2019-04-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
COL 2: 23 addresses itself to the fact that lists of human-crafted rules and regulations, forced worship of angels, and false humility have no value in controlling physical passions. I mention this because of our need to see supporting Scriptures to this and the other verses of Colossians. We are doing this portion of the study to gain God’s perspective on this matter as a part of our relationship with Jesus Christ and other humans. Early in one’s life as a believer in Christ, most of us learn to memorize the Lord’s Prayer, MT 6: 9-13. “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Each of can benefit from looking at this prayer, phrase by phrase, to see its ramifications and how it applies to our lives. I won’t do that here but may well on another occasion. For now, I will continue with the stated purpose of this devotion.
Two important issues are raised in MT 6: 21 and 31, “For your heart will always be where your riches are…So do not start worrying, from where will my food etc. come? Your Father in heaven knows of your need for them.” (21) goes directly to who is in leadership of one’s life-God or man. Not long ago, I overheard a conversation between two of my relatives. One was talking about getting a new car, because he had seen his neighbor’s new car that had certain features he wanted. The other relative is a devout believer in Christ, and he responded, “You have such a great car now. Why can’t you be happy with what you have and use the money you would have spent on a new car for your family’s real needs? If you go to the Lord in prayer and trust what He tells you, you can’t go wrong.” If these two relatives hadn’t loved each other as they do, this could have led to a row that wouldn’t end. Thankfully, they let it go, even though they saw the issue totally from opposite angles. Verse 31 goes directly to the issue of how much does one trust God. As early as PS 37: 3-5, PS 86: 7, and IS 26: 3-4 in the OT, having trust in God is mentioned. “Trust in the Lord and do good; live in the land and be safe. Seek your happiness in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desire. Give yourself to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will help you…I call to You in time of trouble, because You answer my prayers…You, Lord give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever; He will always protect us.” There is a time element to trust; it doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes time to trust, and if you take it, the Lord will lead you to whom you can trust (where other people are concerned). The Lord has had enough history for us to learn to trust in Him right away. Those who study His word know this elegant truth.
A well-know citation that deals with temptation is MT 26: 41. “Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” There is nothing like a person making a New Year resolution to lose weight. The mind is saying, “I want to avoid eating big portions and the wrong foods.” The body is saying upon seeing a food long-loved, “Gimmie, gimmie! Right now!” GA 5: 17-18 is seen here. “For what our human nature wants is opposed to what our Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.” Therein lies the reason most New Year resolutions fail. However, when the Lord leads one’s life, then 1 COR 10: 13 kicks into the picture. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Temptations are the work of the evil one, but Christ is much stronger, as is the Holy Spirit. For a true believer, 1 JN 4: 4 applies. “But you belong to God, my children, and I have defeated the false prophets, because the Spirit Who is in you is more powerful than the spirit who is in those who belong to the world.”
PRAYER: O Lord, how blessed we are that You have sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in our souls. His strength, wisdom, forgiveness, and other qualities help to take weak humans and make us strong. We are not immune to temptations of the flesh, but You have given us the power to make the choice to follow Your teaching. It’s a choice that those of the world simply don’t have. It would be ludicrous for us to ignore His presence or to work against Him led by our bodily desires. We live in times when liars, cheats, the sexually immoral, and the violent are uncovered from hiding in the dark and are exposed to Your light. Sin of all kinds brings spiritual death, while being right with You qualifies us for eternal forgiveness, salvation, and justification. These things were never available to mankind until Your Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross, was buried, went to hell, and rose again. Our faith in Him believed and professed is precious and the way to eternal life. We travel on a path during our time on earth as believers that must involve confession of sin, our forgiveness of others who sin against us, and our ever-growing faith in Him. You will decide the right time and way that we will be called back into Your presence in heaven for eternity. That is superb motivation for us to turn to You, live by Your wisdom, and allow Your leadership of our lives. We thank and praise You for the countless blessings and generous love You give us. Direct us and bless our lives, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to continue writing on NT support of the book of Colossians. Every time we read God’s word, we learn more and more about the relationship with Him and other humans we are to have. Let me share some personal vignettes about how God has performed miracles the lives of my nephew and myself, unparalleled blessings. Both of us are believers in Christ. Thirteen years ago, I was told by my doctor that I had stage 4 ovarian cancer and needed surgery right away. Because I choose to trust God, He took away my fear. Forty of my fellow congregants held an anointing service and prayed for my husband and me the day before I was to have surgery. It took 5 ½ hrs. for the surgeon to remove the tumor I had, but unexpected news was forthcoming. My tumor was benign, and I would only need time to recover! No chemotherapy was necessary. Just yesterday, my nephew (who is in his late 50’s) was taken to the surgical theater of his hospital with a plan to remove what the doctors thought was a tumor near the mitral valve of his heart. This decision came after they had him hospitalized for a while to treat a blood disease he has. The whole family was on pins and needles, praying, and hoping this open-heart surgery would be successful. Then, the news came: a second MRI just beforehand revealed that the tumor had disappeared, and the surgery wasn’t necessary! My dear readers, prayer is powerful; God listens to our heartfelt prayers! Trusting in Him to always make righteous decisions is important, even when we don’t understand His decisions that don’t conform to our requests. His perspective and timing is always right and better than ours. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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