2019-08-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As you know, the Holy Spirit is taking us on a lengthy but important review of our relationships with God and with other people. At the same time, I am presenting supporting Scriptures to the book of Colossians. These four chapters are packed with good information and with God’s wishes for our relationships. COL 3: 10b-11, “When we are in Christ, we are in a relationship which is constantly being renewed by God, our Creator, in order to bring us to a full knowledge of Himself. As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, slave or free, barbarians, savages, but Christ is all and is in all (who believe in Him).” This is a natural outgrowth of RO 12: 2, “Do not conform to the standards of the world, but let God transform you inwardly by the complete renewal of your mind.” The word “renewal” means freshness, newness, or novelty. Our loving God makes this change in us, so that we might be open to Christ’s teaching and willing to view the people in our lives differently. We can tap the vast knowledge that God makes available to us. This is knowledge which changes, for the better, our whole outlook on our lives and relationships, especially the one with Him.
With such a change, there is no longer room in any relationship for the evils of prejudice or holding grudges. The gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23] take the place of evil thoughts, decisions, and actions. The groups separating humans now no longer matter. Even in the final judgment, Christ will judge as the Father directs Him, looking at each person with the same standard as equals. Human methods of separating people, e.g. by wealth, race, educational achievement, gender, etc., no longer apply. Each person will be judged as every other one is. God loves for us to rehearse our experiences of the past with Him, so that He knows one’s true heart-attitude. Since He is omniscient, He knows when we are not being genuine (telling the truth). We are encouraged to think in terms of eternity and not just our earthly lives. We need to keep our focus on the things of heaven, rather than only earthly things. Our reality is Christ; “Our lives are hidden with His in God. Then, we will appear with Him and share His glory” [JN 1: 1-4; COL 3: 3-4]. Our old self has died, and we are raised to a new self in Him. We are being given the opportunity, when in Christ, to rule His Kingdom jointly with Him. God’s anger can be avoided by refusing to sin and acknowledging the Father’s sovereignty over our lives. Tolerance, forgiveness, faithful obedience to God, and compassion will now be established in the new self. God has taught us, through Christ, what love is, and we should practice it in all our relationships (both vertical and horizontal).
COL 3: 12, “You are the people of God; He loved you and chose you for His own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” COL 3: 17, “Everything you do or say then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through Him to God, the Father.” For even the truest of believers, this is a tall order at times. But Christ will help you do it; all you need is to ask for His help in prayer. When one thinks about it, we are His “ambassadors” [see 2 COR 5: 20-21]. When we are raised as Christ was raised, we should leave a legacy of faithfulness and kindness behind. I personally feel I must transmit His teaching with accuracy, in a manner appropriate for the situation, and setting an example of righteous living as my new self in Christ. Relational witnessing really matters when the opportunity presents itself. We are indeed to walk in His footsteps and take the responsibility of looking for those who haven’t yet come to faith (and are open to it) to testify to our faith in Christ. This can be done both orally and/or simply by example. It’s not our right to judge the fate of others. That right belongs to Christ, and we need not be worried that serial wrongdoers will not meet the fate that Christ prepares for them. Our concern is to do what we can to deal with our own imperfections.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your way of thinking is totally different than mankind’s before they come to faith in You. You teach us to “think eternally”-meaning to consider our thoughts, decisions, and actions in terms of how they will impact our eternal life with You. I used the future tense here to indicate this consideration must be made before the thought, decision, or action is taken. This is not always easy for us, because our former sinfulness is a habit pattern that must be changed. Being honest with ourselves and with You must replace any will to “hide” the truth. We learned, in HE 4: 12-13, that nothing can be hidden from You anyway. It is only when we are not honest and open with You that trouble happens. Your love for us means that when we need a particular lesson, You will find a way to teach it to us which is the most efficient possible. We offer You praise and thanks for the love and patience You show us. Our own imperfections are many, and we pledge to do what we can to think and behave in a way which pleases You. When we succeed in that, You are kind enough to give us inner joy and peace of mind. You are indeed our reality; Your efforts to help us make improvements is deeply appreciated. Your Son, our Lord Jesus, has taught us to pray often and to appeal to You for advice when we reach a crossroads in our situations. Your advice is always wise and good, even though sometimes hard to take. Help us, O Lord to do what is right and wise. We ask these things in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: COL 3: 12 tells us we are chosen by the Father. Next week, the Holy Spirit dictates that I should elaborate on that facet of our vertical relationship with God. We all have a responsibility to each other, as well. At least, that is how I understand the Father’s will for us. There will be times when we must take a lot of flack for engaging in righteous behavior. Sometimes, people get carried away with this and become self-righteous. That is not God’s will. If we remain open to the Holy Spirit, He will lead us though some of the difficult situations we might find ourselves mired in with others. How can we not love the Father’s availability to us through prayer, listening to the direction of the Holy Spirit, or learning new ways to deal with old/tough situations? He is there for us; and we need to be open to His direction. He not only wants us to share our troubles with Him but is also interested in us sharing in our victories. He cares about every detail of our lives. My own experiences with Him have made a better life in every respect for me. I have learned not to fall victim to old and bad habits. He takes time to help me deal with each of my own many sins. I’m a work in progress, just as we all are. I am humbled by the love our Lord has shown me. His patience has been remarkable, and I don’t learn new behaviors easily. How can we improve ourselves? We can take the Lord’s direction in examining our faults and working to expunge them one by one. I have faith that when the time comes that the Lord will call me to heaven. It is the motivation and the hope that all who faithfully obey Him have. My joy will be that each of you shares that hope. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2019. All Rights Reserved
<-- Back to Archives