Fri 8.5 - Like Jesus, Like Jesus

Today’s Readings: Colossians 3.17-25; Philippians 2.5-8

As we close out this passage in Colossians, we’ve noted that God addresses a variety of real-life relationships. Let’s now make sure that we are reading about those relationships in the correct context.

Remember if you would the thought of 3.17 for a moment. Basically put, we are to make sure that our very WORDS and DEEDS are done IN THE NAME of the Lord Jesus Christ, correct? So then, what is the connection between that verse and the list of relationships that follows in the next verses?

I think we can argue that 3.18-22 are simply examples of how 3.17 should look in our lives. For example, if we are living our life in the name of Jesus Christ then:

As wives, we will SUBMIT.
As husbands, we will LOVE.
As children, we will be OBEDIENT.
As parents, we will be HUMBLE.
As SERVANTS, we will OBEY.

Now, you may be looking at this list and think to yourself, those are not exactly the first qualities that I think of when I think of Jesus. While majesty, holiness, power, and preeminence are the things that we typically associate with Him, do not lose sight of the time he spent here on earth and what that it took for GOD to become a MAN.

I find a lot of similarities between the teaching of Col 3.17 and of Phil 2.5. Read them together and see if you can sense the heart of the author as you read. They both seem to be calling us to a selflessness and a pursuit of Jesus’ life in ours don’t they? As our WORDS and DEEDS are taken captive to Christ and our MIND becomes His, then it seems that we would begin to live that life of seeking things above and setting our affection on things above.

Check out the similarities in the description of the mind of Christ is Phil 2.5-8

He SUBMITTED to the will of God, “but made himself of no reputation”
He was made a SERVANT, “and took upon himself the form of a servant“
He LOVED us enough to be, “made in the likeness of man“
He was HUMBLED, “being found in fashion as a man, he bumbled himself”
He was OBEDIENT, “and became obedient unto death, even death of the cross“

Do you see some similarities? I can’t help but think that God has a desire that we stop living this life ourselves and allow the life of Christ to invade and rule as we continue our days. May your life be lived IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, and may THIS MIND BE IN YOU WHICH ALSO WAS IN CHRIST JESUS, as you go today! Amen.

Sat 7.6 – King Peace

Today’s Readings: Colossians 1.20, 3.10-16; Romans 5.1,10, 14.17; 2 Corinthians 5.18-21; Philippians 4.6-7; I Thessalonians 5.23

We come to a huge statement in our study through Colossians today. Scripture says to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts”[v.15]. Now, what kind of person rules? A King, right? The King get’s his way, the King calls the shots, the King determines the direction of the people of the land.

Now with that in mind, check out the scriptures above. Where does that PEACE come from? I mean that true peace that is to rule our hearts. It comes from God. 1 Corinthians 14.33 actually says God is the AUTHOR of PEACE. He is where it starts, where it originates, where it comes out from. Wow.

So, if God is telling us that the PEACE which only He gives is to RULE in our hearts, how do we get there?

Do you ever feel like your life is RULED by everything EXCEPT PEACE?!?! I do sometimes. It is easy to feel like STRESS, or PROBLEMS, or TENSION, or DEPRESSION, or CONFUSION rules in our hearts. We would be lying if we said anything otherwise. That’s is just the reality of the believer living in this wicked world all around us. When we talk about the HEART we talk about all kinds of EMOTIONS.

Sometimes the EMOTIONS we FEEL are what we base the TRUTH on. If your parents have done something that makes you FEEL forsaken, you can easily talk yourself into believing the FALSE TRUTH that they do not love you anymore. However, that is not the truth but because of your EMOTIONS, your PERCEPTION of the truth can be ALTERED. And if we are going to have a RIGHT PERCEPTION of the TRUTH, we are going to have to put our DECEITFUL HEARTS (Jeremiah 17.9) UNDERNEATH the rule of the true PEACE of God, who sits on the throne over our HEART.

Well, God would not tell us to do something that is impossible would He? Of course not… so then, again, how do we get there? How do we get self, stress, tension, and all those other things off the throne so that PEACE HIMSELF (see I Thess 5.23) can sit down and rule in our hearts? God explains that in the next verse.

We must LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN US RICHLY AND IN ALL WISDOM! [v.16]

In this verse we see the KEY that will open the door to all of the things we have learned to be true of the NEW MAN. Guys, we could talk about 100 reasons that we need to let the WORD OF CHRIST come into our lives and TAKE OVER THE PLACE! It is the key to everything in the Christian life. We talked Wednesday night about the fact that our failures before God are always DIRECTLY RELATED to our failures in STAYING IN THE WORD. God clearly illustrates the WORD OF GOD AS BREAD(Matt 4.4, John 6, Amos 8.11), and just like our PHYSICAL BODIES WOULD DIE if we did not eat food, our SPIRITUAL BODIES WILL DIE if we do not eat spiritual food – the Word of God!

We cannot go everywhere that verse deserves in this short devotion today, but I want to leave you with one thought… YOU ARE LIKE THE PEOPLE YOU HANG OUT WITH (Prov 13.30)!

So, would it not make sense that when we HANG OUT WITH GOD IN HIS WORD, and let that WORD remain (dwell) in us, and we’re constantly thinking on it/Him, and constantly fellowshipping with what parts of it/Him are hidden in our hearts (Ps 119.11), that we would have peace? Forgiveness? Charity? Equality? That we would bare that Image? That we would be RENEWED in our MINDS? And everything that the NEW MAN is!!! I think so!

May the WORD DWELL IN YOU RICHLY AND IN ALL WISDOM today! Amen.

Fri 7.5 - the bond of perfectness

Today’s Readings: Colossians 3.10-16; 2.1-4; 1 Peter 4.8; 1 John 4.21; John 13.35

As we go through these descriptions of the new man this week, reviewing back to Wednesday night, I want to take the opportunity to talk with you all about where he speaks of the ELECT of God. We addressed this a little bit on Wednesday night, but I feel as though there is more to be said. However, I also do not know how many of you reading this actually have any concern about the subject. It seems to be something that high-minded people get all frizzled up about, and WASTE much of their time arguing over while the work of God goes undone. So, maybe in the future we will discuss this concept further, but for now, just know that we have been ELECTED to be CONFORMED into the IMAGE of God’s Son (Romans 8.29-33).

Today, let’s talk about the concept of being BOUND together by love!

After using the purpose of their election to reason with these believers to PUT ON THE NEW MAN, Paul moves on to explain their unity. He does this through two steps.

1 – FORGIVE. Check out his words in Col 3.13. If there was ever a person who should be able to forgive another person, it should be the believer. Having been forgiven of so much, it would only seem natural that we would desire to show that same forgiveness to others as well. The problem tends to be, that in AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY we have this broken reasoning that tells us we have EARNED something, or DESERVE something. Let me just remind you of how our pastor explains this truth from scripture often…we all DESERVE to be FEDEX’D straight to HELL. That’s what we DESERVE. Anyone who has come to Christ and asked for forgiveness for salvation through faith and repentance should know this. But the longer we LIVE in this world, and the more we LISTEN to this world, the more we will LEAVE the things of Christ behind.

So, understanding how much we have been forgiven of, and therefore being more prone to forgive others…what are his next words???

2 – LOVE. Notice that in Col 3.14 he says that “charity”, or love, should be the priority among our priorities! It is the BOND OF PERFECTNESS!!! Wow, now that’s a big statement. Let me shed a little light on that for us …

There is this stuff that we all use around our houses, it will fix just about anything that is broken instantly. SUPERGLUE. Do you know what superglue is? (besides that stuff that makes you accidently glue your fingers together because it dries so stinking fast!) SuperGlue is a type of BONDING! It makes two things stick together.

Now, if CHARITY is our BOND of perfectness…what does God mean by that? Well, in explaining the body of Christ, God says that we are all BOUND together as one BODY in Him. His ultimate goal for us is to grow into the “measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” and the way He describes it is to be a “PERFECT MAN”(Eph 4.13). Hugh? Isn’t that interesting? So, God wants us to be like the SECOND ADAM, THE NEW MAN, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE PERFECT MAN, and here in Colossians 3.14, He explains that the BONDING that will hold it all together for us as His body (having many members but being still one body) is LOVE!!!! Wow.

How is that? Well maybe because of the truth of these verses…

1 Pet 4.8 – When we LOVE someone, that love will cover a MULTITUDE of sins!!! (that means we can get over the junk that crowds our minds and hearts when we gather together to worship and serve our LORD!!!)

John 13.35 – When we LOVE ONEANOTHER, it is as if we are taking on the personification of our Savior here on this earth. We show him through our lives when we do that. We are little-Christs (Christians) at that point.

I John 4.19-21 – When we LOVE our brothers, we are proving our love for God. That is the common denominator among believers, that is our point of unity!

May God help us to realize how much love we have received, and may that cause us to love others the way He would, and does! Amen.

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.

Mon 3.1 – Seeking and Setting

Today’s Reading: Col 3.1-4; Luke 10.38-42; Mark 12.28-34

Sorry. Something happened with my internet connection yesterday as I was trying to publish the devotion. It locked down and I lost everything I’d typed. So today, I will try to replicate yesterday’s devotion as well as today’s…although I must say it will be less than exact L.

In Sunday school we talked about God’s remedy to return to that FIRST LOVE kind of love. God said there were three easy steps, REMEMBER, REPENT, & REPEAT. We then took three passages of Scripture and saw how God illustrated that in His word.

Today, let’s take the next step into our study in Colossians and see how one of those stories illustrates our next point as well. We have been talking about SEEKING the THINGS ABOVE from Col 3.1, and we noted that the THINGS ABOVE are (1) The PERSON of God (I Jn 5.7), (2) the WORD of God (PS 119.89), (3)the THRONE of God (Rev 4, Isa 6), and (5) the FAIMLY of God (Eph 3.14-15). Those are the THINGS God says are ABOVE in His word. Those are the THINGS we are to be SEEKING with our lives, chasing after with all that we have.

Everyone understands the word SEEK don’t we? Sure, that’s easy…things can get a little confusing on the next one though…God says to “set your affection on things above”(3.2). So, the natural question everyone has is “how do I do that?” But, it may be simpler than you think. When you are in your house and it is very hot, if you want to change the environment in your house where do you go and what do you SET? Right, you go over to the wall and SET the thermostat to get the A/C running. If you are watching TV when another show comes on you want to see, you SET the TV to a different channel. When you SET something you are simply adjusting it so that the object it controls, changes. Now, God says in that same way we are to SET our AFFECTION on the THINGS ABOVE. We are to adjust our AFFECTION so that it’s desires are towards the THINGS God said were above.

Let’s make sure we all understand what we mean by AFFECTION as well. When the Scripture uses that word, sometimes it is translated mind. Your study Bible might even tell you that this word may mean mind. However, God specifically chose the word AFFECTION here. The connection is that our AFFECTION, the things that we are PASSIONATELY IN LOVE WITH in our lives will be connected to what we CHOOSE in our MINDS. We SET the temperature of our AFFECTION through the thermostat of our MIND.

To close our time with God today, let’s look at the story of Jesus at Mary and Martha’s house in Luke 10. Answer these questions and ask yourself which is true for you: Where is Mary’s affection set? Where is Martha’s? Do they both love God? Why can we say they both loved Him? Does Jesus rebuke Martha for serving Him? Where does Jesus put the priority? Where do we? What does Jesus say Mary had done that Martha hadn’t, that involved her mind, and her decision to SET her affection? What have you chosen?