2016-12-16
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was charged with the responsibility of writing about different ways that the Lord commands mankind to serve Him and the talents with which God has imbued them. Today, we will look into three cardinal virtues Paul discusses in COL 1: 1-14, which are faith, love, and hope, as a part of the Christian life. 1 COR 13: 13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This citation is at the very end of a chapter about love that has meant a great deal to me in my own life. Let me cite verses 4-8a to show why. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” These principles have served to help an unbelieving relative understand how to approach the lady he eventually married. They have applied to my own many friendships and happy, long-term marriage. It’s impossible to enumerate all the relationships made better by these wonderful words.
Remember that prayer is two-way communication between the believer and the Almighty God. It is also the unspeakable privilege of a private audience with the Lord, our Sovereign God of the Universe. As with studying the Scriptures, it’s our chance to get to know God and His will for our lives better. In COL 1: 3-14, Paul lets the Colossians know he is aware of their faith, love, and hope. Paul does the same as he opens his epistle to the Thessalonians. 1 THESS 1: 3, “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ”. In 1 THESS 5: 8, Paul reiterates some of the armor of God mentioned in EPH 6: 14-18. “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” In the same chapter of 1 THESS, in verses 16-18, we find, “Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” These divine principles applied in the past, do so today, and always will in the future.
Paul’s prayers for the Colossians were for: spiritual insight; a worthy walk; abundant power; a thankful spirit; all the spiritual and wise understanding of God’s teaching and will; long-suffering; being fruitful with every good work. Titus 3: 4-8 gives us a vivid picture of what Christ did for us. “But when the kindness of love of our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Whom He poured out on us generously, through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
The whole purpose here is that the saints may be strengthened by God’s glorious power, filled with the Holy Spirit, and fortified to be fruitful---to do good deeds, which lead to building God’s Kingdom on earth as in heaven. Our need for these things is great; divine supply of them and His wise teaching is limitless. Back in 1 COR 13: 4, one can see that long-suffering (patience) is connected with joy and kindness. All of these are mentioned in the gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23]. We can see God wanting us to be patient, to endure our trials without complaint and with praise for God. We must remember that the process of working through our trials, step by step with our Lord’s direction is inevitably tied with forwarding our spiritual maturation.
PRAYER: O Lord, we acknowledge Your generosity in sharing so much of Your treasure trove of good teaching with us, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit He sent us. You are our Sovereign and Supreme God, the Lord of our lives. This is our opportunity to share with You the enthusiasm we have for Your word, and the motivation to be fruitful, producing Kingdom-building good deeds You prepared in advance for us. You have blessed us with talents that enable us to carry out Your work and have given Your Son to die on the cross for us. His blood shed is not wasted when we allow for You to “transform us inwardly by the renewal of our mind” [RO 12: 2]. Through Christ’s Atonement and resurrection “as the Firstborn among many brothers” [RO 8: 29], You have given us release from the negative consequences of our sinful ways and have given us the hope of gaining eternal life with You. What a great gift that faith in Jesus Christ is! How loving is Your heart for us! The hope You have given us is that we should never experience spiritual death! All of this was done through His blood shed on the cross. We are justified [RO 4: 3], saved [JN 3: 16] and eternally forgiven [1 JN 1: 9]. While Christ is our Paradigm for living in a way that pleases You, You have openly revealed the loving kindness of Your heart. We thank and praise You forever for all that You are and all that You do. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: Space permitting, I have been led by the Holy Spirit to complete the commentaries on COL 1: 1-14 next week that were begun this week and to recap them. I have often mentioned the Gospel presentation that is part of how I greet our seekers who either text in or chat in to In Search of Shalom [ISOS]. It is, “Do you know that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to the cross, so that all who believe in Him can have everlasting life?” This often jump-starts great conversations on this secured chat line that deal with all kinds of spiritual issues, expressions of faith in Christ, and astounding knowledge about the basics of Christianity from people of other faiths. Some of our seekers have moved me tremendously by revealing their circumstances and their need for the service ISOS supplies. Some seekers have chatted back with me numerous times, forming a sort of God-forged friendship on-line. I’m always careful not to give out personal or contact information. It’s a task I can’t do if I don’t pray first for the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and intervention. It never would have been possible without the life experience I’ve had or the transformation that becoming a believer in Jesus has given me. I can do nothing more than stand in awe of and reverence for the God Who loves us all, Who gave us faith in His Son, and Who gives us the hope of eternal life. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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