2019-05-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As has been the case for the last couple of months, I have been led to present supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians. In addition, we are closely examining the relationship God wants us to have both with Him and with other people. As promised last week, I will begin today’s devotion with PHIL 1: 20-21.
[Paul’s words] “My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times and especially right now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honor in Christ, whether I live or die. For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more.” When compared with COL 3: 2-4, the impact of this statement is more clearly understood. “Keep your minds fixed on things there (in heaven), not of the things here on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory!” As you may already know, Paul had a life of hardship, including human opposition to his ministry, ship wrecks, and even the threat of a riot as a result of his teaching hurting the silversmiths in Ephesus in their wallets -from reduction in sales of statues of the god, Artemus. From research done, it appears that Paul was neither tall, good-looking, nor charismatic. Yet, his words were given to him by the Holy Spirit, and his greatest fear was that people wouldn’t believe the truth of Jesus’ Gospel. The words he spoke engendered obedient faith in Christ and taught a lifestyle of humility that was arose from truth. Paul was given the mind of a righteous lawyer, who could correctly assess what opposition might come from his words and would frame them in such a way as to answer it before it comes.
More support for these Scriptures comes in JN 11: 25-26 when Christ is speaking to Lazarus’ sister, Martha, prior to bringing Lazarus back to life. “I am the Resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me will live, even though they die; and those who live and believe in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” On first inspection, these words don’t make sense. But our study of God’s word (the Bible) tells us that Christ is speaking in eternal, not just earthly, terms. In that context, He is telling us that those who believe in Him will have to go through physical, but not spiritual, death. Therefore, there is real hope for eternal life.
Moving on to PHIL 3: 8-11, we can see vital truths about living for Christ, rather than living for self. Paul recalled his former zealousness as a persecutor of Jewish Christians for the Sanhedrin [Jewish Ruling Council]. Then, he states, in PHIL 3: 8, “Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.” (9b), “I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.” In (10-11), Paul gives us a good working definition of living for Christ. “All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of His resurrection, to share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death. In the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.” There are so very many places in God’s word that show us the types of attitudes and behavior that please God, that we have been examining in this study and our own readings, that they are too numerous to list here. The relationships we have with God (ones including awe, reverence, acknowledgement of His attributes and deeds, obedience to His teaching, a wholesome lifestyle and attitudes, and a host of others) and other people (including the gifts of the Holy Spirit from GA 5: 22-23). There are times when not knowing all the details can be very helpful. After considerable thought, I have concluded that, other than my faith in God’s promises, I don’t really want to know the future. The Father made it clear that no one would know the exact day and time for the second coming of Christ before it happens, in MT 24: 36. Ahead of time, we also are not told which non-believers, are potential believers and which are not. This way, we are compelled to approach each non-believer as if he were, demonstrating the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We are urged to live for Christ and revere gaining more and more of His knowledge and goodness.
PRAYER: O Lord, a life lived for oneself is a life of waste and self-centeredness. Human materialism and greed never please You. And yet, You never give up on us through our last moments on earth. You are a God, Who never abandons us [PS 9: 10]. I’m reminded of the story of a Messianic Jewish rabbi who contracted prostate cancer. He and his doctor decided he should have surgery at a prominent Jewish hospital. His surgery was successful, and once this rabbi came out of the recovery room, he was assigned to a room with another man who was quite elderly. When the two men conversed, the elderly one asked the rabbi about his beliefs. The elderly man had rejected Christ’s deity all his life. The rabbi spoke with humility about his own coming to faith in Christ from traditional Judaism and how his beliefs impacted his life. Over the next two days, the two men spoke often to each other. On the last day of the elderly man’s life, he came to accept Christ as his Savior. Then, he quietly passed away. Lord, I relate this story, because the rabbi had come to live for Christ in every way that matters. Despite the lateness of his elderly roommate’s coming to faith, the rabbi knows in his heart that this man will receive eternal life as if he had always believed in Christ. Lord, this incident is not related here to engender procrastination, but because we believe that a life lived for You is always preferable as early as possible in it, so that we can serve You and do the work You will us to do. You are a loving God, One Who wants us to make our relationship with You and with others around us righteous, useful to You, and surrounded with the love You give. We thank and praise You for all Your goodness, kindness, wise teaching, and perspective shared. Our faith in You is our most valuable gift, and You teach us what love really is. These things are said in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded to write about several verses and passages from Galatians, which support those we’ve studied together in the book of Colossians. As usual, we need to consider how they impact our vertical relationship with God and our horizontal relationships with other people. At one time, I was in a Bible study discussion group where the following question was asked by our leader: Who is the best friend in your life? I was new to the group and new to accepting Christ as my personal Savior. I raised my hand and quickly said, “My husband, Peter, is.” The heads of the others began to shake to signify, “wrong!” A wiser, more spiritually mature person was called upon, who said, “Jesus Christ is the Best Friend any of us will ever have.” That was one of the first days of my spiritual life that I began to understand the truth of God’s perspective over my own, as well as my need for humility. Our loving God places us with the people from whom He wants us to learn what it means to live for Christ and in Christ. As the rest of the discussion continued, our leader expressed her belief that when we put God first, all the other dear ones in our lives will be protected and find their righteous and peaceful places in our lives. Looking back on that long- ago experience, I now can see she was on the mark! And the real blessing of this lesson is that Christ is/can be the same for all of us. 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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