2019-07-12
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I continue to be commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians. In doing this, it is necessary to examine all the facets He gives me of the relationships we have vertically -between ourselves and God- and horizontally -between ourselves and other people. It’s clear that we should take care how we interact with people who are potential believers, setting a good example for them of living the Christian life. We must look back at 2 COR 5: 17, “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new self (being), the old is gone and the new has come.” COL 3: 9b-10 tells us what that new self means. “…For you have put off the old self with its habits and put on the new self. This is the new self which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself.” This is a person, who isn’t saddled with self-loathing, who has a close enough relationship with God that He has been transforming this person to a closer resemblance with Himself (“in His own image”). Moreover, this is an on-going process. God has been transforming this new self with His knowledge and wisdom. The net result is a calm, thoughtful, and prayerful person. This “new self” controls his tongue, isn’t being led by human desires, and has an active, dynamic faith in Christ. Is this “new self” perfect? Certainly not! “We are all sinners,” while still on earth, “who fall short of the glory of God. But by the free gift of God’s grace, we are all put right with Him through Christ Jesus, Who sets them free. God offered Him, so that by His blood shed, He should become the means by which people’s sins are forgiven through their faith in Him. God did this in order to demonstrate that He is righteous. In the past, He would have been patient and overlooked people’s sins, to demonstrate His righteousness. In this way He shows He is righteous and puts everyone right with Himself who believes in Christ” [RO 3: 23-26].
We are given clear direction about this process, in EPH 4: 22-24, “So get rid of your old self, who made you live as you used to, the old self that was being destroyed by the deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals the true life, which is upright and holy.” We are furthermore urged to stop lying, not allow anger to lead us into sin, and not to hold grudges. We are not to give the devil a chance! (25a, 26-27). We are not to rebel and should earn an honest living. Christians share an important teaching of Judaism-we are to help the needy. Our words should not be harmful but are to build up good for those who hear them. How wonderful that the Holy Spirit has placed His mark of ownership on those who have put on the new self! Bitterness, passion, hate, and deconstructive anger should no longer be a part of our lives. We are to be tender-hearted, forgiving, and kind (28 – 32). We’re reminded, in GA 5: 16-17, that the Holy Spirit and human nature are opposites. What the human spirit wants, the Holy Spirit abhors, as they are enemies. Verses 19- 21 enumerate those things, which will bar a person from inheriting the Kingdom with Christ. They are idol worship, engaging in the occult, anger out of control, sexual immorality, being ambitious at the expense of another person, separating into cliques or groups, being envious, being greedy, drunkenness, and involved in orgies. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given, in GA 5: 22-23 (something I plan to write an entire series of messages about, which are forthcoming). They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. People without these gifts of the Holy Spirit are vulnerable to false teaching.
Of course, there are more passages from the Bible that support the book of Colossians, and for such a short book, Colossians is heavy with important content to benefit believers in Christ. I would be remiss, if I didn’t write about how this applies to our present society and supports the concerns that Paul had for future believers. At my age, and I’m in my mid-70’s, I’ve lived long enough to live in a very different world than the one in which I was born. At that time, we were in WW II and things we consider now as necessities were rationed. I remember having black-out shades in my bedroom and hearing air raid sirens, as a child. And then, the war ended. There was joy, as the soldiers (including my own father) gradually came home. The 15 years that followed were a time of transition to a post-war society, in which people were at work with new peace-time jobs, buying homes, and attending their churches and synagogues. Few Muslims were here, although there were some. There were veterans who suffered from being in horrific combat situations, but what troubled them had not yet be diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress syndrome. Nor, were most of them willing to talk about what had happened to them. Our lives were simpler ten, and the press kept their own views anonymous. (More on modern society below).
PRAYER: O Lord, everything You tell us in the Scriptures is useful to us. Following Your leadership in our lives is designed to help us gain eternal life and to “think eternally” when making decisions. The very last of the Ten Commandments [EX 20: 17], “You shall not covet,” applies to all the other ones. Over the course of the three- thousand- year history of Jews and Christians, mankind has gradually allowed coveting to lead them to break the other commandments. We have seen our society sink into rejecting your teaching and into moral chaos. Our need for Your loving and caring intervention in our lives has never been more intense. We, who believe in Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, are greatly saddened by this situation. We know and love You and beseech You to end this evil, bringing a solution as only You can. Give us the strength and courage to remain faithfully obedient to You. Bring us home to You in Your own perfect time and way. We thank and praise You for the wisdom and love You share with us every day. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: The Holy Spirit commands me to continue writing supporting Scriptures for the book of Colossians, beginning with RO 6. Part of this is revealing our own relationships with Him and other people, and part of it provides an alternative to the evil that is barring a subset of our society from eternal life. With the onset of the 1960’s our society’s values began to change for the worse. Women no longer wanted to remain in the home; they wanted the financial freedom that having a career in the workplace gave. The bonds of marriage were no longer held in high esteem, and sexual immorality came to be commonplace. Children born out of wedlock suffered in a myriad of ways. Foul language became acceptable, even gradually in the media. With the onset of computer usage and the Internet, impatience to engage in face to face communication with other people was borne. Greed and mean-spirited behavior became commonplace in the workplace. After a period of relative peace in the ‘80’s, downsizing people from their careers for so-called financial benefit to companies and out-sourcing jobs got going in the ‘90’s. Since then, we have endured recessions that have brought down the quality of our lives even more than before, particularly the one of 2008. Yes, I’ve lived through these changes, and it hasn’t always been easy! So, have many of you. Without the faith that my husband and I have been given by Christ, we couldn’t have endured it well enough to have deeply, abiding faith that He will come again, and we will gain eternal life. How about you? He deserves all the praise and thanks we can give Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved.
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