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A Life Worthy of the Cost

2/3/2017

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Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:16
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:16
​I do plan to continue teaching eschatology but today I’m going to talk about the way we live our lives. I believe wholeheartedly in grace. I believe that Jesus died once for all sin (Romans 6:10) and no one and nothing can snatch us from His hand (John 10:28). But I also believe that real salvation reveals itself in real change, the fruit of repentance, the fruit of the Spirit, and faith that compels us to demonstrating God’s love and power in a life that lives the Gospel in a visible and tangible manner
Believer, let me ask you; are you living a life worthy of the high price Jesus paid for it? Is a life where you continue to willfully do wrong, continue habitual sins, and hold onto secret immorality and indulgences commendable? Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose again to give you eternal life. Does the life you live merit that price?
In his letter to the Romans Paul addressed the problem, he was seeing in the church. People were claiming grace and living just as they had before they knew Jesus. They kept on sinning and when a brother or sister tried to exhort them, they shouted, “grace.” Does that sound familiar? Are you getting drunk watching porn, or otherwise willfully ignoring God’s will and proclaiming grace to excuse living in your carnal desires instead of in walking in the Spirit? Romans 6:1-14 reads,
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.
5 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. 6 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
 
Sure, you may want to give in to your carnality, sensuality, and fleshly appetites but in awe and gratitude to the LORD for His salvation, you can quench the flesh instead of quenching the Spirit. You are able to choose righteousness over iniquity. If you can choose an apple over potato chips, why do you think you can’t choose truth over deception? Each time you choose not to sin, you proclaim Christ. Lovely Family, you are free! You are free from sin and bondage to sin. You are free to live righteous holy lives as a new creation with a new heart and a new mind, sealed with the Holy Spirit who imbues you with the power to be transformed to the image of Christ.
You belong to Christ. He bought you and He paid a hefty price. You are valuable, worth the cost of the worst kind of death.  1 Corinthians 6:17-20 reads,
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
You belong to God, He has proof of ownership in that He put His Spirit in you as a guarantee of your inheritance, that your life exhibits, exalts and extols Him. Treasured Possession, God is with you and He has not and will not forget you. In Isaiah 49:15-16 the LORD says,
“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
    yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me.”
You are engraved on the palms of God’s hands. This is much deeper than you might imagine. The proof of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the cost of your sin and His redemption of you, is in the wounds on His hands (John 20:24-27). Recently, I was presented with another picture of being engraved on His hands. Imagine grasping something tightly in your fist. When you open your hand, you can see the imprint of the object in your hand. Even an idea held tightly will leave the imprint of your fingernails on your palms. Jesus holds you so tightly in His hands that nothing can take you out of them and you are not only imprinted but permanently carved into His hands.
Whether you are owned by the world or by God, it is evident on and in you by the testimony of your life. I don’t mean the words of your story of redemption. I mean the proof of your redemption in actions and works. Who is being glorified in your life? Is it you, Jose Cuervo, Harry Potter, or Jesus Christ?
In Mark 12:13-17 the Pharisees were trying to come up with charges against Jesus to have him put to death and asked him a question which they assumed he would have to speak against Caesar or God.
And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.”
The coin was engraved with Caesar’s image, it belonged to him and so taxes were due to him. You, believer are engraved with Christ’s image and so your life belongs to Him. Are you rendering your life to Him? We, Brothers and Sisters are the glory of God, meaning that when people look at us, they should see Him. 2 Corinthians 17-18 says it like this,
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.18 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 this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Cherished Sons and Daughters of God Most High, we praise God for the grace which gives us freedom. It is not permission to sin, it is liberty to live holy lives. Why don’t we claim righteousness instead of “grace” as the reason to live our lives in emancipation from sin? There is no sin in Christ (1 John 3:5) but rather than a permit to continue sinning, it is a call to be holy.
We are commanded many times in Scripture to be holy as God is Holy.
Leviticus 11:44-45
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”
 
Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7, Leviticus 20:26, Leviticus 21:8, and Deuteronomy 23:14 are a few of the places where God commends and commands us to be holy as He is Holy. Are you saying then that it is the Old Covenant to live holy? Guess what. It’s also in the New Testament to be holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16 reads,
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Let’s continue reading from Peter’s letter in The Message. Verses 17-25 read,
Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God.
22-25 Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! That’s why the prophet said,
The old life is a grass life,
    its beauty as short-lived as wildflowers;
Grass dries up, flowers droop,
    God’s Word goes on and on forever.
This is the Word that conceived the new life in you.
 
1 John 3:4-11 says it this way,
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 
 
So, let’s examine our motivation and the evidence of our lives. Are we living testimonies to Christ? Are we living lives worthy of the price Jesus paid for us? If not, remember, “See, you are well! Sin no more.” (John 5:18).
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1 Thessalonians 5:12-28 The Body of Christ Should Look Like Christ

7/23/2016

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By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
1 Thessalonians 5:12-28
Today’s Bible devotional is a reprint from August 30th 2015
What does loving one another look like? What should the body of Christ look like? I would venture to say the body of Christ should look like Jesus. Our traits as individuals and as a whole should be conformed to His image. His Holy Spirit in us should be evident and fully functioning among us. Our love should be apparent. And we shouldn’t resemble the world.
The world doesn’t like to submit to authority or recognize the people who work so hard behind the scenes. They want to show up to a church without being part of the church. They want to be served and not serve themselves. They expect the pastor to give them a nice little message, listen to their whining, give them what they need, and then ignore them for the next 6 days. But the people who do that, though they may come to church are not of the church they are still of the world. There is no unity with the body. Verses 12-13 read,
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.”
Paul urges us to respect the people who work among us. We are to regard their work, note it, and give the workers reverence. There shouldn’t be anyone whose work is going unappreciated, but too often there is. Too often the person who cleans the meeting place, who opens her home for fellowship, or who makes the calls to the visitors and absent are overlooked. But when everyone in the church is serving, then most of us will remember to appreciate all the others, and the burden on everyone is lightened. We are all expected to serve. Our gifts were given to us for a reason. Ephesians 4:11-16 says it like this,
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”
We are also to give deference to those who are over us, submitting to their wisdom, maturity, and leadership as they guide us toward completion. Hebrews 13:17 says,
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
In submitting to, respecting, and esteeming one another and the contributions each of us makes to the body, we have peace among us. We don’t need to be jealous, envious, or disrespectful of each other. We are in it together, sharing the same Spirit and the same mission. We want the best for each other. We are family, we are interwoven together, each thread is needed and adds to the beauty of the tapestry.
We cannot in love, let someone waste their gifts or remain a new born who never experiences the fullness of Christ during this life. Verse 14-15 puts it this way,
“And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15 See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”
Our unified walk as the body of Christ does not stop at the church doors. We are good to one another, but we also must be good to the world. We should be beneficent, that is intentionally doing good in a concrete way. We deliberately ensure we are not being maleficent, which is to cause harm. Nonmaleficence should be just as premeditated as beneficence.
Hebrews 13:15-16 reads,
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
It is an act of worship and praise to be charitable and kind. It is glorifying Christ, which is reflecting Jesus, being like Jesus to do good for people. Verses 16-18 say,
“Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
When do we rejoice? When do we pray? When do we thank God and what do we thank Him for? Always, continually, and all the time, for everything. The Holy Spirit wants to shine through us. He wants to glorify Jesus in us. He wants to fill us to overflowing and show us He can’t be exhausted. Verses 19-22 read,
“Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.”
He cannot be exhausted, but He can be quenched, that is stifled, smothered, and left to smolder instead of burn bright. How do we do that? We do it by not rejoicing, praying, and thanking God. We do it by not recognizing that our circumstances have the purpose of conforming us to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:26-30). We stifle the Holy Spirit of God when we disregard His work, or we accept all works that might be from God are and do not discern Godly from worldly. (1 John 4:1-6). We douse His fire in us when we take part in the desires of the flesh instead of the desires of The Spirit.
The muffled and subdued Spirit will not produce the fruit that makes it evident we are sons and daughters of Abba God. Galatians 5:16-26 reads,
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
The fruit of The Spirit is the image of Christ. As we walk, we become more and more mature, showing more and more the character of Jesus. One day we will be instantly perfected but that doesn’t mean we do not strive toward that goal now. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Philippians 3:12-14). We trust the Lord to complete us and keep us. Verses 23-24 read,
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
God does this great work in us. He perfects us. He doesn’t and won’t do it against our will. We have to be in a relationship with Him. We have to want it. And so we pray, we love, we walk, and we strive, not in a futile struggle, but in the peaceful rest of Jesus’ grace. Verses 25-28 close the letter.
“Brothers, pray for us.
26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
27 I put you under oath before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
​
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Genesis 1 Why Did God Create the World?

5/31/2016

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Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11
Genesis 1
God has never changed. He has been the same God from the start. And in getting to know who God is, what better place is there to begin than the beginning? Let’s dive in to this first book of the Bible and see what we can learn about who God is. Chapter 1, verses 1-2 read,
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
There was nothing but God before He created the heavens and the earth. It doesn’t say why He created the heavens and the earth just that He did. God was and is perfect and complete. He didn’t need anything. He is All-sufficient. Acts 17:24-27 says it this way,
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us
So why did He create the earth? He created it to give us life! Many people say God was lonely. He was not lonely. God wasn’t in need of companionship. He is one God in three personalities, complete, a community unto Himself. His Spirit was hovering over the face of the deep and Jesus was there too. John 1:1-5 tells us,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Son of God is not overtly mentioned in Genesis. It was part of God’s plan to keep the mystery of Salvation until the right time. But The Son of God is mentioned; He is the Word of God and the Light. God spoke and His will manifested. Jesus is the Word of God, God’s manifested will.  Although the earth had been created it was empty, void, and without form. God had created the heavens and the earth but he was not finished. Verses 3-5 read,
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
When God created the light (not Jesus but the difference of night and day), He called it good. He had made the first day. Yet He knew He wasn’t finished, the earth still had no form and it was still empty. Verses 6-8 read,
And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
On the second day He gave the earth some form by separating the heavens and the earth with the sky, and by putting the earth into the atmosphere. He was making a place for us, a place we would be able to thrive, live, and breathe. But it wasn’t time for us yet; He was preparing a place for us. Verses 9-10 read,
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
As God spoke each part of creation into existence through His Word, He pronounced it good. Now the earth was taking form, there was land and oceans and it was good. But it wasn’t ready for us just yet. Verses 11-13 read,
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
 
Now there were plants and trees, flora and fauna. If it were me, I would be so eager to finish I would have made humanity right then and said, “Look what I made for you! Isn’t it good? There’s more to come.” But unlike me, God is patient. He wanted everything to be in place for us. Vegetation and food was good but it wasn’t everything He had planned for us, so He kept working. Verses 14-19 read,
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
 
God not only created the stars, the sun, and the moon but He made them to be time keepers for us. I never could have thought of that. But He understood our every need, because He had already planned our creation. He made the world an interesting and beautiful place. Time would pass. Seasons and weather would change. And by the sun, moon, and stars men and women would know a day, a month, a season, and a year. We would know how to work the land, when to plant and when to sow. He did this for us before we were made, before the first sin which made working the land necessary. He made this earth for us perfectly, meeting all our needs before they existed. But it wasn’t finished yet. Verses 20-23 read,
And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
God made every kind of bird, every kind of fish, and every kind of sea creature. There was life in the skies, and life in the oceans. But it wasn’t time for us just yet. Verses 24-25 read,
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
God made the animals, every kind there was, mammals, reptiles, insects, and spiders. He declared it good. Now the earth was ready for its purpose, it was ready for mankind. And though God has spoken everything else into existence and each thing was made after its own kind in its own uniqueness, Man was special. We were formed by God’s hands and given life and a soul by His own breath (Genesis 2:7). We were created in God’s image. Verses 26-31 read,
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Consider that for a moment, you were made in the image of God. He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” Everything else God created was proclaimed good, but mankind and the position He gave us was proclaimed very good. Why? Because we were made in His image. To go into the all that means would take an entire series of studies.
But as you come to know God more and you understand His love, beauty, grace, and power, understand that He made you in His image with the potential of all that He is and all the gifts and blessings of His nature. We are completed or perfected when we accept the call of the Father and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and are imbued with His Holy Spirit who makes us into the image of Jesus Christ. Why did God create the world? He created it for us because He is love and love is only love when it is expressed. 1 John 4:7-16 in The Message reads,
7-10 My beloved friends, let us continue to love each other since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.
11-12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!
13-16 This is how we know we’re living steadily and deeply in him, and he in us: He’s given us life from his life, from his very own Spirit. Also, we’ve seen for ourselves and continue to state openly that the Father sent his Son as Savior of the world. Everyone who confesses that Jesus is God’s Son participates continuously in an intimate relationship with God. We know it so well, we’ve embraced it heart and soul, this love that comes from God.
 
This world was made for you. You were made in the image of God! And Believer, you are being made the apex of who you can be, the image of Christ. You are being perfected into who you were created to be. So love one another as God loves you. Love because you were created to love and by doing so glorify the Lord God, your maker and your Father.


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1 Peter 2 Jesus Honors Us, Let’s Honor Others

5/23/2016

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Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10
Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10
​1 Peter 2
Yesterday, we read about being born again and having a new identity in Christ. We know that God sees us now as completely new, perfected, and righteous. We need to believe the new and eternal name He has for us, not the accusations of Satan or the world. What does that mean for our lives? How does the world see us now? In God’s sight we are noble, but in much of the world’s estimation we are detestable. That cannot stop us from striving to be who God says we are and growing into maturity as the image of Jesus Christ. That begins by living up to our new identity and not living the way we did before Jesus saved us. Verses 1-3 read,
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
 
What is the pure spiritual milk we crave? It is the Holy Spirit teaching us and revealing Christ to us. It is His guidance as He divulges the Word of God to us. And it is the unwrapping of the mystery of the Gospel. The more we ask the Lord to feed us the spiritual food He offers, the more we will grow up into who He made us to be. Those of us who have been Christ followers for a little while know that the bread of the Word is better by far than anything the world ever offered. We have tasted have found that the Lord is good. We ask the Lord for more and He is happy to comply. We seek Him and He is happy to be found. We knock and He opens the door (Matthew 7:7-8).
We go to Jesus as the founder, builder, and finisher of our faith, not so that we will look good, but so that we will be made good. Don’t expect the world to applaud. They didn’t admire, receive, or honor Jesus. Verses 4-8 read,
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”
8 and
“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
 
The world doesn’t honor us, they think we’re fools. They rejected Christ and they reject us, especially as we grow into His image. They think that the way we live, in obedience to the law of love and choosing righteousness is nuts. They not only do not want to obey God, they cannot. That is why our cornerstone, our foundation is their stumbling block. They have to reach a point where they realize their need of Jesus. Our obedience to live as our new self, reveals Jesus to the lost and as they understand that they cannot be good without Him, they will fall to their knees and ask for salvation.
That is where the honor is for us. We get what they are missing. We can be righteous because God made us righteous by Jesus’ blood and He makes us able through the indwelling of His Spirit. The more we look like Jesus, the more we live up to how God sees us. We are part of the kingdom of God!  We are chosen by Him and united with Him! That is truly amazing. Verses 9-10 tell us how God sees us.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
 
We are a people for God’s own possession! He adores us. When God considers you, Believer, He smiles. I for one want to live up to the way God sees me. I want to be worthy of the pleasure I give Him and His calling on my life. Verses 11-17 tell us,
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
13 Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
 
Just because people in the world do not show us honor, does not mean we have the right to retaliate and dishonor them. God loves the person who ridicules your beliefs as much as He loves you. God wants them to know it. We reflect Jesus for the lost. We live in the kingdom of Heaven no matter where we are and that means treating people well and submitting to authority as a testimony to humility, kindness, and love. The way we interact with others is a witness to who God is and who He has made us to be. Verses 18-25 read,
Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly.20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
 
God loved you before you loved Him. Jesus forgave you while you were still a sinner. Romans 5:6-8 says,
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
​
We love people in their sin. Jesus suffered. He did no wrong. He loved people. He healed them. He didn’t wait for them to be worthy of being healed or loved. He simply loved. He not only didn’t wait for people to deserve His love, He made us worth it by taking all our sin onto Himself. He was blameless, but He made us blameless! He died for all of us, for all of them. They whipped Him and beat Him and hung Him on a tree in the most torturous kind of death imaginable, yet Jesus didn’t retaliate. He endured.
The honor the world showed Jesus was non-existent. They lifted Him up to kill Him. But that most cursed of deaths blessed us and gave us new life. Let’s live up to the honor Jesus shows us by living in the way the world cannot. Let’s be Jesus to them and be the stumbling block so that they can know The Rock of Jesus Christ. Let’s love them enough to honor them even though they don’t deserve it yet.
 

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Search my Heart, Make me like You, Lord

3/28/2016

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Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! Psalm 139:23
​Today, I am taking a brief break from reading Deuteronomy to do a rabbit trail study. I realized recently that there was something wrong. I had let my depression take over my mind, heart, and time. So I prayed. Psalm 139:23-24 reads,
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!
Asking The Lord to search our hearts is an important and beneficial discipline that can keep us progressing in our walk with Him. It can help us see areas where we fall short of His example. I listened to My Merciful Lord’s answer, which came quickly and gently. Two passages of scripture come to mind when I think about who Jesus is and who we should be as we mature into His image. One is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23; the other is the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
 
Asking myself how I compare with these two depictions of Christ reveals to me where my problems lay. So this time, when I asked, God showed me I had lost the joy I should be demonstrating as a fruit of the Spirit. So I asked Him to reveal the source. He said, “You’ve been resentful, because you have envied others. You’ve been exhausted because you have been suffering and instead of turning to me, you relied on yourself, my Darling you do not have the stores to do this alone. Give it to me.”
I did something I do not often do and that is, open the Bible to a random page and read. But there are times when God will speak that way. I opened the Bible to Joel chapter 2 and I read. Joel 2:12-13 reads,
Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.
I had been sinning, wearing my suffering for everyone to see, tearing my garments, heaping ashes on my head and crying for others to see. I had to break my heart so He could give me a new one. I had to put on the garment God gave me. Jesus said,
“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18).
I had exalted my suffering, wore it so that everyone could see it, and reveled in it. There is a difference between telling people I am suffering and need prayer and walking around looking, feeling, and exuding gloom. I should have trusted them to be compassionate since they too have the Spirit in them. We all suffer. I do not know anyone who isn’t suffering. Mine is no more special or important than yours. How can I share the love Paul described if I am glorifying myself through exalting my suffering? How can I demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit if I am busy demonstrated my pitiable self?
Jesus gave me a garment. Isaiah 61:1-3 reads,
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion--
    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
With my torn heart, I can wear a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, I can apply the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and wear the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. When people see me they should see an oak of righteousness and glorify the Lord. Am I praising God or am I walking around faint in spirit?  I have so much to be beautiful and glad about. Jesus overcame death and sin, He rose from the dead and made me alive in Him. One day we will be resurrected, receive new bodies, and spend eternity face to face with God! This life is temporary. We only have a short time to do the good work we were made for and reveal Jesus Christ to the world so they too can have the hope we have. Romans 6:5-11 reads,
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. 6 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus gave me a new mind and a new heart. I am a new person. But I have to purposefully put on the new self. He gives me these things, but I must put them on. Ephesians 4:20-24 reads,
But that is not the way you learned Christ! — 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Believer, if we want to look like Jesus, who we were created to look like, we have to be diligent about walking with Him. Take off your old filthy garments and put on the new garment washed clean in Jesus’ blood. You are not the sins of your past. You are not your illness, addiction, or bank account. You are not the circumstances of your life. You are a new creation, with a new name. You are a child of the Living God. The devil wants to destroy you. He accuses you of being your old self; he accuses you of being unworthy of God’s grace. Whether you are worthy of grace or not (and who is), you have been granted that grace. God chooses to see you through the blood of Jesus, He chooses to see you as His holy child. You are not what the father of lies claims, you are who the Lord God says you are.
Ask God to search your heart. Listen to what He tells you and put off the old self, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God.

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Colossians 4 We Need One Another; Christian Life is a Community

2/23/2016

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And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47
Colossians 4
We, the body of Christ are a community of people who love one another in real and tangible ways. Without the fellowship of the church, it is very difficult for a Christian to be comforted through sufferings, mature in Christ, or walk in the Spirit. The final chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians begin with a continuation of the picture of how maturing Christians should behave. Verses 1-6 read,
“Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
Verses 18-25 of chapter 3 talk about the maturing Christians’ relational behavior and verse 1 of this chapter carries that thought on. Paul directed: Wives, submit to your husbands. Husbands, love your Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.  Fathers, do not provoke your children. Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
Our behavior, the way the new-self lives as the image of Christ, continues from how we relate to one another to how we relate to The Lord. How we relate to the Lord enhances how we relate to one another. We are told to pray steadfastly being watchful and thankful. Steadfastly means persistently consistently, unwaveringly, with conviction, and faithfully. We pray not only for ourselves, being aware of our deficits and being thankful for all things in our lives but we pray for one another. We pray for our ministries, for the spreading of the Gospel, and our sufferings.
Mature behavior, that is behavior that exemplifies Christ also impacts how we relate to the world. We walk in wisdom toward non-Christians. The Greek word for wisdom sofia means higher spiritual understanding, clarity, insight, skill (human or divine), and intelligence. The time we have with non-Christians may be limited, they may only cross our paths once. We are called not to waste that time foolishly but to make the best use of it. The best use of that time is to embody The Lord, The Word of God and His Spirit to His glory. We therefore act in graciousness which is defined in Strong’s as kindness through the Lord’s influence on our hearts, expressed as accepting, benefice, favor, giving, mercy joy, liberality, pleasure, and being worthy of thanks. We are to speak seasoned with salt, the saving power of Jesus Christ so that we can answer each person.
Every meeting we have is an opportunity to share Jesus. It may not be an obvious recitation of the Gospel. It could be a few sentences of testimony, an act of love, or a show of kindness in Jesus’ name but it should always be to God’s glory. Peter said,
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:14-17).
Paul lived out what he wrote to the churches. He wrote this letter and so many of his others from prison. He never let an opportunity to glorify Jesus pass him by. He loved the body of Christ. His letters show his deep feeling for his brothers and sisters, his spiritual children, and his co-workers for Christ. They show his deep devotion and ardor for The Lord. They show his willingness to tell every person he came across about Jesus.
Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, called after Jesus ascended to Heaven, who is responsible for carrying God’s will of salvation to the gentile world did not live his Christian life alone. He lived it with his brothers and sisters in Christ. Verses 7-18 show us that very clearly.
“Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”
Tychius, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, Epaphras, Luke, Demas, and Nympha are all mentioned by name as being his beloved brothers and sister, co-workers, and co-servants giving him comfort and praying for the church.
Tychius and Onesimus most likely delivered this letter to the church at Colossae and they would also tell the church all that had happened during their visit to Paul in prison. We joyfully share the work of our ministries with each other so as to encourage, embolden, and instruct one another.
Onesimus was a slave to Philemon but had run away, met Paul and become a believer. Because of Paul’s intervention Philemon did not punish Onesimus as he could have (Philemon). It appears that Philemon may have released Onesimus from his servitude and or at least let him serve Paul. Either way, Philemon and Onesimus were master and bondservant in one life and brothers in their lives in Christ. We may have employers, mothers, and fathers in the world but when we are Christians they are our brothers and sisters. Our position in the world is not the same as our position in Christ. In Christ there is no Greek or Jew and no slave or master; we are one in Christ, equals with each other (Galatians 3:28).
Mark had at one time deeply disappointed Paul and for some time Paul did not let Mark work with him (Acts 15:36-41). But Mark learned, he matured and the two reconciled. Paul directed the church to welcome him and no longer hold his past against him. We too cannot hold pasts, present immaturity, or sins against one another. Mark and Justus had been the only comfort from the Jewish Christians that Paul had. We have to ignore denominational lines and remember we are one church, one body with one Spirit. Ephesians 4:1-7 reads,
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.”
Paul pointed out the sincerity and intensity of Epaphras’ prayers for the church and their maturation. We too should care that deeply for one another’s walks as much as our own to pray for one another with the grace of Epaphras.
Nympha hosted a church in her home. She opened her home so that people could meet together, fellowship, learn and mature. Her hospitality made the church in Colossae possible. We have to care enough to meet together. It is in gathering together that we are able to mature in Christ and walk steadfastly in The Spirit. Hebrews 10:24-25 reads,
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Believer, you cannot walk in Christ without His body. You cannot mature and so become the image of Christ without the example of who He is around you teaching you to love as He loves. You cannot be comforted and honed by the Spirit if you are the not around those who share His Spirit with you. You need the church and the church needs you.
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Colossians 3 The Intentional Pursuit of The Image of Christ

2/22/2016

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Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14
​Colossians 3
When you were saved, you became a new person. The old you died with Christ and was buried in your obedience as symbolize by your baptism (Colossians 2:12). You came alive but not as the old you who lived to gratify yourself, satiate your own desires and please other people. No you came alive as a new person, a child of God, a friend of Jesus, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. While we still walk on this earth, we still struggle with our flesh, that dead sin nature trying to defeat the living Spirit of Jesus Christ. In our obedient pursuit of the image of Christ we have to remember that the old self is dead and throw it off. We have to remember the new self is Jesus Christ and put on our new clothes, walk in the Spirit, and become the image of Christ. It is intentional, not happenstance. Verses 1-4 read,
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Setting our minds and our goals on Heavenly things, the Kingdom of God keeps our focus where it ought to be. Paul compared our lives following Jesus to athletics. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 reads,
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
Athletes have a goal and they work toward it. They train, keeping their goal in mind. I have a friend who runs marathons. He started out running shorter races. He set goals to run longer ones, first a 5K then a 10 K until after several years he could run a marathon which is over 42 kilometers. Then he set his goal to run the marathons at faster times. He now regularly places in the various races he runs whether they are 5 kilometers or 26.2 miles. It did not happen because he set the goal, it happened because he set his mind on it and worked toward it. In Philippians 3:12-16, Paul writes it this way,
“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.”
That upward call of God in Christ Jesus, is the image of Christ, it is His glorification and ours (1 Corinthians 2:7). It is a purposeful pursuit. Paul said to forget what lies behind. The enemy will constantly try and tell us we who we use to be. He wants us to remember our old selves, the liars, the thieves, the adulterers, the idolaters, and the selfish. But the Word of God says that we are no longer those people, those people are dead! We are born again, we are not known by those sins any longer. We are now the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  So we do not give in to the lies of the enemy to return to our old lives. Verses 5-11 read,
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self ]with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
We let our old selves stay dead, we do not give them new lives. Jesus paid the price for our sins already. He is coming to bring the wrath of the Lamb to everyone who refused to accept His payment. How and why could we stomp over His sacrifice by resurrecting our dead flesh? No we are not who we used to be. We not the image of the world, we are the image of Christ. We are not man separate persons and peoples, we are one people, we are the body of Christ, we are the image of Christ. Believer, every single one of us has this new identity, we are collectively the body of Christ and He is in each one of us. If you do not want the enemy accusing you of being your old dead self, why would you think it is okay to do his bidding and accuse a brother of being his old self? How about pursuing the goal of the image of Christ together? Just as we deliberately put off our old selves, we expressly put on our new selves. Verses 12-17 read,
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
What a beautiful description of how we should be living life together. It doesn’t happen by accident, it is done consciously and with intent. It is the goal we set and pursue. Bearing one another is easily written and not always so easily done. There will be people who we, in our flesh have difficulty tolerating. But in The Spirit we can and do love them. The image of Christ is described beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends.”
Remember God is love, to know Him empowers us to love. Love means living in unity and community the way verses 12-17 describe and the way the 1 Corinthians 13 describes. That kind of life doesn’t happen accidently, it doesn’t happen if we just wish or say it is true, and it doesn’t happen by pretending in front of others. There was a woman who for some reason hated me. Every imperfection I have she concentrated on and enlarged so that she couldn’t bear to be around me. She did some things to show other people how lazy, rebellious, and arrogant I was. She rejoiced over the bad things that happened to me because of her hate. It took me years to get over the wounds she inflicted; it took me years to forgive her. But I did because I purposely sought to love her and so forgive her. She is my sister in Christ, forgiven by my Lord, how could I not forgive her? The Lord knows the wrong she inflicted on me. He is God, not me. He is transforming her and He is transforming me.
Looking like Jesus, walking in the Spirit does not look like the world. We look very different from them. Had I been in the world, I would have told the world about this woman’s inadequacies, I would have hurt her back the way I wanted to do. But I am not in the world, I am in Jesus and He is in me. He is greater than the world. I know this to be true and I can overcome the world. 1 John 4:4-12 says it this way,
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
If we want the world to see God in us we live like Jesus, which is vastly different than the way of the world. Verses 18-25 tell us what we should like.
“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”
The picture we are presented with is one of humility, meekness that is concerned with others rather than exalting our own needs. It is so opposite from the world to submit to your spouse, trusting the love he has for you. It is contradictory to the world to love someone and trust that you never have to be unkind to be treated the way you hope to be treated. It is unlike the world to obey authority figures not in order to please them, gain something, or look good but in obedience to God. Let God be God and let us be who He has made us to be, the image of Christ.
 
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Colossians 2 It is the Work of Jesus not the Rules of Religion that Saves

2/21/2016

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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. Colossians 2:9-10
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. Colossians 2:9-10
​Colossians 2
Paul was not in Colossae, he had never met many of them, but he needed them to be encouraged to mature in Christ together and conform to His image. They were inundated with people teaching them the rules of Judaism as well as myths and false teaching that were clearly not biblical. If they took these false teachings seriously they could not mature into the full assurance of understanding and knowledge of God because they would be filled with the knowledge of a false god, carefully constructed to mimic the One True God. Verses 1-5 read,
“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.”
Paul encouraged the church to know God, to pursue Jesus, the Truth, the Way, and the Life and so strengthen their faith and not to adulterate the Gospel with lies.
I recently watched a film with a story which took place in 16th century England. The story was largely about the struggle between the Catholic Church at the time ruling Europe and their difficulty accepting a Protestant monarch. The Vatican’s response to anyone who did not follow what they called the one true church reminded me of the Pharisees response to the first Christians and the world’s response to Christians today. In the film, the Catholics had such an ardor for their religion they lost the ardor for Christ. As I reflected on that, I realized that many people begin with a zeal for Jesus that develops into a fervor for Christianity and then into a fanaticism for rules. It is an easy slope to slip down and one we must be rigorous about keeping clear of. If we fall off the path of following Jesus and begin following religion, we will not conform to the image of Christ, we will conform to the image of the Pharisees.
Paul did not want this to happen to the church at Colossae and he knew that it could happen because people were preaching rules rather than Christ to them. He was not with them in person, but they belonged to Christ and had the same Spirit he did. He appealed to them to let The Holy Spirit lead them and not people teaching anything other than Jesus. That does not happen by accident. It is a persistent and deliberate choice. Verses 6-10 read,
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”
Receiving Christ is not the entirety of faith; it is the first step of a walk. Accepting Jesus places us on the path to follow Him, but following Jesus means actually making Him Lord, taking steps and walking with Him, not merely calling Him Lord and standing at the foot of the path. Jesus is God, all of Him, not part of Him. In Him dwells the completeness of God and you and I have been filled in Him, Jesus our Lord!
Do you get that? The Holy Spirit is inside you. He is the fullness of God and He indwells you! He has become an elemental part of you. Indwells means to possess, inhabit, and exist within. Synonyms are: built-in, complete, connate, elemental, inborn, intrinsic, and utter. He dwells in you. It is not impossible to follow Christ because the same power that raised Him from the dead is in you! Romans 8:10-14 encourages us that we can walk with Jesus.
“But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
You don’t need anything more! You have the fullness of God in you! It is He who changes you from sinful to righteous. It is not rules and rituals that change you. It is The Lord who conforms you to Christ’s image. Verses 11-15 read,
“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 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, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
Jesus willingly laid down His life for us. We willingly give Him the sins of our past, present and future and put our old selves to death with Him. But Jesus raised from death and with His Resurrection we are given new lives. God did that work! No work we do has anything to do with our salvation. God died on the cross, God resurrected, God chose us, God saved us. Our debt of sin is cancelled, it is erased. We can’t pay for something we do not owe! The enemy tries to throw guilt in our faces and tries to get us to think we ought to be following a long list of rules in order to make up for all that sin, but he and his minions were put to shame when Jesus rose from the dead and conquered them forever.
The enemy will keep trying to discredit us. People will accuse us of hatred and hypocrisy. They will accuse us of not doing enough pious acts. But the Law of God was fulfilled in Jesus (Matthew 5:17). There is nothing more we must do to be saved. We humbly hand over our sins to Jesus, make Him Lord over us, and believe He is the Risen Christ and He does the saving (Romans 10:9). Jesus did give us some commandments; love the Lord with our whole selves (Matthew 22:37), love one another (John 13:34), take the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19), and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). These commandments are not about being delivered, but rather about living out love. Obedience is the result of our faith (Romans 1:5). It strengthens our faith it does not create it.  Ephesians 2:4-10 reads,
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
People will do the job of the enemy and accuse us of not being Christian enough, of not following the rules of the church, and of not following the myths they believe we ought to follow if we call ourselves Christians. But we do not call ourselves Christian, Christ calls us His own! (1 John 3:1). We don’t pray to saints or angels, bow to men, or hate any people. We worship The Lord, the One True God, we obey Him, and we love His people. Don’t let the accusations of the enemy lead you to try and save yourself by your own works. Verses 16-23 reads,
“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”
No matter how hard you punish yourself, no matter how many rules you follow, you cannot stop the desires of the flesh. Resisting temptation makes you want to satiate those desires all the more. With every self-flagellating strike you only confirm the desire you try and beat out of yourself. With every crack of the whip you repeat the condemnation, “do not lust” and increase your craving. Why punish yourself? Jesus already took the punishment! Does His sacrifice mean nothing? When you take on the work of God and try and save yourself, you exalt yourself and minimize The Lord. Galatians 2:17-21 reads,
“But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 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. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
The same passage in The Message puts it this way,
“Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, aren’t perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was “trying to be good,” I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.
19-21 What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.”
Believer, are you trying to save yourself? Are you following rules and rituals to please a religion instead following Christ? Are you working hard make yourself good instead of delighting in the rest of the Lord? Go back to the gospel. Jesus saves. He, the fullness of God is in you! You do not need anything more than Him.
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Colossians 1 Our Hope is the Image of Christ

2/20/2016

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​Colossians 1
Today we begin reading Paul and Timothy’s letter to the church at Colossae. As with most of Paul’s letters, he begins by telling the church how much he loves them. Verses 1-8 read,
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”
Because Paul loved the church so much, he wanted them to grow into who they were meant to be. Who we are meant to be is the pinnacle of who we are created to be, that is the image of Christ. Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). But the fall brought sin and death into the world and keeps humanity from living that image. When we come to Christ, The Holy Spirit comes in and begins working on us, changing us back to who we are supposed to be, the image of Christ. The more mature we are, the more we look and behave like Jesus. Maturity or looking like Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love and love shows in walking like Jesus.
Paul encouraged the Colossians that he saw the fruit of maturity in them, he saw the love they had for all the saints. They didn’t love because they were good people. They loved because of the hope laid up in heaven. What hope is the hope laid up in Heaven? It is our ultimate glorification when we will be perfected in the image of Christ. Every bit of sin and flesh we hold onto now will be gone and we will finally be exactly who we are meant to be seamlessly united with Jesus Christ in New Jerusalem for eternity. 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 says,
“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting?”
And the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 12:22-25,
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
When we read about hope in the Bible, it is not talking about wishing or yearning it is talking about confidence in God’s promise as already fulfilled, faith. Hope gives us the courage to keep going through all the muck and mire of life because we know what and who awaits us. Theses promises such as eternal life and perfection are so sure, that we can consider them already done. Hebrews 10:14 reads,
“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Jesus perfected us, past tense! It is already done even though we are going through the process still. He perfected or completed us who are being sanctified or purified and made holy. Our love for Jesus causes us to love one another. Our love for one another causes us to want each other to become mature, to grow in the Spirit and be more like Jesus. Jesus’ image is the fruit we bear and Jesus’ image or His glory is what increases our faith and the church. Because of our love for one another we pray for each other to constantly and consistently grow. Verses 8-14 read,
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Paul’s prayer for the church in Colossae encourages us that we should be filled with knowing God’s will along with discernment and understanding. We do not just say, God’s will is that all people come to know Him (1 Timothy 2:4) or God’s will is all people glorify Him (Isaiah 43:7). We are filled with it, we act on it, we walk and we bear fruit in every good work. And doing so, increases our knowledge of God which is also God’s will (Hosea 6:6). It is not an easy walk. It takes strength, endurance and patience. But we have our hope and so we can walk that walk with persistence, fortitude, and joy! What is our hope? We are delivered, saved from the kingdom of darkness, ignorance and slavery to the prince of the world and now we are in the Kingdom of God. We belong to the King of kings, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Knowing God is His will for us. Knowing God results in obedience, faith, and maturity. Knowing God brings us into unity with Him and so conforms us to the Image of Jesus Christ. To know God we must know Jesus. Who is Jesus? Verses 15-20 tell us,
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Hebrews 1:3-4 reads,
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”
The fullness of God, everything God is dwelled in Jesus. If we want to know who God is, we need to know Jesus. Jesus made it possible to know or unite with The Father because He, the perfect image of God paid the price of death on the cross for us. He resurrected to give us eternal life (John 11:25). He ascended to give us The Holy Spirit and so fully unite us with God (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit is the nature of God and He chooses to indwell us. He chooses to transform us into Jesus’ image. We can know God because we have His own Spirit in us. Verses 21-23 describe it this way,
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
If we love God, if Jesus is our King, if The Holy Spirit indwells us we will know Him and we will mature and want to know Him more. We want this for ourselves, for one another, and for the sake of the lost. But the transformation does not happen automatically. We walk with endurance, patience and joy through the suffering. It is suffering that teaches us obedience and it is suffering that develops the character of Jesus in us. Romans 5:2-5 reads,
“Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Remember what that hope is, it is us perfected to the image of Christ and living absolutely united with him eternally. That is how we go through the trials with endurance, patience and joy. Are we crazy to rejoice in suffering? No, we are wise to rejoice in suffering. We can take joy in suffering because we recognize God’s mercy through it. Verses 25-29 read,
“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”
What Paul is saying when he says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body” is that suffering is what is making him more like Jesus. As he became more mature and knew God more, he was responsible to teach others what he knew. As we grow to be more like Jesus, we have a responsibility to live it out and tell others who Jesus is and how wonderful He is. Unity with Jesus and His Body requires we all become the image of Christ. The more we know God, the more we become like Him, the more we want to know Him. It is a lovely cycle but not a circle an infinite spiral which brings us closer and closer to perfect Jesus. The more mature we are the more we love Jesus and one another. The more we love one another the more mature we want all of us to be. It is another infinite spiral which brings us closer to Jesus and more united with the body. Love and knowing God which leads to maturity form the double helix of the kingdom of God.
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You are not just any Creation. You are God's Workmanship!

10/28/2015

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​I believe it is important to understand the distinctiveness of who you are when you are in Christ, so that you live up to who you now are in Him rather than continue living as who you used to be. Ephesians 2:10 reads,
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
You are God’s creation, His workmanship. This verse isn’t merely talking about how God created you as He created all people, knitting them together in the womb with specific parents and ancestry. That is true, He did that for you too. But in Christ Jesus you have been created new, you are a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17). And He has made you specifically and specially with at least one gift and made to do good things. (1 Peter 4:10). Some translations of the Bible translate the word workmanship as masterpiece. And Believer, I think you are a masterpiece, carefully crafted by the Creator of the entire universe. He created you lovingly, carefully, and purposely. His masterpiece! Not just an assembly line pop art project but a masterpiece!
What are some masterpieces you can think of? DaVinci’s The Mona Lisa? Beethoven’s 9th Symphony? Van Gogh’s Starry Night? You are more amazing and beautiful than any of those pieces. You are an intricate, complex, beautiful, and wonderful work.
Job 10:10-12 reads,
“Did you not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
    and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
    and your care has preserved my spirit.”
 
Psalm 139:13-15 says,
 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”
 God, Our Father, Our Creator, Our King, loves us deeply. He made us. He has plans for us. He chose us.
Psalm 139:16-18 says,
“Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.” 
Can you even imagine how many grains of sand there are on a small area of beach? Yet God’s thoughts of you outnumber them! He loves you that much! He knew you and loved you before you were born. He knew who you would be and ordained your days. We’re not talking about just anyone here, but we are talking about The LORD! Wow! That blows my mind.
That is really deep love. If King of Kings loves you that much, what right do you have to disagree with that love? Maybe you are reading this and you are not a Believer. Maybe you wonder if God loves you that much too. Yes. He does. (Read here to find out about that love.)
And when you are a believer you are not who you were anymore. God no longer sees your sin (the wrongs you commit like lying, complaining, or stealing), or your tendency toward sin (called the flesh). He made you a new person!  2 Corinthians 5:16-21 says,
“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Workmanship of The Lord, you are amazing! Every day you are being made more and more like Jesus, more and more beautiful. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says,
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 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 this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
The Spirit is in you. He is inside you! The Lord God is within you. (Romans 8:11). His transformation, workmanship is noticeable. Galatians 5:22-23 describes it like this,
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
As God’s workmanship there are many amazing things about you. One of them is that you have been given gifts and power. You were made for the purpose of good works and He gave you the ability to do those things. Believer, be who you were created to be, a masterpiece, God’s own workmanship. Do what you were created to do, good works for God’s glory.
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    Donna Campbell

    As I read the Bible every day, I take what God teaches me, what He says, and write it out. I then share that with you. It gives me a deeper understanding of the Word and I hope that it will encourage you as it does me, to put your love and faith into action.

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