Sat 3.6 – Ministering Christ, Through Christ

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4; Eph 4; 2 Cor 5

I hope everyone still have yesterday’s study fresh on their mind because we are going to pick up right where we left off. Just to jog our memory, God says in Colossians 3 that IF WE ARE RISEN WITH CHRIST (if we are truly believers) then we should be SEEKING and SETTING our AFFECTION on the THINGS ABOVE and not on the THINGS ON EARTH. Then when we look through the Bible we find four things that God says specifically are ABOVE THINGS. Those things are…

1. The Person of God
2. The Word of God
3. The Throne of God
4. The Family of God

Yesterday’s study was all about the FAMILY of God and how important it was to Him. You could say that yesterday was the EMPHASIS, and today is the EXECUTION. Or, to put it a little simpler, yesterday we saw the TEACHING from God about how big of a deal this FAMILY OF GOD thing is to Him, and today we are going to see the PRACTICAL side of thing, what that means to me today…

If you will, open your Bible to Eph 4. If you do not have a copy of the scriptures handy, you can click on the link above and it will direct you to the passage of scripture online (you may want to right-click and choose ‘open in new tab’ so you do not loose this page.)

Back in our main section of study in the Scriptures during this DIRECTIONS series, you may remember Col 1.24 which clearly explains that another way of describing the church, or the Family of God, is the “BODY OF CHRIST”. I think we have all heard that expression used before and are comfortable with it. Keep that definition in mind as you read these next verses…

There are 2 basic things that come with seeking the FAMILY of God:

The first one is this (1) we are to MINISTER OUR GIFTS TO THOSE WHO ARE IN HIS FAMILY. Check out what God teaches us about SPIRITUAL GIFTS in Eph 4.11-16! First he lists some of the spiritual gifts (ie, prophecy, evangelism, pasturing, teaching…and you can see 1 Cor 12
& 14 for more on these gifts and their purpose). Then he moves right into explaining why those gifts are given… “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying(building up) of the body of Christ.” When you are saved, you are also equipped with some kind of spiritual gift that helps you fit into the family/body of Christ. God’s plan is for you to use that gift and fulfill the role He has for you as part of the larger group…just like a liver cannot serve as a heart, but the liver is needed as a liver! Without one of it’s parts, the body is weak. The same is true if one of it’s parts is trying to do the wrong job. Like if your liver was to try and swap duties with your heart…the body would stop functioning! So, the lesson to be learned here is that God has specifically given to everyone in His family a SPIRITUAL GIFT for them to use within the rest of His body/family.

The second things we see is that (2) we are to MINISTER THE GOSPEL TO THOSE GOD WANTS TO BE IN HIS FAMILY. As we read through the scriptures, I don’t think we can find a better example of a guy who got this principal than the Apostle Paul. Check out Rom 1.16 . Now, take your Bibles over to 2 Cor 5 and let’s see how that looked in Paul’s life. Read v.14-17 for context, and let’s focus our attention on verse 18-20. Paul points out that God had RECONCILED believers to Himself. That means He removed the problems between us and Him to bring us back into fellowship/relationship with Him. WOW. Then He says that in the SAME WAY, God has given to US the MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION (v.18). Wow, man that’s a big job isn’t it. How are we supposed to carry this ministry out? Check out the next thing He says, “and hath committed unto us the WORD OF RECONCILIATION” (v.19). Now, does anyone want to guess what the WORD OF RECONCILIATION is??? Right, that’s the WORD OF THE GOSPEL (see Acts 15.7, Eph 1.13) So, what that means is the way we MINISTER to those who are not currently RECONCILED to God is to use the WORD OF THE GOSPEL to show them the way. Man, isn’t God awesome!

But it doesn’t stop there, there’s a WAY in which we do this… look at verse 20. We speak on Christ’s behalf! Christ’s physical body is not here on earth any more, but His BODY THE CHURCH is. Therefore, we (HIS BODY) are to minister in His STEAD (or in His place) here on this earth!!! Wow. There is so much I want to say about that, but this is getting long as it is, so I must stop for today.

Spend some time in Prayer today asking God to help you as you SEEK the FAMILY OF GOD and as you SET YOUR AFFECTION on the FAMILY OF GOD. I pray you will see how God has given you special SPIRITUAL GIFTS to use to strengthen (Eph 4.13-16) the body of Christ and how He has equipped you with the GOSPEL to help bring others into the FAMILY OF GOD today!!! Amen.

Fri 3.5 – Family Matters!

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4; Eph 3; 2 Cor 5.17-21

Ok, I’m sure everyone remembers the 3 things we have talked about so far that are ABOVE. What were they…?

We talked about SEEKING these things, and about SETTING OUR AFFECTION on these things. We talked about how that must include the PURSUITS of our life and the engaging of our HEART and our MIND in these things…so, have you remembered yet, what were they?

Things Above:
    (1) The PERSON of God (I Jn 5.7; Deut 4.29, 6.4-5, Matt 12.30)
    (2) The WORD of God (Ps 119.89, 18; Luke 10.38-42)
    (3) The THRONE of God (Eze 1. 26-28; Isa 6.1-6; Rev 1.17, 4.1-11, Matt 6.33)

Today, let’s look at the 4^th thing God says is ABOVE, the FAMILY of God.

We will spend our time in Ephesians 3 today, so it is a good idea for you to turn there and follow along as we go.

God makes a pretty big deal about His Church in this chapter of scripture. Today, our study will simply be a guided reading. Notice some of the HUGE things He says about His church in this passage, noted below. As you read, ask God to help you see His Family with the same emphasis He does. Check it out…

-It was a mystery to previous generations until the time of the apostles and early believers in Jesus Christ. God kept it hidden from the OT saints, but he allows us to understand, and join in it. (v.4-6)

- It was a means for the Gentile (non-Jew) to become a full blown God-follower without having to convert to Judaism and keep a bunch of rules and regulations (v.6)

- God HID the truth of the Church in HIMSELF since the foundation of the world. That also means THE CHURCH WAS GOD’S PLAN FROM THE BEGINNING. This was not an after thought (v.9)

- The Church is God’s way of saying “In your face!” to the Devil and the powers that fight against God. It was BY THE CHURCH that God’s wisdom was made known to all principalities and powers, or satanic forces (v.10)

- This show of God’s wisdom through the church was God’s ETERNAL PURPOSE from the beginning, and the reason for Christ’s coming to earth (v.11)

- It was because he realized this that Paul BOWED DOWN before God in worship and humility, seeking and setting his affection on the person, word, and throne of God (v.14)

- This amazing thing that God has such big plans for, is described as the FAMILY OF GOD (v.15)

Back in the introduction to this book of the Bible, Paul sends greetings in the name of GOD OUR FATHER (Eph 1.2). Even from his second statement, he wants to prepare them to think of fellow believers and God as being one big family. Do you have a Father? Do you know of a good father? Imagine the care and concern that man has for his Family. Now imagine how much greater our Lords must be for His FAMILY. Wow…such a privilege to be a part of the FAMILY OF GOD, because to God, FAMILY MATTERS!

In closing today, if you have time, check out 2 Cor 5.17-21 in preparation for tomorrow’s study. Ask God to help you see the role He has left for His family here. Tomorrow… “FAMILIES GROW UP, AND FAMILIES GROW OUT”

Thur 3.4 – Groaning for Greatness

Today’s Reading: Col 3.1-4; Rom 8.18,22-23, Mark 12.28-34

We had a great night last night at the Fridge. I hope that you were able to make it. Let me just go ahead and encourage you to try to make the Fridge services. It is so important that we get this whole series together as one, the Messages and the Devotions!

Today, let’s review a little bit of what we’ve done so far and step into the third thing above.

We have seen that we are to be SEEKING and SETTING OUR AFFECTION on the PERSON of God because we LOVE Him, and the WORD of God because we want to KNOW Him. Last night in the service we looked at the other 2 things God says in His Word are ABOVE, the THRONE and the FAMILY of God. Just in bringing us to where we pick up today, I want to pose a thought to you that I heard recently. Jesus said very clearly that the FIRST (most important) commandment is to LOVE GOD. And of course we know that we cannot Love God and not also be passionate about His Word. That Word is how we get to know the God we love! So, here’s the question: If loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength is the greatest commandment, is NOT loving with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength the greatest sin?

In talking about our passionate love for God, these THINGS ABOVE all seem to connect. If we LOVE GOD, then we WILL want to KNOW the Word of God because it tells us more about Him. Anytime you love someone, you want to spend time with them, getting to know them. I’ll bet you’ve even gotten in trouble for staying on the phone until the wee hours of the morning talking with a friend…because you want to know them…the same is true of our love for God and desire to know Him. The next thing that will come after our desire to KNOW someone we LOVE is for us to desire to EXPRESS that love. That’s what brings us to our third thing above today…THE THRONE OF GOD.

3 men in the Bible go to heaven and talk about what they saw. All 3 saw a throne. All 3 worshipped at that throne. You see, that’s what a throne is for, to lift up the one that sits on it and to lower those who do not. When we truly begin to seek the throne of God, to see how much HIGHER He is than us. How much LOWER than Him we are. How underserved this relationship we have with God is. That’s when we will worship around that throne. That WORSHIP is just our expression of love in awe of who God is.

The kicker is that no matter how much we try here, we will always be limited in how much we can worship in this life. We have fleshy limitations that keep us from total surrender. Paul recognized that in Rom 8. Check out his words in v.22-23. He says that creation is GROANING because it cannot fully do what it was made to do – worship. That’s right, he said it was GROANING. Have you ever been really sick and just laid in bed aching, wishing you would just die and get it over with? Me too. Paul is saying that same kind of groaning, not even being able to get it into words, is how the created thing (us) is right now as we look forward to the day when we can truly be what God made us to be. Think about it, there’ll be no sin to distract us. There’ll be no sin to tarnish us, for us to idol, for Satan to use…just us and God! Until we get to the point that we LONG for that day so much that our whole being GROANS for the day we are redeemed and given pure bodies to worship our pure God, we will not worship here like we should. We will not go to the throne humble, and looking for God’s leading. We will not give ourselves completely to His plan, because there is something more important to us here…

Today, as we seek the things ABOVE, let’s seek the THRONE OF GOD, that He may be lifted up, that all others be lowered down, and that His name bring adoration, praise, love, and awe to the hearts of all his people as we worship Him today!

Wed 3.3 – No Turning Back

Today’s Readings: Col 3.1-4, Phil 3, John 21

Yesterday’s devotion was all about the passionate pursuit we should all have for the WORD OF GOD as we strive to SEEK those things above. We saw how it was a heart desire for the WORDS of Jesus that allowed Mary to be remembered as a WORSHIPPER. I hope that was a challenge to everyone like it was to me!

Today I want to just make it short and sweet. We will have a big night at the fridge with lots of information to help you live this Christian life, and I pray you will spend time preparing your hearts and minds spiritually through prayer by SETTING YOUR AFFECTION on the THINGS ABOVE as you go along your way today. As you do, just let this thought hang around your mind. . .

Think about the Apostle Paul. If there was ever a guy we could say was truly living the Christian life fully aware of God’s plan for his life, it has to be Paul. I mean, it was Paul after all who gave us this amazing KEY passage of scripture in Colossians 3.1-2. So, what was it that made Paul so effective? So successful? So connected to God? Well, actually there are probably a hundred things, but I think one of those things that would probably effect all of the other ones was that to Paul, once he started SEEKING and SETTING his affection on God, THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK! Paul never got comfortable with his relationship with God. I do not mean he was never comfortable HAVING a relationship with God, I mean he was never comfortable with the level of relationship HE DID HAVE. He always wanted more. He always wanted to get to the next level. He always wanted to see the next step the light of the WORD OF GOD (Ps 119.105) was shining along his path. For Paul, THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK in his passionate pursuit of God.

Take some time and (1) slowly read through Philippians 3. Notice all of the things Paul says that show his low perspective of himself, but his high perspective of Christ. Notice in verse 10 Paul’s purpose in all of his life (trials and triumphs alike) was to KNOW HIM!!! Ask the Spirit of God to speak to you and challenge you to a new PASSION in your PURSUIT as you read this passage.

Next (2) think about the events of John 21. This may not seem like such a heart-wrenching story when you first read it, but remember…Peter was a (what?) before Jesus called him to be a disciple? And after Jesus died and was resurrected, he finds Peter in the same condition he was in BEFORE Christ entered his life. Wow. And what is Jesus’ response when He finds Peter this way…”do you love me?” I know sometimes in my life, EVEN AFTER Christ has come and called me out of my old life and into a new one, I have been found of Him still living according to the OLD WAY. Is He asking you this morning, “do you love me?”

May we all live a life so PASSIONATE in our PURSUIT of Him that the question never needs to be asked. Amen.

Tue 3.2 – Scripture Heart and Mind

Today’s Reading: Col 3.1-4; Luke 10.38-42; 15.11-32; Ps 119.17-24, 89-96

Many of you are probably not doing Monday’s devotion until Tuesday because of the glitch in my internet over the weekend. Today, we are going to look a little more at the story yesterday in Luke 10. There are some more verses for thought above, and we will mention them at the end of the devotion for further study.

Remember, over the last week or so, we are talking about SEEKING THE THINGS ABOVE and SETTING OUR AFFECTION on them from Col 3.1-2. We have discussed the 4 things God says in His Word that we are to be SEEKING and SETTING OUR AFFECTION on (the Person, Word, Throne, and Family of God – see yesterday’s study for references). We talked about how SEEKING something is to PURSUE it with everything we have. We looked at the words God chose specifically when He said we are to SET our AFFECTION on things above, meaning that we are to CHOOSE with our MIND what we are going to SEEK with our lives and thus make that the AFFECTION of our hearts. Then we began to look at some illustration of that.

Let’s take a minute and settle down into our illustration from yesterday. In Luke 10.38-42 we see the familiar story of Jesus at the house of Mary and Martha. Martha, of course, was busy rushing around the house to make sure it was clean and tidy for Jesus while serving Him and His companions. Mary, on the other hand, is sitting still at the feet of Christ listening to His every word. We have one illustration of WORK in Martha and one of WORSHIP in Mary. The WORKER is troubled that the WORSHIPPER is leaving her to do all the WORK, so she approaches Jesus and complains. His response is awesome, and something we all needed to hear yesterday. Let’s take just a minute and look deeper into the situation, maybe in a new light. . . .

Notice Martha’s complaint in verse 40. Who does she rebuke? It’s not Mary. Wouldn’t you think it would be Mary? No, she rebukes Jesus. That brings a whole new light to this story. Martha didn’t blame Mary for what she was doing. How could she. She had heard Jesus teach before. She knew His WORDS were mesmerizing. She knew anyone who would listen couldn’t help but be consumed by what He had to say. It was His WORD that was so enticing, not Mary that was so lazy. Sure, Mary loved Jesus. But so did Martha. That’s why she was so busy, working so hard, bustling about so frantically. She loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him perfectly. They both had great love for Jesus. So what was it that separated the two? If they both loved Jesus, why did Jesus say that Mary had chosen that “good part” that was “needful”? It’s because MARY was SEEKING the WORD of GOD, and SETTING HER AFFECTION on the WORD of GOD. They both were SEEKING and SETTING THEIR AFFECTION on the Person of God…Jesus Christ… there in real time. But only Mary was passionate after the WORD OF GOD, and that passion for the WORD is where she was able to bridge the gap between worker and worshipper.

Above, you will see some passages of scripture to reflect upon. Luke 15 is a great story of the REMEDY to a lost first love we looked at last week. As you read this passage, allow the spirit of God to speak to your heart about the beauty of His great love for us.

As you close your time with God today, think about MARY and MARTHA. Think about the difference between them and Mary’s passion for the WORD OF GOD (the second thing above we are to be seeking) and evaluate your own passion for it. Are you seeking it? Are you setting your affection on it? Is it so mesmerizing to you that you can’t help but stop what you are doing and listen? Look at those verses above from Ps 119. God said that King David was the MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART. Notice the love this guy had for the WORD OF GOD as you read his words in Ps 119. Wow. May God help us to seek and set our affection on the things above, and today on the WORD OF GOD.