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Colossians 3

1/30/2013

Colossians 3:1-2 “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about things of heaven, not the things of the earth.”

When I read this it made me think of the word focus. When we focus on something we have determination to get it done or learn it and that is why we “set our sights on the realities of Heaven.” We can have a life that is full of joy and peace because of what Jesus did. Are we going to focus on that which is in heaven and bring that joy to earth so people can see why Jesus is our Lord? When we “believe” in Jesus we need to let it penetrate our heart and shift our focus off of what we knew before and fix it on what we can learn now.

Paul says in Colossians chapter 3 verses 7-8, “You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language.” When our heart is transforming we need to start changing and realize no matter how good we were before it doesn’t matter because we are new now and have a purpose. Verse 10 says, “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.” Not only do we study God’s word to understand God’s will we actually change our lives to resemble Christ, acting just like Him.

What a difference thought process. Some think we just accept Christ and then we can continue living our old lives, but we can’t, no matter how good we believe we were. Verse 11 says, “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.” We have to stop fighting for control and let the Spirit inside develop and lead us to change.

Believing is the first step, and when our change begins we then need to mature and continue to understand our goal is to be like Christ not ourselves. We need to embrace what we believe and belong to Christ then set our sights on Him working hard to be different than we were. Amen

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Colossians 2

1/27/2013

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Colossians 2:6-7 “And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, you must continue to follow Him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”

Our journey does not end with our acceptance of Jesus that point should catapult us to seek all the wisdom we can from the Lord. This takes us opening His word and praying, asking Him to transform our hearts and help us grow. Just reading is a chore, but reading with an open heart is incredible. When we do that our roots grow down and we receive more understanding.

In the book “Seeing God in HD” by Mark Moore he states this about bible study at the end of chapter 1. “It is through the Scriptures, more than anything else, that the community of God’s people come to understand the revelation of who God is.” The bible was given to us by God so we could always have a way to talk to Him. This is very important as we live our lives on earth, because the devil will be continually trying to derail us and keep our minds off of God and on ourselves. It says, “…and let our lives be built on Him…” If we don’t know Him it is hard to build anything on Him.

I love what Jesus says in Luke chapter 6 verses 47-48, “I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to Me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the flood waters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.” Let’s make our acceptance real by opening our hearts and minds to grow and know all that God desires from us and then share so others can enjoy the same love we know in Christ. Amen

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Colossians 1

1/24/2013

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Colossians 1:9-10 “So we have not stopped praying for you since we first learned about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

It is so important for us as believers to be praying for each other like Paul did for the church in Colosse. We come at all different maturity levels and we all need God’s wisdom to help us develop and change our lives to honor and please the Lord. If we are all focused on learning and transforming, we as the body would work together to have understanding and make a difference for the Kingdom.

Paul goes on to share a prayer for the church in Colosse in Colossians chapter 1 verses 11-12 that reads, “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light.” As we live in this world and the devil continues to work on keeping people from knowing God we will need to have endurance for the long life of living our faith out. We will also need the patience to get through all the tuff times that we will experience as we continue to grow and learn to glorify God.

As we live with endurance and patience in all situations we need the joy so that God gets all the glory and we thank Him for sending Jesus while we were still sinners giving us a bridge to the Father. That joy is what helps people see heaven on earth. What I mean is when we can function in this world with a thankful heart, not always asking why but believing the Good News, we can be seen by the world as different and set apart. Then people that don’t know the Lord will want to understand why we have endurance, patience, and joy even though we have problems and it opens a door for us to share our hope.

We can never stop developing and or seeking transformation not just for us but for others to see how Christ in us has made the difference. Our steadfastness in Christ and our desire for people to know the Lord is what gets us out in our neighborhoods and communities to build relationships that make a difference that matters. Keep praying for all believers to learn to receive God’s wisdom and understand God’s will as Paul shares in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Let’s be opened to everything God has to offer and be humble in knowledge as we help make disciples of all people. Amen

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Philippians 4

1/22/2013

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Philippians 4:8-9 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me – everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”

Paul really shows us how important it is for us to commit to filling ourselves with things that are from Christ. Keep putting into practice, is key as we grow and mature our faith because what fills our heart and mind is what will come out in our actions.

My dad shared a story about an old teacher of his named Pete Castle; he was killed at school by a student 30 years ago. My father remembered what was read at his memorial service that was in a card of his. It read; “Patience is an asset for rare human beings. So understand before you condemn, and be cautious and careful before you judge. If you have enough love in your heart it will help you, there will be no room for anything but good.” Imagine if our heart was filled with things that were true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable or let’s just say the Spirit of God. We would overflow with responses to the world’s junk. We could do what Christ has taught us to do and that is making disciples, baptizing and teaching people to do everything He has commanded. Wow, what a difference our walk would be if we did what Paul says in Philippians chapter 2 verse 12, “…work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.”

Warren Wiersbe explains verse 8 like this, “The Christian who fills their heart and mind with God’s word will have a “built – in radar” for detecting wrong thoughts.” As it says in Psalm 119:165, “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.” Let’s never stop putting into practice what we learn and continue to focus on Christ for our way of living. Amen

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Philippians 3

1/20/2013

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Philippians 3:12-14 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

Two things really stand out to me in these passages; first, “…But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” We need to keep our eyes on Christ and forgive ourselves for what we have ever done and long to live a new life like His perfect example. This takes us running the race to win because what lies ahead for us is the perfection of our lives in heaven with the Father. Secondly, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” When we press on we see how much God loves us and we have confidence in His love. When we have confidence we can live our lives knowing that we are His children and are to live like Christ in everything we do.

We need to desire to be like the teacher and obey everything He has taught us. This makes us get past just wanting to be a Christian, which is a word never used by Christ, to being a disciple which we are called to make as we mature in our walk with the Lord. In Luke chapter 6 verse 40 Jesus tells us, “Students are not greater than their teachers. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.” When we press on and forget the past we set our eyes on growth and learning and God gives us wisdom and it all points to Jesus the perfect example for us to follow. I pray that as we learn we see how important it is to seek perfection by living like Christ in everything we do. Amen

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Philippians 1

1/18/2013

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Philippians 1:9-11 “I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.”

Paul prays for the church in Philippi to never stop learning and this is a great reminder to us to do the same thing. The more we grow in knowledge and understanding the more we can see how important love is. The love in us will be what keeps us living righteously because Jesus will be our focus. As I was reading this first chapter of Philippians today I realized how much more we have when we learn to live like Christ. My favorite verse in the Bible is Philippians chapter 1 verse 21 which reads, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” When we can grow we can understand what an impact Christ will make in us and in people around us.

Our life and the light of Christ being evident in us make all the difference because we don’t get the glory for it God does. After Paul talks about his living being better for others, we see how Jesus’ love is unselfish and doesn’t focus on self. In verse 25 Paul says, “Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.” I love this because salvation is the finish line and why Jesus came but we see that as we live (even in the mess of the world) there is joy in our faith.

I want to live with joy in all situations because I know what Jesus did for me and what He has done in the big picture. Matthew chapter 28 verse 18 states this, “…I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.” When we grow in Him we have knowledge and understanding, when we have understanding we have strength because of Him. Because of that strength we can boldly share with people what Christ has done in our lives and we show love which is exactly what God is. Paul’s prayer for the people of Philippi’s love to overflow more and more is also good for us and is what helps people that don’t know Christ seek and people that do, but are just coasting, ask and knock. The joy of our salvation is that we can live on earth bringing the qualities of heaven to our everyday lives because Jesus lives in us. Amen

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Ephesians 5

1/16/2013

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Ephesians 5:1-2 “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are His dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered Himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

This can only be done when we open our hearts to learn and grow. We can’t imitate something we don’t know and we can’t follow an example if we think we are in control. This takes us learning and opening His word so we can understand what and how we need to live. I am reading a book for a class written by Mark Moore called, “Seeing God in HD,” and he shared this statement that really hit home. “Yet, like a track star, if we are to keep from landing on our faces as we run our hurdles, we will need to train a bit to make sure we can rise above our own narrow world and enter into the world(s) of the Bible.” This training is so important as we develop and transform into the children of God that we all can be. I truly believe this also takes us letting go of the control and listening to what the Spirit in us is saying.

Paul shares in Ephesians chapter 4 verses 23-24, “Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy.” Just reading that gets me excited to learn more and start living a new way. As we see and feel more change in our lives we desire even more and our study becomes the most exciting part of our day. It is not something we feel we have to include in our day it is something we don’t want to miss in our day.

Paul tells us in chapter 5 verses 10-11, “Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” As we imitate God our lives change and so does our heart and living like Christ comes more natural. God is not looking for perfection but He is looking for desire and willingness to give up our lives as Jesus gave up His. This desire is all based on love and our acceptance of the wonderful free gift God gave us in Christ.

We must remember as we grow and change it is not us in control it is us dying to self and working on living for Christ. I love what Paul shares in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15-20, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let’s open our hearts and God’s word so we can do all we can to live in this world bringing the qualities of heaven here on earth so people can see how amazing Jesus is. Amen

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Ephesians 3

1/11/2013

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Ephesians 3:16-19 “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Holy Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

This prayer from Paul makes me realize how important it is for me to give up control of my life. We know how easy it is to feel we know what is best for us and the more goals we have the better, but I say as we trust in Him and live by His decrees the stronger we get. Paul’s prayer says, “I pray that from His glorious unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength.” His resources are unlimited, at best ours are marginal. Verse 17 says, “…your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.” It is not ourselves that will keep us strong it is God’s love.

Think of those nasty weeds in the yard, some the roots are twice as long as the weeds themselves. Well those ones are hard to pull out. When we trust in the Lord and our roots grow down deep in His love we know how to react to this world’s temptations and we know that God is in control. I think of the parable of the scattered seed in Matthew chapter 13 verse 8 which says, “Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

The roots grow healthy in fertile soil and so does our trust in the Lord. The more we trust in the Lord the stronger our roots and the stronger our roots the less we lead and the more the Spirit leads us. Verse 19 is incredible to think about; really look at what it says, “May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and the power that comes from God.” Our lives can be complete here even with satan doing all he can to deceive us. We just need to let go of the reigns and ask, seek, and knock so we can continue to grow.

I love transformation stories and Paul’s is incredible, but we all have one if we truly believe in Christ. Warren Wiersbe made these two statements and I think they are so right on. First he said, “We inherit the wealth by faith and invest the wealth by works. Without this balance, our spiritual riches do us no good.” And secondly, “If the world can’t see anything different in our lifestyles before Christ and after Christ, the problem isn’t with Christ-it’s with us.” Let’s open our hearts and let the Spirit lead us to a changed life that glorifies God. Amen

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Galatians 5

1/8/2013

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Galatians 5:5-6 “But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”

Have we truly let the Spirit lead us or do we still hang on to what we feel is important? As Paul continues to talk about the Spirit and how He is in us helping us see what to do we must understand that we can surrender to and feed the Spirit by reading and studying God’s word.

In verse 16 Paul says, “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Our feelings won’t stop happening, but whatever we are feeling will have the upper hand in our decisions. What I mean is if we fill our lives with the joys of this world it will be easier to fall into the devils traps. If we are seeking wisdom from God, reading and praying we will be able to hear the Spirit in us and our faith will have a chance to grow and we will choose to let the Spirit lead us.

As we read on in chapter 5 verse 17 we see that Paul shares this, “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.” If we just believe our walk is good and we don’t grow and seek wisdom we are going to struggle with the world. But if we are living our faith out and refueling every day the Spirit becomes the thing that drives us and we have a better chance to listen to His nudging’s.

I have a mission statement for myself and that is helping people who believe in Jesus, belong to Jesus. When I read what Paul is saying in Galatians I think of how amazing my life is when I belong and seek everything from God. I slow down and I ask God before I react and the Spirit has a chance to work in me. Look what Paul shares in chapter 5 verse 24 and then pray to belong to Christ. “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there.” Amen

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2 Corinthians 13

1/6/2013

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2 Corinthians 13:11 “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words. Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Love in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”

This is what we all need to aspire to be in our relationship with the Lord. I think we cheat ourselves if we don’t work our hardest to experience what God is offering us here on earth before we go home for eternity. This life will be loaded with things we don’t understand and trials that make us ask why, but we are told by Jesus in John chapter 6 verse 33, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

When we can truly release our lives and believe this we can truly shine and make a difference. I struggle with this with my family most of all. Sometimes the stresses of life pile up and I react first before letting the Spirit guide me. I know my strength come from the Lord but sometimes my weakness shines instead of His strength. This is why it is so important to continue to grow and learn so the strength we receive helps us mature and we are focused on Him. All of our goals should be maturity in Christ and we should desire to do whatever it takes to continue to have our hearts transformed.

Paul challenges the church in Corinth in 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 5 by saying, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” We must test our faith and continue to grow so as we mature in our walk people can see devoted people that are pursuing Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. I like the reality check Warren Wiersbe writes in his commentary on these verses. “No doubt many of the problems in the church at Corinth were caused by people who professed to be saved, but who had never repented and trusted Jesus Christ. Our churches are filled with such people today.” I’m not perfect but I repent and seek wisdom daily so I can keep focused and continue to develop so I can help do my part of the Great Commission.

That is having a purpose and knowing that Jesus showed us exactly what to do. We must believe what we read in His word and work to surrender our lives to the Holy Spirit so we can do what we learned in the beginning of this blog, “…be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace…” And truly know that God is with us always. Amen

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Colossians 3

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Philippians 3

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