“If then you were
raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated
at the right hand of God. Set your mind
on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is
our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory”
(Col. 3:1`-4).
Hey Gang: I love the
Word of God cover to cover. I am a
literalist and take it as it is written.
That is where faith comes in. I
believe that God has protected His word down through the generations and, the more
I read it, the more my faith grows that there is only one way the Bible could
come into being and remained unchanged, it is protected by the Holy Spirit.
However, I do admit there are some parts more special to my
reading than others. I would rather read
the red
than Leviticus and Numbers. I believe
God understands that and is more concerned that we get our noses into the Word
on a consistent basis. But He also wants
us to get our minds and hearts and soul connected to Him in our prayer closets.
Colossians three is one of the very special passages, which
we title - our “Paul’s Process For Change”. In the years that the Tool House (our Parent
teaching) was in session, it was a very pivotal and essential part of our
curriculum. As is often the case, Paul’s
teachings set the table for what is to come, with prerequisites.
Paul begins the teaching with two trigger words, “therefore – if”. As an old country
preacher said, “When you come to a therefore,
you best find out what it is there for!” I have learned, in recent years, to be very
aware of the small words of the Bible, the ‘ifs,
therefores, and buts’, for they are in many cases followed by a very important
truth that God is trying to penetrate into our hearts and brains.
Step one: “You have
died and your life is hidden with Christ” (verse 5). In this day when millions are spent to make
the body look better than when it was newly created, a time when “me” is premier, we need to understand
that God looks at the inside, not the outside.
We are currently into another election time when the airways are filled
with “Hey, look at me, I am just about perfect!”
Jesus, the Son of Son,
referred to Himself as “A Servant” and Paul as a “Bond Servant”. Jesus said, “Whosoever
wishes to become great among you shall be your servant and whoever wishes to be
first among you shall be your slave”.
Christ, our role model, the One we are instructed to pattern our lives
after said, “Just as he son of Man did not come to be
served but to serve, and gave His life a ransom for many” (He also taught, there is ”…no greater love than to lay down your life for your brother”.
Alice was a rather selfish girl who had been given access to
most of the bangles and beads of this opulent world, and then one day the roof
came tumbling down – she ran in to clinker that invaded her secure world. First it affected her physical health and,
because she had no coping skills, it evaded her emotions.
After many trips to many different skilled doctors, and
bundles of this and that kind of meds, she continued to fall deep into
depression. Decision time, dad put her
in the car and returned her to her apartment with a prayer that she break-out
of the bondage that was holding her captive.
God is so fabulous when we put our problems in His
hands. When she walked into her
apartment, which she shared with another girl, Alice found her roommate suffering
with mononucleosis and was barely able to get out of bed. Alice immediately dropped her suitcase and
began to care for her roommate. Within a
short period of time, both had recovered from their illnesses.
Peter gave us this wonderful piece of advice, “Therefore gird your mind for action, keep
sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:13) and notice in verse four that
he attached a fringe benefit to it “then
you will be revealed with Him in glory”.
Well, as per usual I was much too wordy, so will close this
and pick it up in the next blog.
Blessings,
Gramps
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