relationships.

Finally, by the time I recognized it as a LIE, I was so bound up in it, that I couldn't get free.  I prayed!  I cried!  I tried to act against it!  I attempted the mental mind games!  I asked my praying friends to pray!  I asked my husband to pray!  All in vain!  UNTIL last summer...

I was reading & meditating in the little book of Colossians...preparing to teach it for the third time.  (I told you I was a slow learner!) I read,

Since you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God... For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God... Colossians 3:1-3

All of a sudden in that moment, the Spirit of God brought the LIE to my mind, and with it came the realization: "Wait a minute!  I DIED to that LIE!"

That very moment, the power of that LIE was broken in my experience!  Here I had been begging and pleading for the Lord to do something that He had already done through the Cross of Christ.  But I had not recognized it by faith in my particular situation.  Once I did, everything changed :)  I was set free from the fear, confusion, the agonizing emotions that the LIE produced in me.

You may ask me how I know that this is true?  The key is found in the little Scriptural word with.  This little particular word in the Greek has the idea of intimate union--a union that nothing can break. Devotional writers of previous generations called this "the believer's mystical union with Christ" of which marriage is a picture (Ephesians 5:25-32).

One of my favorite Bible teachers Wayne Barber (of Precept Bible Studies fame) illustrates this life union by what he calls "Biscuits for Jesus."  [I'm going to expand his illustration a bit to include all three words Greek words translated "with".]

There are certain ingredients that go into making biscuits:  flour, salt, baking powder, milk, sugar (if you're Polish like me), and shortening (namely butter, if you're Polish like me).  Anyway, as you gather the ingredients and place them next to each other on the kitchen counter, you could say that they are with each other (para, in the Greek), meaning alongside.

Then if you take them and place them in a bowl one by one, you might say that the ingredients are with each other (meta, in the Greek), meaning closely associated with.  At this point, each of the ingredients is separate from each other.  Even in the bowl, you could skillfully separate the ingredients from each other to some extent.

BUT once you mix those ingredients together, roll them out and cut them, place them on the cookie sheet and bake them, there is no way you can separate those ingredients from each other.  There is a mysterious union of ingredients called "biscuits"  :)  That's the Greek word sun, meaning united together with.  And this little word is our word found in Colossians 3 (above) as well as these significant Scriptures (and many more):

I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.... So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:3-11 ESV

So what does this mean?  It means that...

when Christ died, I died! when Christ was buried, I was buried! when Christ was raised, I was raised to newness of life!

And what did I die to?

I died to the world! (Col 2:8; Gal 6:14) I died to the flesh!  (Col 2:11-12; Rom 8:1-10) I died to self (old man)!  (Col 2:12; Gal 2:20; 2Cor 5:17; Rom 6:6-7) I died to sin!   (Col 2:13; Romans 6:1-14; Eph 2:1-7; 2Cor 5:21) I died to the Law ("to do list" religion)!  (Col 2:14; Rom 7:4,6; Gal 3:10,13,24-25) AND I died to the power of Satan, whose main tactics are lies and accusation!  (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15; Eph 1:19-21;6:10ff)

So now when that nasty LIE and related accusations and condemnations rear their ugly heads, I just say "Wait a minute!  I died to that!  And I'm alive united with my Lord...adequate in and through Him to be what He has made me to be in this situation." (2Cor 2:15-16; 3:5-6)

What lies, accusations, expectations, condemnations are you struggling with today, O child of God?  You died to those!  And now you live to walk in newness of life because of the One you are united with in His fulness!

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you'll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ. Colossians 3:1-4 MESSAGE

The Mystery of Christ in Colossians: C-C-Courage...and so much more

Unknown
Unknown

In this world, you will have trouble,But take courage, I have overcome the world!John 16:33

Who doesn't love the classic movie The Wizard of Oz?  And of all the characters, the Cowardly Lion is a favorite!  Why is that, I wonder?  Could it be that we see ourselves in him -- while putting on a brave front to face life, we find that, in reality, we are scared little "kitties" inside?

I especially love the lion's "courage monologue":

cowardly lion
cowardly lion

COWARDLY LION:  Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage!What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got? DOROTHY, SCARECROW, TINMAN: Courage! COWARDLY LION: You can say that again!

Can you identify?I can...

And that's how I felt with teaching and speaking in front of people.  I was inwardly terrified!  I felt a lot of shame about this, because I wanted to trust God completely.  (I've since found out, though, that speaking in public is one of the top fears among women -- go figure!)  Anyway, this fear was debilitating...often to the point of physical illness.

This was especially true when it came to a big meeting connected to my job with a local Christian school.  I used to be a home school coordinator, and in those early days, I had a very large group of families to help.  At the end of the summer each year, we would meet as a group with all our families -- new and returning.  At that time, we would tell them about ourselves, encourage them, and explain how the program ran.

Well, I dreaded it!  Not because they were a hostile group...in fact the opposite was true!  And they loved me to boot!

DCS homeschool moms 2009
DCS homeschool moms 2009

DCS homeschool moms

So in my mind, this fear was totally illogical and unfounded!  I talked to myself and the Lord about it...but to no avail.  It would ruin my whole summer every year!  UNTIL...

One summer, I was agonizing as usual over the big home school meeting. In the midst of my agony, I thought to myself, "I need courage!"  So I proceeded to beg, plead, pray for courage.  I tried to do my best "courage self-talk".  All to no avail!  I was still a wreck!

In the meantime, that summer I happened to be teaching the little book of Colossians...for the 2nd time (I'm a slow learner!).  As I was preparing to teach the second chapter, the Holy Spirit highlighted two verses to my mind and heart:

For in Him [Christ] the whole fulness of deity [God] dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him... Colossians 2:9-10 ESV

All of a sudden the realization came crashing through:  Jesus wasn't a wimp! Remember how He stood up to the Pharisees -- not exactly a friendly audience!  Courage is part of the fulness of God in Christ.   And the courageous God Christ lives within me.  He will live His courageous life through me as I trust Him! That's what being filled in Him means.  No more begging, pleading, self-talk, Christian mental mind games!  No more shame & despair!

So I decided to trust the Courageous Christ.  And guess what?  He WAS courageous through me so that I could relax and be my charming :) self--to the glory of God!  And it broke the bondage for me in those situations...now I have normal levels of nervousness.  And I know that every situation is a new opportunity to trust the full Christ within to be who He is in and through me.

So do you need courage today?  The Courageous Christ will be courageous through you as you trust Him. Do you need love today?  The Loving Christ will love through you as you trust Him. Do you need to forgive today?  The Forgiving Christ will forgive through you as you trust Him. Do you need patience today?  The Patient Christ will be patient through you as you trust Him. Do you need _______ today?  (You fill in the blank)  The _________ Christ will be ________ through you as you trust Him.

If you are a child of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the full Christ lives within you.  He is full through you as you trust Him!  It's the devil's lie to get us to think of ourselves as separate from our Lord.  He's not up there, and we're down here, praying He throws down a little courage (or whatever) if we pray correctly!  NO!  We are one with Him...united in a way that nothing in heaven or earth can separate!

I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

So, dear sisters & brothers, look at whatever you are facing today as your opportunity to experience Him in His fulness!  Praise His Holy Name!

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. 2Peter 1:3 ESV

...that you may be filled with all the fulness of God. Eph 3:19b ESV

NEXT TIME: We are set free because of our union with our Savior in His death, burial, and resurrection to new life... See you then!


Mystery of Christ in Colossians: the Mystery Revealed

Everyone loves a good mystery!  We got hooked when my mom came to visit from NJ when our kids were little.  She turned us on to Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Murder She Wrote, Miss Marple, etc. I guess the pleasure in mysteries is that the viewer is always trying to figure out "Who done it!"  My mom had an amazing track record in those days!  And I'm finding myself guessing correctly more often than not nowadays!  Aging?  Suspicious nature?  Who knows!

God has mysteries too, as we've seen in the book of Colossians.  But His mysteries are very different than the ones we try to figure out.  There are five distinctives of God's mysteries.

  1. They are about God and His ways
  2. They are now revealed but previously unknown
  3. They couldn’t be known unless God revealed them
  4. They are meant to be proclaimed, not kept secret
  5. There is still supernatural remaining despite revelation

God takes great pleasure in His mysteries!  There are many in the Bible.  But the Father takes particular delight in His mystery wrapped up in His Son, the Apple of His Eye!  Did you find the references concerning God's mystery in Colossians?

...the mystery that has been kept hidden...the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:25,27

My goal is that...they may know the mystery of God, namely,Christ [Himself], in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Colossians 3:2-3; also 4:3

To really spell it out, a little later in Colossians, Paul says,

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him... Colossians 2:9-10 ESV

I love those verses!  They are key to the whole of our Christian walk in this world!  The full Christ Who is the wisdom of God indwells you and me, O child of God!  Let that truth really sink in!

Jesus is the fulness of God in the flesh, the God-Man, our Immanuel...and the full Christ lives His full life in and through me as I let Him...so I am full in Him!

As the authors of Jesus Manifesto (p. 34) have put it...

Jesus Christ is like a vast ocean.  He is too immense to fully explore, too rich to fathom.  You are like a bottle.

The wonder of the gospel is the bottle is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the bottle.

Join us next time to see how this truth can become real in your own life.  See you then!

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Filling Week

baby, joy

baby, joy

grief

grief

Have you ever been so filled with joy that you could hardly contain yourself?  Maybe it was an invitation, the birth of a baby, an unexpected gift, a promotion, a random act of kindness...whatever it was, it showed all over your face.  It was heard in your voice and put a lilt in your step! Have you ever been sofilled with grief, sadness, despair that you thought you couldn't go on?  Maybe it was because of rejection by a significant person, a death of a loved one, a life-threatening diagnosis for yourself or, what is often worse, for your child or spouse.  It was  hard, if not impossible, to "put on the happy face" and go on.

That's what our emotions are like...up one minute and down the next...and oftentimes with good reason.  But if they control us so that we base what is TRUE on how we feel, we can become very unstable, to say the least.

In the book of Colossians, God through the apostle Paul, tells us that we are filled.   And this filling of His has nothing to do with our emotions...although if we really "get it" and live there, it can affect our emotions on the deepest level possible.  But the wonderful thing is that if life is happening and we feel numb to it all, it really doesn't matter as far as this glorious FACT is concerned.  This filling is TRUTH!

What is this filling, you ask?

bible study

bible study

It's all wrapped up in the Mystery* of Christ!  WHO He is and WHAT He is to us! As you read through Colossians this week, you'll see this word mystery in Colossians 1:25-27; 2:2-3; 4:3.

colored-pencils

colored-pencils

Grab some colored pencils or crayons, your Bible, or a print-out of Colossians (see link below).  Mark the key word mystery with a distinctive color.  Make note of who/what this mystery is.

Then mark the words fill, filling, full, fulness (in chapters 1&2).  Be sure to pay close attention to Col 2:9-10.  In the NASB, the word complete in verse 10 should be translated full (it's the same Greek root as fulness in verse 9).

Then if you really want to explore some more, look for and mark all, every, everything, and synonyms (also in chapters 1&2).

See you next time.  We'll pull thoughts together then, when we look at the Mystery Revealed.

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*The church father, Ireneaus, pointed out that the chief difference between orthodoxy and heresy is that orthodoxy is rooted in paradox and mystery, while heresy is usually rooted in clarity and precision.” David Roper, Teach Us to Number Our Days, p 278

Click here for Colossians text

Click here for Bible study help:  Precept.StudyOverview

 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iadB3wL5JmQ[/youtube]

GLORY to YOU Steve Green

What do I possessThat You did not give to meWhat mysteries are clear to meThat You did not explainWhen did I share TruthI had not received from YouWhat good works have I performedThat you did not ordain

Chorus: Any strength I have, any good I doComes from the life I found in YouSo in all I amAnd in all I doI give the Glory to You

How do I expressMy love and my gratitudeFor all I am and ever will beAll depends on youWhere in the world would I beHad you not reached out to meAll the good I have in lifeCan all be traced to you

Chorus

From the strength to obeyYour word when I hear itTo reaching out in loveIt's all a gift of the Holy Spirit,Coming from above

Chorus

I give the glory to You

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Knowing the Will of God

When I was a young child, my mom would sit me next to her on our couch and "read" to me from our family Bible.  You know the one:  leather, thick, heavy with gold-gilded edges and red and black print. I knew this was an important book, because it had pages that recorded births, baptisms, marriages, and deaths of family members.  But more than that, I knew it was important because of the full-page, glossy, color "holy pictures."  I remember how Mommy would tell me "God's stories" from God's book using those beautiful pictures.

It was during those times, that I fell in love with God and Jesus and heaven and spiritual things...and something else...the Will of God!  My mom would constantly say that the most important thing in life was to do the Will of God.  So this became my my goal...my paradigm...my mantra, at a very early age -- to do the Will of God!

What a mysterious thing, the Will of God!  MY journey (and at times, search) took me through obeying the rules of my church (as God's will), to several years in a convent (believing it was the best thing to do for love of God), to searching the Scriptures to see what GOD (not man) said, to exchanging one to do list for another until finally the burden was so hard and heavy, I gave up!  Really!

And you know what?  That's when I discovered the True Will of God...Christ Jesus my Lord -- WHO He is and WHAT He has done!  Oh, I already knew Him...but I needed to KNOW Him truly!  And in knowing HIM truly, I came to realize that HE is the Will of God!

If you've been following along with us in the letter to the Colossians, you've discovered the heart of Paul's prayer in the first chapter.  His main request is that the believers would be filled with (be controlled by and absorbed with) a true, deep, accurate knowledge of God's Will:

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives... Col 1:9 NIV

This Will of God is a much bigger thing than what we think.  We usually assume it refers to what we do today or tomorrow, who we marry, where we go on vacation, what car we should buy, etc.  Now these all may be affected by our knowing the Will of God.

But primarily the Will of God has to do with His good pleasure in His Son Jesus Christ and the Father's Plan carried out in and through HIM!  That's good news, because it's all about HIM!  I reap the benefits, but I'm I also empowered (through His indwelling) to make my choices according to this HUGE, AWESOME WILL of GOD!  What a privilege to be part of something bigger than myself!

OK, you say...chapter and verse, please!  The cool thing is that Paul wrote another letter to a church not far from Colossae.  In fact, he wrote it at the same time and sent it by the same messenger.  So we would naturally assume Paul would have the same thing in mind when he wrote to the church in Ephesus,

With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment —to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. Ephesians 1:8-10 NIV

That's it!  His pleasure and purpose in Christ!  Did you notice as you read and looked for the references to prayer in Colossians, that Paul wasn't the only one who prayed this way.  Paul says of Epaphras, the young pastor of the Colossian church,

He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. Col 4:12 NIV

Why did Paul and Epaphras pray for the believers to really "get it" about God's Will in Christ?  Paul prays on...

 ...so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. Col 1:10-12 NIV

Paul knew that getting it about Christ is the only paradigm that can produce a God-pleasing, fruitful Christian walkNo Christian "to do list" can produce this!  It's a work of illumination/revelation by the Spirit of God.  Thus Paul's prayer!

And so, dear friends, when we pray for ourselves or for someone we love, why not start out with the heart of all prayer?  Our deepest need is to be filled with (and so controlled by) a true, heart knowledge of God's Will in the Person and Work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This absorption, this getting it about Christ will then have an explosive and expulsive effect*-- changing our thinking, our attitudes, our affections, our choices, and thus our behavior.  And it will result in a life worthy of and pleasing to the Lord!

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A challenge for those who want to go deeper:

Read this sermon by Thomas Chalmers (19th century):  The Expulsive Power of a New Affection This is really long, and it's not for the faint of heart.  But it's right on target!

Here's a short synopsis:

The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil. We know of no other way by which to keep the love of the world out of our heart, than to keep in our hearts the love of God - and no other way by which to keep our hearts in the love of God, than building ourselves up on our most holy faith. Dr Ray Pritchard

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Praying Week

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  Colossians 4:2

Many of you may know someone you would call a "prayer warrior"...someone who is passionate about praying for whomever and whatever is needed.  My Babci (Polish for Grandma) was a woman like that.  She was a sweet, humble, godly woman who always seemed to be in an attitude of prayer.

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't always been able to identify with my dear Babci.  For much of my Christian life, prayer was a "spiritual discipline," a necessary habit to form...in other words, a chore -- one of many in my "to do list" form of Christian walk.

My prayer list (a.k.a. "ball and chain," when I finally was honest to admit it) was something I dreaded each day:

certain people and requests for each day, certain ones on particular days each week, and then monthly requests...ad infinitum, ad nauseum!

I HATED IT!  What a bondage prayer was to me!

Then the truth of the Indwelling Life of Christ began to break through in my life!  Life union with the Lover of my soul captured my mind and heart!  And everything began to change...including prayer.

I abandoned my prayer list and told the Lord,

I'm not praying until YOU show me what prayer really is!

I know, a bit risky!  Even somewhat sacrilegious?  But guess what?  God met me where I was.  Soon prayer began to well up from within, rather than be formulated by me in my head.

That was many years ago now.  I can use a prayer list now without feeling suffocated.  And I now experience the privilege of lifting up my praise, worship, and requests to the Throne of Grace and Mercy.

But I wonder about Paul.  As a devout Jew, he had had certain required prayers to say at specific times.  Did he too go through a freeing experience concerning prayer as he came to know the Risen, Living Lord?

What is obvious is that Paul had gotten it about prayer by the time he wrote the letter to the Colossians.  Throughout this short letter, Paul talks about prayer:

he himself prays; he exhorts to prayer; he asks for prayer; he tells about the prayer of another.

So this week at A Branch in the Vine is Praying Week.

As you read this week, make note of all the references to prayer, pray, praying in the book. [HINT:  they are in the first and last chapters]

Then focus on Paul's magnificent prayer in Colossians 1:9-12.  See if you can answer theses questions:

What is the heart of the prayer?  That is, the main request?  (Col 1:9) Why does Paul pray that?  That is, the reason/purpose for that request?  (Col 1:10) What will be the results?  What will that look like in everyday life?  (Col 1:10-12)

I'll see you in a few days...and above all, PRAY as you keep reading the spiritual feast found in the book of Colossians!

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Overflowing with Gratitude

giving thanks

giving thanks

A few years ago, I started teaching language and writing to GED students.  Every Wednesday, we would do an exercise together as a class to practice writing a five paragraph essay. As the end of November approached, I chose the topic of Thanksgiving.  I thought that in this age of entitlement it might be a double “win” for the students to count their blessings and practice their writing.

So to prepare for my lesson, I sent out an email to friends and colleagues for quotes about being thankful.  I received some great ones!

Some were fun:

What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? Erma Bombeck

Thnksgiving turkey

Thnksgiving turkey

May your stuffing be tasty May your turkey plump May your potatoes and gravy Have nary a lump May your yams be delicious And may your pies take the prize And may you Thanksgiving dinner Stay off your thighs! Anonymous

Others, really profound:

Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of the vices. Thomas Fuller

The pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts….nevertheless, they set aside a day of thanksgiving.  H.W. Westermayer

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the others. Cicero

And my favorite:

It’s not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy. Anonymous

But as always, God’s Word takes the prize for the most profoundly sublime quote on being thankful.

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Col 2:6-7

Let’s meditate for a few moments on this beautiful phrase, overflowing with gratitude:

What does it mean to overflow?

roosevelt dam overflow

roosevelt dam overflow

A reservoir holds water.  When it rains too much or the snows in the mountains melt, the water flows over the edge.  When my husband John was a child he lived near the Roosevelt Dam.  When the dam spilled over, it was quite an event…a wonder to behold!

And that’s what this word in the original language means:  to be in excess, to have more than enough, to super-abound…to overflow!

What is gratitude?

This word means appreciation, thanksgiving and and praise to God…and to others who have enriched our lives. After all, …what do you have that you did not receive? 1Cor 4:7

communion set

communion set

The original word in Greek is eucharistia. In Christian liturgical traditions,

Eucharist is used in modern language for Holy Communion, embodying the highest act of thanksgiving for the greatest gift from God, the sacrifice of Jesus.  It is the grateful acknowledgement of past mercies. Spiro Zodiates

In fact, Jesus Himselfgave thanks to the Father as He broke the bread and blessed the cup at the Last Supper with His disciples.  He acknowledged His Father as the Giver of every good gift and every perfect gift.James 1:17

So let us also, dear brothers and sisters, be a people overflowing with gratitude...always...not just this week!

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Gratitude Exercises:

:)

:)

  1. What 5 things can you thank God for right now? In your journal list them. Then chose one of the 5 and list 5 more. Keep going if you’d like. If you’re having a hard time getting started, take a peek at this link and thank God for the gift of sight. Incredible!

  2. Have a time of family or personal communion, thanking the Father for the gift of His precious Son.

  3. Do this Bible study exercise:

Read through the book of Colossians and find at least one verse in each chapter about giving thanks. Be sure to read the context to get the complete message.

First posted in November 2011 :)

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Thanking Week

Thank you...beach

Thank you...beach

It’s not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy. Anonymous

I love this quote!

If you've spent any time reading the apostle Paul's writings, you most likely would say that Paul is a happy, joyful person...and this despite many trials and much suffering.  Listen to these verses from our current study book, the letter to the Colossians:

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you... to make known... the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory...To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:24-28 NIV

Now if it is true that...

It’s not the happy person who is thankful but the thankful person who is happy.

...then I think it's reasonable to believe that Paul's joy and happiness sprang from a thankful heart.

So this week at A Branch in the Vine is Thanking Week.

In each of the four chapters of Colossians, we read a "thankful word" (such as thanks, thanksgiving, gratitude, etc).  Read through Colossians again (yes, again :) ) and see if you can find all of them.

Here's a hint:  there are 2 in chapter 1; 1 in chapter 2; 3 in chapter 3; and 1 in chapter 4.  [Let me know if you find more.]

Then list what Paul says he's thankful for.  Go on also to list what he says for US to be thankful for.

book 1000 Gifts

book 1000 Gifts

After that, start a list of your own.  Start a section in your journal and list 5 today...then 5 more tomorrow...and then the next day...

Or maybe you'd like to take up Ann Voskamp's challenge in her best-selling book One Thousand Gifts:  Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.

Start your own list of a thousand (just 3 a day will do it in a year).  For some fun help, see her July Joy Dare...download and print it out for yourself.

And last but not least, if you would like to see gratitude spring forth from a believing heart, read Rich Brown's story, Moi Joy.  He and his wife Karen have been working with the Moi tribe in Indonesia.

Many of these naturally treacherous, ungrateful people were transformed when they received the good news of the Lord Christ.  View the moving, spontaneous testimony of one man.   Immediately after his conversion to Christ, Mbanapeoma gave thanks to his Creator and to the missionaries.  Don't miss this!


Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Just give me....

We live in such a gimme, gimme culture.  Entitlement is the name of the game!

Actually, since Adam & Eve fell and "ate the apple" in defiance of God, we are all infected with that "all about me" disease called self-centeredness!  So we try to find life through all kinds of stuff!

Several years ago, my dear husband John asked me what I wanted for my birthday.  I told him I wanted to go to The Cove to study with one of my favorite Bible teachers Wayne Barber.  It was wonderful, and I've been trying to get back there ever since.

As a result, I'm always watching the Cove schedule of Bible conferences.  This fall, the title of a study in Colossians (which I had been teaching) caught my eye:

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

That's it!!!!  That's the perfect title for that precious book, because THAT's the message of Colossians...and of the whole Bible, for that matter!  Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ is all we need!  And the little treasure of a book we call Colossians tells us why.

So for those of you who are studying Colossians with us, why not take a brown pencil and draw a Cross over every time Jesus is mentioned (either in your Bible or on a printed out text)?  You'll be amazed at how focused God is about His Son!

Then as you continue to read, focus on your all-sufficient Savior!  By the end of our time this summer, may your equation (and mine) change from...

________ +________ + ____...... + Jesus = EVERYTHING? [Fill in your own blanks]

...to...

JESUS+ NOTHING = EVERYTHING!!!!!!!

Give Me Jesus

In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise In the morning, when I rise

Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.

When I am alone, When I am alone, When I am alone, Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.

When I come to die, When I come to die, When I come to die, Give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.

Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus. You can have all this world, You can have all this world, You can have all this world, Just give me Jesus.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFJGsBApIuk[/youtube]

If you have a little more time (7-1/2 minutes), listen again to the song with a wonderful gospel message included:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqYd3dXY2M8&feature=related[/youtube]

If you would like to follow a daily devotional, here's a good one from Moody Bible Institute (my Alma Mater :) ). It will take you through the book in a month if you read every day:

Today in the Word {Colossians:Live Worthy of the Gospel}

Mystery of Christ in Colossians: Reading Week

Carter
Carter

Devote yourself to the...reading of Scripture...  1Timothy 4:13 Let's begin our restful study of the letter to the Colossians by reading, reading, and then reading again.

Or as my almost 4 year old grandson Carter and I would say, "Reading?...reading?...how about reading?"  ;)

And why should we read?  Because it's by repeated reading that we begin to get the "big picture" of what God is saying in the Bible.   We also begin to notice repeated key truths.  And most precious of all, we begin to hear the Lord speak to us through His treasured words.

As the prophet Jeremiah once said,

reading the bible
reading the bible

Your words were found and I ate them,And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;For I have been called by Your name,O Lord God of hosts.  Jeremiah 15:16

Or as my sweet friend Penny once prayed,

LORD, Your words are so delicious!

So this week, grab a journal or notebook, your Bible (maybe different versions for each day) and start reading...  You may want to read a brief introduction in your Bible or watch the short 2 minute video below to get a little background...then just read, read, readthe book of Colossians (not books about Colossians!  Not yet, anyway!)

Write down verses that jump out, thoughts that come to you in the reading...and of course, prayers that rise up.  Write it down.  Trust me, you will forget!  So you will be glad to have recorded what God may be saying to you!

So...HAPPY, RESTFUL READING...and I'll see you later in the week :)

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open bible
open bible

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2Timothy 3:16-17

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Here's a link to Bible Gateway. You can read Colossians in many different versions at his site. Just enter the passage and the version you want and...voila!

For those of you who are just beginning to get comfortable with Bible reading, try the MESSAGE version: Colossians, chapter 1

Colossians, chapter 2

Colossians, chapter 3

Colossians, chapter 4

The Mystery of Christ {a restful devotional "study" for your summer}

Oh the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer! We look forward to the slower pace...to vacations...trips to the pool or beach! Many of our good intentions, like keeping up with school work, taking a computer class, organizing desks and closets, _[fill in the blank]_ ... all go by the board!

Years ago, I taught Precept Bible studies at the same time as home schooling my two children.  (I know, what was I thinking?)

After doing the intense, disciplined Bible study all school year, I would look forward to "relaxing in the Word" during the summer.  How about you?  Does the idea of "relaxing in the Word" appeal to you?

Then how about joining me in a restful devotional time in the glorious book of Colossians for the next several weeks.  Here's how I described Colossians on our church website (follow the link for more information on this study):

The Mystery of Christ: A Workshop in the book of Colossians

Do you realize that the Sovereign Creator of the Universe became a man in the Person of the Son?  He lived a perfect, sinless human life, became sin for you and me, died on the cross, rose from the grave, ascended, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.  Now by grace through faith, He lives His powerful, resurrection life in and through you...as you!  All to His glory!

That's the mystery of Christ...and that's the book of Colossians!

As the month of July begins next week, why not put aside a few moments each day to spend time with the Lord on your patio, your deck, or even in your room.  Grab your Bible and a journal!  Open to the book of Colossians, and meet Him there in all His sufficiency!

Next Week The Mystery of Christ:  Reading Week

 

Coming Soon: Summer Bible Study

Coming to A Branch in the Vine, starting late June...right here :) The Mystery of Christ:  a Study in the Book of Colossians

Do you realize that the Sovereign Creator of the universe became a man in the Person of the son?  He lived a perfect, sinless human life, became sin for you and me, died on the cross, rose from the grave, ascended, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

Now by grace through faith, He lives His powerful, resurrection life in and through you...as you!  All to His glory!

That's the mystery of Christ...and that's the book of Colossians!

Come join us this summer, by subscribing to this blog via email or RSS feed

...this glorious mystery, Christ in you, the hope of glory.  Col 1:27

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.  Col 2:9-10

For details about a group study click here:  Colossians Workshop

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