Have You Checked Your Springs Lately?

“Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (Col 3:1).

Hey Gang: I have been having a terrible time with my tractor. The gas feed would not feed and how many out there know that if your gas feed does not feed you are in big trouble. I wiggled this and pushed on that. I even got the compressor out and blew on the lines and carb with the same results – blah!

So I did as any good male homosapien does after they exhaust all of their options, I yelled “help” and an angel of mercy showed up on my door step. In less than six seconds he pointed to a tiny spring that is attached to the gas feed and said, “The spring that is supposed to spring is not springing any more – you need a new spring.” So, I heeded his advice and purchased anew spring and the Allis Chalmers D 14 is purring like a kitten.

The point, the tractor, with its mega number of parts, was worthless without that tiny spring. Now what does that have to do with the morning message? I have learned to appreciate the little words of the Bible, what I call ‘trigger words’ to great truths. Did you know there are 1506 ifs in the Bible and 1980 therefores? No, I did not count them. Strong’s did that for me.

While still chaplain at the Village two of the messages that I taught to every class of young folks that went through the program was what I titled “The Irrevocable Laws o f God or The Seed Planting Parable in Living Color” and “Paul’s Change Process”.

In Colossians three, he laid out a very clear four step process for change. First we must die to self and be hidden in Christ; second, we must put off all of those things that grieve the Holy Spirit; third, we must fill the vacuum caused by the “put offs” with ”put ons”, the attributes of God; and last but not least, “let” God have total control of our lives. Notice each is an act of the will decision!

But Paul knew that to make a principle work it required a prerequisite action plan to put it into practice. In verse one of Colossians three he uses two trigger words to start the engine “therefore, and if”. It works only when you have “If, therefore, you have been raised up with Christ and keep seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the God.”

Sooooo, my young friends, as you dig into the Word today, don’t skip over those little words. They are the spice that adds flavor to the pudding.

Blessings

Gramps