2016-12-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week when I asked you to read PS 118: 19-24, it was a great way to recap the main issues of Paul’s prayers in COL 1: 3-14. If you haven’t read that, please do, because these matters are hugely important to all of us. Being raised with Christ to the new life God desires for us is to be taken seriously as a great blessing. An integral part of that is receiving the presence and intervention of the Holy Spirit.
As the early church evolved, it was necessary to create a division of labor, so that each task for God could be handled efficiently [RO 12: 4-6; EPH 4: 11; GA 1: 1]. Paul wanted all of us to understand that prayer is “an unspeakable privilege, a private audience with the Lord.” Let me reiterate that Paul’s great concern that the heresy of the day [Gnosticism]; it differs greatly from true belief in Christ. Christ reveals all He knows to us as His covenant partners [JN 15: 13-15]. Gnostics bring dissention amongst their followers by secrets kept. Paul lists three cardinal virtues: faith, hope, and love, of which love is the greatest [1 COR 13: 13]. Just as pruning is necessary in horticulture, so it is when people serially reject Jesus Christ. That’s why the Scriptures tell us not to be “unequally yoked” [2 COR 6: 14]. Paul also had prayer requests for the citizens of the three cities, for which his epistle to the Colossians was intended. They were: spiritual insight; a worthy walk with the Lord; abundant power for good; a thankful spirit; wisdom; ability to be long-suffering for godly cause; that they would know God’s will and carry it out; that they would be “fruitful in every good work” [EPH 2: 13; TITUS 3: 8]. It is Paul who transmitted the gifts of the Holy Spirit to us [GA 5: 22-23]. We can be sure God means for us to exhibit them in our daily lives. We should recognize our need to offer Him thanks and praise for qualifying us to receive eternal life and our Kingdom leadership with Christ. God’s blessings given to us are daily, generous, and designed to help us be fruitful. We must be wise enough to learn to look for them, not wasting one drop of Christ’s blood shed for us!
The wily devil tries to interfere with our Kingdom-building in any way he can [1 PET 5: 8]. He loves to make us doubt, impatient, sway us from our study of the Bible, drown out what the Holy Spirit is telling us, and in any way we are vulnerable. Sometimes he does this by getting at us through family members or other people in our lives. This is only if we let him. But we have the power to be victorious in spiritual warfare in Christ’s name [EPH 1: 18-20; MT 4: 1-11]. We must remember to use it when the evil one assails us! When being obediently faithful to Christ, even when under attack, we must recall that we are on God’s team, and it’s the winning one. I find great comfort in these words from PS 110: 1, “The Lord [God] says to my Lord [Christ]: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” This is the same Christ, Who paid the ransom for our sins with His blood shed for us. It is in Him that we are redeemed. When the tomb was found to be empty, and Mary Magdalene didn’t have to say Christ’s name, for when she heard the resurrected One’s voice, all knew Who He was and is[JN 20: 15; PS 103: 12].
PRAYER: O Lord, our faith in You tells us that You hear our prayers and will answer them [PS 116: 1; 1 JN 5: 14-15]. Moreover, if we ask for anything that is Your will, You will grant that request. JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Today, we acknowledge Your teachings as true and wise, Your heart as loving, generous, and caring. Your wisdom is far beyond human wisdom, and we strive to follow Your direction as directed by the Holy Spirit. You make it clear we have been created to do good deeds that build Your Kingdom. This is a task we are honored to accept, just as You sacrificed Your Son on the cross for us. We are grateful that You inspired Paul and others before us to exemplify Christ’s paradigm for us to follow. We pledge to take the time to learn Your history with people of the past, so that we can appreciate Your history with us. The lessons from it that You want us to learn are in Your word-- a book we will spend the rest of our earthly lives reading and seeking for increasing understanding. We seek You often in prayer and will continue. It is our responsibility to look carefully for Your responses and advice. We know that You often use other believers in our lives to convey Your messages. Discernment is necessary, so we are asking You to give it to us. Enable us to witness to the truth with sensitivity and determination. We know that You always have good things to tell us or wise advice when we find ourselves in a quandary. Give us the strength to rely on Your Son, and to always turn to Him FIRST. We offer You thanks and praise for being the wise and loving God You are. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We have reached the end of the segment of these “Knowing God” messages on “Fruit.” Now by command of the Holy Spirit, I will begin writing the segment called “Firstborn.” As we work from the book of Colossians, we will learn even more about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In the meanwhile, I’ve been wanting to comment on the many Biblical citations in these weekly devotions. Many of you know the Bible well enough to hear their words in your minds. However, if you don’t have that kind of familiarity with a verse or passage, please take the time (as I did) to look them up and think about them as you read my writing. God is the great Source of wisdom, and I am only using my God-given writing skills to convey what He wants us to know. I’ve often used my own experience and feelings as examples of the principles, so that we can put them in human terms. However, the idea is to see how these consistent principles our Lord has given us in the Bible apply to each of your lives. I am humbled by what God has to teach me every day, even though I have studied the Bible closely over my lifetime. In my case, it was the OT first, then the NT; as I write now, I’m in my seventies. Even in my lowest hours, God has always been here with me. He encourages all of us to keep on believing and being obediently faithful to Him. Let me close with an example from Paul’s writing. PHIL 4: 11-13, “I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know now how to live when things are difficult, and I know how to live when things are prosperous. I have learned the secret of facing either poverty or plenty. I am ready through the strength of Christ, Who lives in me.” Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 14: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2016. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives