2019-02-08
Good Morning Dear Ones,
It is logical that if God is teaching us to be humble, He would not want us to be puffed up with pride, teach exclusivity, and rank people in importance. God’s love for us is unconditional. Yet, this human-crafted philosophy, Gnosticism, went totally against our Lord’s approach. We learn that in COL 2: 18-19. That is why verse 18 warns us, “Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and worship of angels. As verse 19 instructs, those who accepted the Gnostic approach left Christ and denied that under His control the whole body is nourished and held together …and grows in conformity to God’s will. Paul shares His opinion in EPH 4: 11-16 when he expresses his satisfaction with what he has, as he has been experienced both poverty and plenty in his life. PHIL 4: 13 should give us all comfort. “I have the strength to face all conditions through the power that Christ gives me.” Getting back to the previous passage, we should understand that growth in our faith matters to God. Then, Paul reiterated the need for an presence of unity in the early church. Just in case one thinks that applied in Paul’s time only, I personally can testify to the help other believers have given my husband and I along the way. It’s the heart that faith in Christ gives one, that is behind it. Christ is also the reason I broke through my own selfishness in the distant past and spend my life helping others. He can do this for anyone who believes.
Just as archeological digs in the Holy Land lend support to the truth of the Scriptures, so the consistency of the Bible can be seen in Scriptures that support the teaching in other parts of this compelling book. I call the Bible supernatural, because the more it is read, the more one wants to study it in different contexts. Its teaching holds up in all situations. That is one of many reasons taking the time to study the Bible is so important. If any question about the meaning to each of us personally of Christ’s death on the cross remains, consider that He was victorious over all the power of spiritual rulers and authorities, making a spectacle of them by leading them as captives in a victory parade [COL 2: 15]. This is not meant to be just an academic exercise, but it should be the onset of a lifestyle centered on Christ and following the Father’s teaching. His death and resurrection opened the way for us to have eternal life through our faith in Him. He equips us to avoid being taken in by lies and human-crafted fads that fade away leading to spiritual death. The ways of those who reject Christ are seen in false humility, angel worship, and fascination with the occult. Things like Ouija Boards, fortune tellers, and seances, these are things Christ teaches us to avoid. We are to mature in our faith and not just remain on milk like babies. Our faith has plenty of meat for us to learn [HE 5: 13-14]. What Christ gives us is discernment to recognize good and evil.
We have the power, that which Christ gives us, to influence others. How we do this, matters tremendously. We can speak eloquently for Christ through the example we set and to a lesser degree, by the words we say. If we are right with God, He will give us an inner peace that is visible and not obtainable from any other source. Our decisions and actions can have a powerful effect for good, when others see that we live as we profess-by our faith in the Lord. When a person is swept away by fads in human thinking, he finds himself apart from Christ and on a slippery slope that leads to spiritual death. The latter means that he is not saved for eternal life. I believe that wisdom comes from not trying to usurp what is God’s right to decide and upon which to act. We have the Holy Spirit when we believe in Christ, and He will lead us on a right path when we come to a crossroads. He will guide us through challenges, illnesses, losses, and disappointments; He will share our personal victories with us. We have “died with the Lord Jesus and are set free from useless human rules, asceticism (severe treatment of the body), and angel worship. We must remember that those things have no use in controlling physical passions” [COL 2: 20-23].
PRAYER: O Lord, no humans, alone or even in groups, can write a book that is wholly consistent and wise beyond measure, as is God’s word. No human can write a book that can be studied with such a hunger and applicable in so many contexts as You, our Lord, does. You inspire those prophets and apostles, who acted as human scribes, which is why we have a compact book that we can hold in our hands or read from an electronic device. The power of Your words humbles us and encourages us to follow Your teaching. You have said directly, in 2 TIM 3: 16-17, just how valuable the Bible is to us. Moreover, belief in Christ works tremendous changes in us, more so than that of which we are aware. It is why Paul wrote, in RO 12: 2, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the complete renewal of your mind.” While on earth, we will always be met with challenges to our faith. But, You have equipped us to overcome them and to have discernment to know what path to take that pleases Him. Some decisions will be hard to make, but if we ask You for help, You will not hold back on it. We must remember that just as You supplied a ram stuck in the bushes as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac [GN 22], You also sent Your only Son, Jesus, to the cross. Because of that great sacrifice, You made it possible for us to gain eternal life for genuinely believing in Him. He was a substitute Sacrifice for all our sins [JN 3: 16]. Your love for us is so great that You caused Him to feel the loneliness of temporary separation from You. We are grateful for Your justifying us, saving us, and forgiving our sins. We praise and thank You for the great sacrifice You made in sending Him to suffer, die, and be resurrected for us. So, it is in His name, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: In writing more about the concerns for the believers that Paul had, the Scriptural support for the book of Colossians is presented next week. As we go through this present segment of the “Knowing God” messages, please understand that the length of it is due to how important our relationship with Christ really is. It is challenging at times to live according to Christ’s teaching. That is because our thinking must align to His and our behavior must follow a genuine profession of faith in Him.
My husband and I will always be grateful for Christ and the Holy Spirit being in our lives. We certainly needed their intervention and the Father’s decision-making. Both of us have been through illnesses that could have taken our physical lives. We’ve also had some lean times with our finances. However, the Holy Spirit has always been with us. Yes, there were times of rebellion on my part, but those have long since been forgiven. Our lives have moved forward, lead and protected by the Father’s will. Just when I thought I wouldn’t return from the operating theater, after 5 ½ hours of surgery, God wasn’t through with me. My husband has had his challenges too, particularly with his health and career. However, PHIL 4: 13, “We have strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives us,” is true. Thanks and praise be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2018. All Rights Reserved.
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