Suffering for...

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 

Colossians 1:24 NIV

I participate in a Precepts Bible Study class at my church on Sunday mornings and we are studying the book of Colossians. I made a comment about these verses and the person who was leading asked me to review these verses next week when I lead the study. The guy next to me looked at me and said, "Good luck with that."

I'm not going to get into the "Why do good people suffer?" topic. I'm just going to point out that like Paul, we sometimes suffer and God uses that suffering to strengthen his body, the church. Paul taught the Corinthians that "just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ" (II Corinthians 1:5). Now, we usually just hear the previous verses about God comforting us so we can comfort others, but we tend to overlook the suffering that needs comfort component. The point is that God uses our suffering for the sake of his body, the church. 

Remember we are the body of Christ, the living, visible, and active extension of Christ hear on earth. I don't know if someone needs to necessarily see us suffering so much as God uses our suffering. Not everyone saw Paul get forty lashes minus one, beaten with rods, pelted with rocks or shipwrecked ( see II Corinthians 11:23ff). He was beaten and pelted because he was preaching Christ crucified and shipwrecked and imprisoned because the enemy did not want the truth of Christ to be heard. So, if you suffer, look to Christ for comfort and press on to serve the Lord with all you heart, mind and soul.    

Flourish

I am thankful for...

It is not the dead who praise the Lord,
   those who go down to the place of silence; 
it is we who extol the Lord,
both now and forevermore. 
Praise the Lord.

Psalms 115:17-18 NIV

and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 1:12-14 NIV

Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Leviticus 9:23-24 NIV 

I woke up this morning, made my coffee, started to reading the Bible and remembering that it is Thanksgiving here in the United States of America and I asked myself what can I be thankful for. Maybe the coffee hadn't quite kicked in or I was having a bit of a sugar hangover from the Oreo churros my youngest son and I made last night. I could easily say I was thankful for my salvation, my wonderful wife and children, my job, my friends and outside of my back and allergies, my health. 

But I asked myself, "What am I really thankful for?" I want to think about it. I would like to ask you, "What are you really thankful for?" I would truly like to hear and glorify God in the comments section. 

Thanks and have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving!

The Lord Remembers

God Turns

Psalm 114:7-8

God is so good, so gracious and awesome in his love for us. He says he will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6,8; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5). His presence in our lives is both comforting and empowering. We will go through battles. We will fight the good fight. We will walk through the desert, the wilderness and valley of the shadow of death. But, he will be with us. 

But God does not just get us over. He turns rocks into pools and hard rocks into springs. In Exodus 17 the Israelites were in the desert and without water. (I won't go into the lesson that they complained to Moses rather than cried out to God here but if you're complaining rather than crying out; stop complaining and cry out to God.) The Lord had Moses strike the rock and water came out. Think about that. You can't dig for water in a rock. But God turns things that are not into things that are. 

You may be up against a rock, even a hard rock (on a side note: am I the rock, the hard rock that God must strike to bring springs of living water into my marriage or family?). Seek God. His presence will be with you. In his time he will turn that rock, that hard rock into a pool, even a spring. 

Light Dawns

Reminder: Christ is Supreme

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 

Colossians 1:18 NIV

This is just a reminder as we head into the weekend, Thanksgiving and the Christmas season: In everything Christ has the supremacy. This is not Christ should be supreme, Christ is supreme. 

Paul was teaching the truth about who Jesus Christ is; the head of the body, the church; the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything he might have the supremacy. He was not telling them to put Jesus first, he was reminding them that Jesus is first. Christ is supreme. 

Christ did not die on the cross just to die, he died to rise again and conquer sin and death and to rescue us from the dominion of darkness and bring us into his kingdom, redeeming us and forgiving us of our sins. Christ is supreme. 

So, I encourage you to remember, rest and rejoice in the truth that in everything Christ has the supremacy. 

She'll Hold,Scotty!

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

Colossians 1:17 NIV

I don't know if you watched the original Star Trek series, but, sometimes the scene would entail the crew trying to make its' way through a crisis and the Enterprise was being pushed to its' limits.  The whole ship would be shaking and creaking at max warp speed. Scotty would say. "Captain! She's breaking up!" Then Kirk would calmly say, "She'll hold." 

Sometimes I feel like my life is like that except it's me fervently praying, "My life is breaking up, Lord, help!" And the Lord calmly tells me, "I'll hold you together." Maybe you feel the same way. 

The truth, the good news, is that in Christ all things hold together by the power of his word. You will experience some battles and some losses. You may need to do some repairs. But, Christ will hold you together. 

Lord Jesus, you know the trials, struggles and battles we are going through. We ask that in the power of your Name you will hold us together in you. 

All Things In Him

Know Christ, Know God

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 

Colossians 1:15 NIV

If I ever hear a rumor about someone and I like to say, "Let's go ask them if that's what they said (or did)." It's not just to stop a rumor before it goes any farther than me, it's also because if I want to know someone or something about someone the best way is usually to go directly to that person. 

Often times when a teacher asks a student a question about a selection they were reading the child will close their eyes or look up to the ceiling to try to remember the answer. I always tell them the answer is in the book, not on the back of their eye lids or the ceiling. When it comes to knowing God, the answer is in Christ, not ourselves or any thing else. 

If you want to know who God is, you need to know who Christ is because Christ and God, the Father and the Son are one (with the Holy Spirit). There are many opinions, theories, religions, sects, and philosophies, that try to state who, what or even if God is. But, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining al things by his powerful word" (Hebrews 1:3a). Paul, in Colossians takes the time to emphasize this foundational truth. Knowing God, knowing Christ is not a mystical experience,  an exclusive philosophy, nor a ritualistic practice available to only those who are able to achieve that state of being. 

The disciples describe their experience with Christ not as some mystical experience but as an encounter with a real person. Christ came into this world to reveal the Father to us and to bring us into his kingdom as brothers and sisters. Knowing Christ is knowing God.

The Beginning of Wisdom

The Spirit and the Skills

Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 

Exodus 35:30-34 NIV

We often think that the Spirit only fills people with gifts like evangelism and healing. What we see in this passage is that the Spirit of God enables, or gifts us to serve in many different ways. Bezalel and Oholiab were skilled not only at working with metals and stones and all kinds of artistic crafts but they could teach others to do them. 

Before becoming an educator I worked in construction quite a bit. In both fields I have worked with some gifted and talented people. I believe that the ability to create and make things and to teach others is given by God. We all have abilities and talents that God has given us. The cool part is that God can be glorified in them if we give him the glory. 

So here's the question? What has God gifted you? What abilities has he given you? 

Now here's the challenge (or exhortation): Use your gifts and abilities than God has given you to glorify God. Acknowledge that God has given you those gifts and abilities and thank God or them.  

No Treaty, No Snare

Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 

Exodus 34:12 NIV

When you have an enemy, you have to remember that they are your enemy. The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margret Sanger, had a belief and a goal. She thought there were too many African Americans (not the term she used), to devised a way to have African Americans kill there babies; it's called abortion. I don't think she invented abortion, she just believed that she could offer it to people of color as a choice and the end result would be the death of millions of African Americans by their own choice. Even though she is long dead and gone her idea still has the effect she desired, less African Americans. Thirteen million African American babies have been aborted since 1973 alone. Thirteen MILLION. 

My point is that if we make a "treaty" with our enemy, sin, it will continue to be our enemy and find a way to inflict damage, destroy and bring death to us. Later in Exodus 34 the Lord tells Moses not to choose wives for their sons from the daughters of those living in the land because, "they will lead your sons to do the same"(prostitute themselves to their gods. That meant doing things like sacrificing their children. The treaty, the compromise would lead to sin, which leads to death. You can not worship the Lord and any other god. Worshiping the Lord brings life, abundant life, life to the full. 

Remember, God wants you to enjoy your salvation. Jesus didn't die so we would still be bound by sin. He died so that we might have life and have it to the full. 

Veterans: Thank you

It's Time to Rally Together

   Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

Exodus 32:25-26 NIV

The situation was out of control. There was no time for a committee, the time for instruction was long past. Moses assessed things and saw that it was time to draw a line and call out to see who was for the Lord. 

It's time to assess our lives. It's time to listen to the Spirit's call. The world is out of control, calling evil good and good evil. If you are for the Lord, come to Him. We're not coming to a leader, unless the leader is calling us to follow Christ. Like the Levites we must cross that line and decide to be for the Lord. 

Now, I have no desire to start an in house church witch hunt or stir up dissension by saying that "some Christians" or "some churches" or "some pastors" water down the gospel. The truth is some do. The truth is, sometimes I do. Sometimes my actions speak louder than my words and I and standing on the wrong side of that line.  There are times when we must assess our lives, assess our churches, assess our beliefs and actions. What side of the line are we on? 

This is not a call to point out what everyone else is doing wrong. This is an admonition to check yourself and see if you are loving like Christ loved you. Are we worshipping the god of "I got to have it now" (debt, credit cards), the god of "self" or the god of "desire"? Christ is about giving not spending, serving others not your own needs, and seeking to protect and help someone else not use them for your own pleasure or benefit. And this is not about being alone, it's about rallying together as the time draws closer for our Savior to come again. Together we worship the Lord. Together we serve and reach out into the darkness of this dying world with the light of the truth in Christ. 

Who Makes You Holy

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

Exodus 31:12-13 NIV

Sometimes when we read a verse like this we forget that the point is that God makes us holy. We get caught up in legalism about if wether the lack of attendance is a sin or not. But that's not the real point. The point is that it is the Lord who makes us holy. We don't go to church to try to be holy, we go to church to be reminded that God makes us holy. 

This calls to mind one of my favorite verses: It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  1 Corinthians 1:30 NIV Christ is our holiness and in him we are made holy. Think about communion. We don't take communion to remember what we did, we remember what Christ did, that his body was broken and his blood was shed. In Christ we are made holy.

Quite frankly, I think most of the time when we go to church we are really just going out of habit or to seek a warm fuzzy. We forget that we are there to worship the Lord of all creation, the Lord God Almighty, our Savior and Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one who make us holy. 

Let Your Prayers Rise Up

And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each on had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people. Revelation 5:8

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God's people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God's people, went up before God from the angel's hand. Revelation 8:3-4

Praise God Because He Stands Beside Us

With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
   in the great throng I will praise him.
For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
   to save their lives from those who would condemn them.
Psalm 109:30-31

I don't know what you have been going through, but, it has been a stressful little season for me. Sometimes when you go through a trial part of the stress is knowing it's going to last another month or so. But, knowing that God is with you, knowing that he is Sovereign over even your debt, mistakes, and life's little issues that come in and out of our lives on a daily basis, knowing God gives you the strength for each moment. Praise God who saves us from those who would condemn us. 

You're Held Together in Christ

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:15-17 NIV

One of the reasons that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians is because the they needed to be reminded of the supremacy of Christ. Isn't that still part of the battle? The enemy and the world we live in is absolutely opposed to Christ, especially as the Son of God, Creator and sustainer of the universe. Paul emphasized to the Colossians that Christ was above all things in importance and relevance. 

Have you ever been told to get it together? Have you ever felt it was hard keeping yourself together? I have. 

Here is the good news: Christ holds all things together. If he can hold the universe together, he can hold us together. We just have to stay in him. This makes me think of a something like the Apollo space rockets and Space Shuttles. I'll bet it was crazy blasting off into space. Everything shaking and the g-forces pressing against you. But, your safe inside. That's kind of like our spiritual lives. Sometimes the take off seems a bit rough and scary, but you can't just jump out, you need to stay in Christ, trusting that he will hold things together. So, maybe you may feel like things are a bit shaky but, remember that Christ holds all things together, even your life. 

Rescued from Darkness

Hope is a Spring

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

Colossians 1:3-6 NIV

I'm a teacher by profession and last year the powers that be finally (after nearly eight years) worked out a deal for a raise. It still took a few months to actually get into our paychecks, but, at least there was a reasonable hope that I'd finally see a few more bucks in my account to provide for my family. That hope was not blind. 

Our faith and love spring from the truth of the hope we have in Christ Jesus. It is truth, it is not fiction, truth. Knowing that Jesus lived and died, died for our sins and rose from the dead gives us hope. The gospel is not a static concept that has no affect on those who hear it. The gospel is Christ in you the hope of glory (I Thessalonians 1:27). The hope of the gospel produces faith, faith that allows us to love, even the unlovable. Just like Christ loved us. 

So, may the hope you have in Christ Jesus, in his unfailing, Sovereign goodness and love for you, produce faith in you, faith that allows you to love. Love that serves and gives even when none is given back, appreciated, or accepted. Love that sacrifices. Love that endures.