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15 Jul

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Colossians 1:9-12   For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

I attended two church services yesterday and heard two great sermons. The first questioned why we are not impacted by the Bible as we should be. The second questioned why we don’t live our lives sacrificially like we should be. They easily could have been rolled into one; for a person that is moved by the time they spend in God’s Word will be a person that their life changes to an attitude of service to the One who they come to know more of there. You simply cannot spend time daily in God’s Word and not become a changed person; I live my life now by the grace and mercy of God as a testament to the power of His Word. You say you want more; you want to know more of Him and yet you only seek Him once a week. How much return do you expect for your effort? Are you not getting what you should expect to receive?

Paul was hearing of those in Colosse that were growing in their faith. Paul was a great intercessor and began to diligently pray for them to be encouraged and strengthened by God. They did not have the Bible available to them as we do now. Do you grasp how lucky you are with God’s Word most likely sitting around your house right now? Do you know there are many places in the world that that Book could cost you your life? Paul prayed for them to be strengthened, for he knew they were fighting against the world in their pursuit of Christ. We are seeing our country turning it’s back on God and the moral standards He proclaims. We need to be spending our lives with the tools He has given us to stand against the world ourselves. To stand up for our faith against the tide of sin in the name of equality that is sweeping our nation. Will our nation turn it’s back on God to the point that those of us who claim Him will not stand for Him?

Pursue God; pursue Him daily in His Word and let him open your heart to a greater understanding of him. Let Him show you how to live your life as a living sacrifice indebted to the One whom gave you eternal life. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. A heart that is truly after God will find him in his Word. It will produce a changed life and a life that will be eternally rewarded. It will produce a heart that comes to know and understand more of God and the things of God. All this is produced by God and through the power of his Word. It all starts with a heart and desire for Him that opens the pages of that Holy Book now available to you.

 
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Posted by on July 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Do you see the red dot on the target?

09 Nov

Do you see the red dot on the target?

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Even as I tried to pray this morning the world rushes in. The tasks of the day, of the next day, of all the busyness of life. All these things that we all try to do, so many times trying to do too much. In today’s rough economy if we are lucky enough to have a job, most likely we are expected to be doing more for less; to make up for the budget cuts. We then take the personal side of our lives and try to pack in every activity possible; even church is hopefully made the cut on the itinerary. Satan smiles; our eyes are on the tasks and not on Christ. Well played Satan; well played indeed. Time we feel is our enemy; and we may pay for it for eternity.

The Apostle Paul was writing to refute all the false teachers in Colosse. and Laodecia.  They had come and presented their “to do” lists to the believers. They had led them astray in all of the ritualistic religion tasks they were tell people they must do to be saved. The pressures of the tasks pointed to people earning their salvation; and not the grace God has given them through Christ. They were taking their eyes off Christ and focusing on what they saw as required tasks. Paul pointed them back to focusing on Christ. Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight– 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. Grounded and steadfast – focused.

There is the busyness; then there is the pain that may take our eyes off Christ. It may be the loss of a job, the strain of relationships, the pain of sickness, and the list goes on. The trials of life designed by Satan is to draw our attention away from the target. Satan wants us to lash out at God; to be angry in the “why me”? God allows the trials to grow us and draw us near to Him; Satan’s plans backfire; so Satan will form another plan. A mark of a true Christian is a life of struggle; a life of desiring God in all that they face. A life marked by the pain of the trial, and the ever-growing heart for God. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. We must press within ourselves to realize all we face can seem small when we focus on God. I even feel trapped in my current situation in so many ways; but I strive to not let it get me down. For when I begin to look down into worry, my eyes are no longer looking up to my eternal King sitting on the throne; and I get to join Him for eternity.

 
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Posted by on November 9, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Our Paul’s of today

08 Oct

Our Paul’s of today

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

I have spent a LOT of time in a few verses in Colossians preparing a research paper recently. The Apostle Paul had written the letter as a means of correction and direction in pointing them to the centrality of Christ. Epaphras had started the church who was predominately Gentile, but it had battled cultural influences and traditions. There were many false teachers that emerged leading followers astray with the injection of the tradition into the message of Christ’s Gospel. They had added to the requirements, and even steered many away with blasphemy. There were so many heresies, one particular was not named in the scripture.

I thought of our team in India this morning. God’s light has been shown and hundreds of small house churches have been started by very young preachers just as Epaphras thousand of years ago. They are battling the influences of their culture and a lack of knowledge on their own. There are many questions unanswered and those who are agnostic can gain an upper hand. Our team is the Paul of today; teaching, edifying, encouraging, and simply pointing them to the centrality and supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ as Paul did throughout Colossians. 9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

The people of Colosse had entwined into the simplicity of the Gospel, the need to earn their salvation through their works in addition to it. They had moved to worshiping stars, angels, denying themselves, and many other influences of society and tradition. The Gospel or Good News of Christ is so simple we even complicate it today. We can never earn our way into heaven.  Living a good life will not outweigh your bad on God’s eternity judgement scale and get you into heaven. Salvation produces good works but good works do not produce salvation. The only way into heaven is through a humble repentant heart. A realization of your sin, the confession and plea for forgiveness of that sin, and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Lord over your life with the price He paid with His blood on the cross at Calvary.  John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

 
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Posted by on October 8, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not multi-tasking

24 Aug

Not multi-tasking

Colossians 3:2   Set your mind on the things above, not on things on the earth.

Where is your minds set to? Is it like mine and seems to constantly being re-adjusted to focus on another tasks outside the primary tasks at hand? I am very self motivated and it seems the older I get the less I desire to multi-task. I seem to have the desire to do only one thing at a time as well as I possibly can. But those distractions come every time to draw my attention away.

Colossians is where the apostle Paul was dealing with many problems in the church. False teaching was distracting from Christ’s deity, and Paul was warning them of their error. Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Paul knew the followers of Christ were becoming distracted from the messages of Grace; and they were led astray by false teachers in the early church. Paul spends much of this epistle pointing to whom Christ is, and how our lives should be focused on Him.

The entire 3rd chapter of Colossians is the application of living for Christ. Of a mind that is focused on the things above, and not the lusts of this world. Of a life before Christ and the death of that life. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. There is an ‘BC (before Christ) and an AD(after death) in the timeline of your life. When you heed God’s call on your life, and accept the free gift of Grace He offers through Christ; your life before that moment in time dies. The life after that mark should be a life focused on serving Him with a heart of thanksgiving for what He has done for you. That focus should not be distracted by the things of this world, but focused on eternity and the things above. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. This is the life of a disciple; one that is focused on Christ, and the things above.

 
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Posted by on August 24, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Not any angel

07 Jul

Not any angel

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight– 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

The Apostle Paul was speaking to the Colossians, a city who was divided deeply on who they worshiped. In chapter 1 he has been setting the stage for Christ’s preeminence; simply stated First & Foremost.  17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. Paul begins to speak here of the ministry of Christ’s reconciliation, or righting us to God through His death on the Cross. The Colossians believed in many angels, and they did not believe in Christ incarnate.

Do you believe that He was truly God, and truly man? 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. You must get this right, there is no middle ground here. Christ was not any angel, Christ was God in the flesh walking here as a man, suffered physical death, was raised from the dead to walk the earth again to many witnesses, and ascended to heaven to be with His Father until He returns again to reclaim those who believe. He did all of this for you, so that you can spend eternity in paradise and not Hell for not believing in Him.

When you are moved from darkness to light, you begin to see these things. You see Christ as the Savior of your soul, and the only Way unto heaven. Make your days now as a child of Light ones that count in service to Him. Do not let the temporary pleasures of this world drag your vision away from the One whom paid the highest price for you. He left paradise to come and die a death of pain words cannot describe with the sin of the world on His back, all so you could join Him in Heaven forever.

 
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Posted by on July 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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My defense

23 Apr

My defense

1 Peter 3:15-16 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

All of this reflecting upon my life recently in the preparation of updating my testimony, has me in a bigger picture of self analysis now. And in my time this morning I come upon the verse above – God’s perfect timing again. Why do I share with you my life, my hurts, my healing’s, my views of what God is showing me? It is for you to possess that same hope that I have in an eternal paradise with the Creator and Savior of this world. This world we live in only creates at best temporal pleasure, but assured consistent disappointments. You have a yearning inside you for a hope that is beyond this world that God placed there, but the question is what do you do with that desire? When you humble yourself and accept Christ, that hope blossoms with His Spirit living inside you. Colossians 1:5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.

The Gospel of Christ is also known as the Good News. This Good News is the placing of that hope in you through the acceptance of Salvation, the free gift from God. There is nothing you can do to earn it, but you can humble yourself and accept it, and rest in that hope for your temporal time here on earth. Romans chapter 5 speaks much of that hope, and especially verse 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Faith in your God will begin to strengthen that hope daily. That faith and hope you will possess will allow you to see past the disappointments that your time here will bring to you almost daily. You will begin to see those fears that you have as attacks from Satan, and you will now possess the power through God to resist those fears that once held you. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  My defense simply put is the Peace that has come to me in a world out of control around me. A Peace that surpasses all understanding, but is available to all who accept Christ as the only way to have eternal hope. He has changed me from the inside out, as only He can. The rest of my life I hope to life as a bondservant to Him, glorifying Him as a humble gratitude for what He did for me. He saved me; He will save you. The choice is yours also.

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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