Tag Archives: gospel

Let's Have Some Serious Conversations

Let’s have some serious conversations

Leave a comment

Colossians 1:5-8

Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant.[b] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your[c] behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

belief bible book business
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Dear friends, what do you see when you read this? Do you consider some of the key words and thoughts that go along with this passage? What does it mean when he writes “word of truth”, or “bearing fruit” or even “Grace of God”? Why should we consider these things and what does it all mean for us? These my friends are today’s considerations.

Have you ever attended a group setting whether it be in church or elsewhere, when someone hears another say “they are blessed” and eye balls roll? Or pride in self is made known through name calling? I know I have. In fact, I have even witnessed one of the members of a group I was with, yell at a woman on the street when she tried to hand him a tract, and he then called her a “stupid bible freak”. Ouch! Even though he knew my faith was very important to me, he still decided that this woman deserved to be called names, in front of me. He did not get it. Even though I know he came from a family that attended church. He did not understand what means to Love the Lord.

Matthew 22:37
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

Many do not understand the full extent of what Jesus Christ has done through the will of a loving Father. They may hear the words in church and listen to sermons, yet they themselves do not actually believe or understand what “truth” actually is. They seek, they search, they read, they study, yet God has not opened their hearts to receive. For some, the truth of the word has been kept out of their reach. Kept from them, in silence. They are not yet ready to understand. We don’t always understand why this is, meaning, we know it’s God’s will yet we don’t always understand why our words are going on deaf ears. Often times we go above and beyond trying to pursue their salvation for them with information overload. Did you catch my italicizing we and their? We like to think that it’s up to us. Oh, we know better, yet we continue to hold on to that part of our human side called pride. We are the ones that will save another soul. We have it all together and we now what they need. Hmmm…. ever been there?

On the flip side, sometimes we shut down completely and walk away, ignoring the need. Does knowing they don’t get it mean that our conversations should stop? Does this mean that we keep what we know to ourselves? No! Absolutely not! The gift of understanding and salvation is a gift given by the Holy Spirit, and is nothing that we can will upon a person. That being said, we can and oftentimes are used as vessels to witness to others our joy in faithfulness to God. We are often dropping seeds that may or may not be nurtured at that time. They may fall upon hard soil, or they may germinate. Sometimes the germination may take time to produce worthy fruit, yet God knows the timing He will take to make it happen. It may or may not be their time to hear with an open heart, yet it is our job to continue to glorify God with His truth. This my friends is what Paul means above when he says “bearing fruit and increasing”.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Haven’t we been going through love, faith and hope the last few weeks? Don’t we understand that those things are not meant to be kept to ourselves? We love others. We have joy in our lives and are thankful to to God for Jesus and the sacrifice He made for our salvation, covering our sins with His blood. We are thankful to Jesus for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which helps us to experience patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness. We have self control through prayer and thankfulness to a righteous God which we bow before and think more highly of than ourselves. The blessing of knowing truth of the gospel, the whole word of God as well as the good news of Jesus Christ is the tool that will bring more followers into the Kingdom of God. Bearing and sharing the fruit of the Spirit with those who do not know the gospel truth. Even if it is not their time to know the whole truth.

I appreciated and pondered what Matthew Henry said in his commentary on this passage: “Wherever the gospel comes, it will bring forth fruit to the honor and glory of God: it bringeth forth fruit as it doth also in you. We mistake, if we think to monopolize the comforts and benefits of the gospel to ourselves. Does the gospel bring forth fruit in us? So it does in others.

Just as Paul writes to the Colossians, thanking God for them, he is encouraging them to go forth in their helping to increase the kingdom of God. He lets them know that they are in good hands with the instruction they are getting through Epaphras. That God is laying blessings upon them for their love to Him. Paul is comforting them with reassurance. Is that why you follow me friends? Do you find comfort in the truths shared here? Do you feel reassured as a servant for the Lord? I sure hope so.

I want to close in saying that the gent above who called the lady names that tried to hand him a track, has since, several years later married a wonderful, God loving, God fearing woman who loves the Lord and they both serve with great joy. God has used someone else to bring him into the fold. I am sure the seeds of both my faithful living to a holy God and the work of that young gal that day helped that young man see love and joy in the work to glorify God. It just wasn’t his time to understand. Do not take any opportunity for granted. Continue on in your sharing, understanding that it is God’s will. It is God’s will whether or not the seeds dropped will germinate on good soil or rocky, sandy soil. It is by the grace of God we have the gospel truth to lead and by His mercy we are given salvation rather than death.

At the end of Spurgeons sermon called The Hope Laid Up In Heaven Col. 1:5, he wrote addressing the thankfulness of a servant who bears good fruit for the kingdom of God:

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us meet to partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.” I have been following the evident track of the apostle’s thoughts. The Lord gives us a hope of glory, and then He gives us a meetness for it, and that meetness is largely wrought in us by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of our hope. Cultivate, then, your hope, dear breathren. Make it to shine so plainly in you that your minister may hear of your hopefulness and joy; of heaven, and act as though you really expected to go there. Make the world know that you have a hope of heaven: make worldlings feel that you are a believer in eternal glory, and that you hope to be where Jesus is. Often surprise them as they see what they call your simplicity, but what is in truth only your sincerity, while you treat as matter of fact the hope laid up for you in heaven . The Lord grant it for Jesus Christs sake. Amen”

Give Thanks! Make it shine plainly! Make the world know!

Let's Have Some Serious Conversations

Let’s Have some serious conversations

Leave a comment

Colossians 1:1-3

Greeting

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

person in white long sleeve shirt
Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

 A few weeks ago during our Sunday service, our pastor read from Colossians and I could not get the passage out of my mind. For days I prayed on it and was feeling very convicted that I needed to write about it. Interestingly enough, as I continued to pray over and read and study Colossians, I realized that it was not just one passage that needed to be considered.

Looking around at our world today we see so much chaos. We don’t know who to trust, who to believe, and where to find truth. We wander around day by day with echos of “trust me” rattling around in our heads. Not unlike the wandering of a stray dog. Seeking comfort, truth, and knowledge all seem to be at a distance and the destination is never arrived. Many times questions of “how did we get here” or “what do we do with all of this information? ” or “how do we know what to believe” consume us daily. Studying Colossians, I learned that this is the exact reason that Paul wrote to the Colossians. Let’s take a look at some history to understand what was going on and why the study of Pauls letter to those in the church in Colossae was so important to them back them as much as it is to us today.

Colossae was a city that was located east of Ephesus, on a major trade route along the Lycus River. Paul himself had not visited Colossae nor did he start the church there. It is believed through history and studying the time of his letter to the Colossians that this letter was written approximately around A.D. 62 while Paul was in a Roman prison. He was visited by Epaphras (vs. 7) who is believed to have started the church after visiting and hearing Pauls preaching in Ephesus during the three years he was there. Historical archeological surveys have shown that there was a combination of Roman, Jewish and pagan cults in Colossae.

When Epaphras went to visit Paul in prison, he needed encouragement and support as there was heresy seeping into the church and attempting to unsurp the gospel truths that Paul had preached and Epaphras was sharing. It’s not entirely clear exactly what was going on however, as we continue to dive into Colossians we will begin to get a glimpse of what their conversation may have looked like and the struggles that were going on.

In understanding even this much of the history of the church in Colossae, my heart was leaping in joy at the parallel we face today and the fact that the gospel truths have answers. Paul shares God’s holy word to offer comfort, strength and encouragement. If you are wondering why I say “parallel”, I ask you to consider our communities, social circles, worldly views and what we and our brethren face on a daily basis that goes against christian living and the word of God. We have false teachers and leaders not just on the TV or in our government, we have them in our churches, work places, neighborhoods and with the growing social media outlets, also in our homes. We even see bumper stickers on cars that tell us to “coexist”. How do we keep our focus on biblical truths when we are surrounded by heresy? The answers are in Pauls letter to the Colossians. In the study section of my ESV bible it said that Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered books of the Bible. With the object of believers faith being Christ Jesus, and giving a treasure of knowledge, and glory to a triune God, the book of Colossians reminds believers that they are predestined to a life outside of this world and not to put too much focus on the things of this world.

John 15:19 If you wereof the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 

Romans 8:29-30.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called healso justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

One of the things that really stuck out to me in studying this is that Epaphras was not a trained preacher and was not someone of known status. He was a hearer of the gospels truths and began to share those truths with others. Epaphras was from what we gather the founder of the church in Colossae and he was being used by God without pomp and circumstance. Matthew Henry said “God is sometimes pleased to make use of the ministry of those who are less of note, and lower gifts, for doing great service to his church. God uses what hands he pleases and is not tied to those of note, that the excellence of power may appear to be of god and not of men. “

2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongsto God and not to us.

Epaphras is not the only teacher that we are surprised to see in the gospel who helped to grow God’s church. Let’s consider Paul himself. Paul was a terror to followers of Christ, yet God took ahold of him and he was not only then, yet is also today in his writing a trusted mentor and teacher for the Lord in support of His holy Word. We’ve read of Timothy. A young man who had obvious adversity in his life, who was young and dealt with fears, doubts, weakness and self doubting. Yet, with council and encouraging words from Paul, his life was not forsaken nor forgotten by the Lord and he was also used in the ministry of God’s gospel truth. Sinclair Ferguson said in Grow In Grace “Timothy had grown so firm and strong in his witness that he had been willing to suffer even imprisonment for the sake of Christ. If, as we suggested earlier spiritual growth is measured not only by external indications but by the amount of opposition which has to be overcome in order to express them – then Timothy had grown greatly in grace. ”

We read of the importance of Epaphras’ ministry (Paul calls Epaphras “beloved fellow servant”) as we see Pauls greeting to the Colossians when he wrote “To the Saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.” Paul considered the believers in Colossae to be his brethren in faith. Paul loved them and had enough concern for their well being as he would any other church that he himself had started. Matthew Henry wrote “Pauls example of loving the church in Colossae as much as any church he himself planted should remind us of the blessing to care for and water what others have planted.” Think of it this way, God is the master builder, Christ is the foundation and the Word is the structure of which the saints glorify the holy creator.

1 Corinthians 1:2 – To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Paul knew that the church of Colossae was struggling and yet he addressed the church with praises of thanksgiving to God, letting them know that it is His affection upon them that Paul is grateful for.

Thanking God, Paul gives recognition that He is the father of Jesus Christ. That He deserves all praises and glory, no one else. This is the theme throughout the whole letter to the Colossians, that Christ is the ONLY and ALL sufficient Savior. We will continue to see this throughout Colossians.

Colossians 1:3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.

Do you understand why my heart was joyful? This letter can help those who are feeling the pull to believe that there is “something” or “someone” else who is “all sufficient” for their problems other than Christ. It’s a reminder to the saints that NO ONE is sufficient outside of Christ. There is not one prophet, deity, modern religion, world leader, new age book, new age belief, idol or anything/anyone else that can fill the void of hopelessness. The blood shed of our Lord Jesus Christ and the empty cross, of which he once hung, is the one and only consideration and answer when it comes to all sufficiency in this world for everything.

The book of Colossians is a book that we read today to remind ourselves that no matter what people call “truths”, if they are counteractive to the gospel truth and the Word, then we need to turn away and walk the other direction. We need to turn off the buzz in out homes whether it be TV, social media outlets, or even unbelieving family and friends. Its a book to give courage to the meek, strength to the week and hope for those who are struggling.

I look forward to going through Colossians with you. Next week, my hope is to go through vs. 4-8. There is SO much to talk about.

If you have any questions about our study please write them in the comments section.

Following in Faith, Why?

Rejected or Rejoicing?

6 Comments

thumbnail-3.aspx

Wearily pulling myself out of self loathing yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit with a friend whom is no longer able to walk and is finishing out her young life knowing that she is fading away into the arms of her savior.  I was so blessed and refreshed by the visit, that I had to ask God’s forgiveness for the moments prior to our time together.   After all, I  had been questioning what good was going to come of such a visit when I was so tired from battling my pneumonia for the last 3 weeks.  I did not feel like smiling, I just wanted to sleep and rest in the comfort of my living room.  Venturing out into the cold was not appealing, even though I had an errand I had to run prior to the visit.  I pondered forgoing the errand and the visit.   It’s amazing how God uses times like those to touch our inner being, reminding us that there is so much to do and so little time for the joy of the Lord to be shared with others.  I came home physically tired, yet spiritually uplifted.   My original intention of visiting my friend was because I thought I was going to bless her, yet, God blessed me instead with a sustainable energy that kept me going for the rest of the night and He reminded me of the grace of humility.

There is no place for self loathing or a self serving attitude for Christians who know Him.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you , declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”      Jeremiah 29:11-14

For the last year, life has had it’s ups and downs with my diagnosis of Lyme Disease.  The loneliness of having a physical disability is only known by those who are also afflicted with such circumstances.  For this reason, I was determined that when I felt better, I was going to start weekly visits with my friend whom I had neglected prior to my own illness.   I remember having the need to visit her, however, I am embarrassed to admit that time was filled with so many other things to do that I never made the time.  I was just too busy, plain and simple.  Isn’t that so like our society today?  We spend so much time doing so many great things that have such little value.  Yet the things that mean so much, we brush aside thinking they are not of great significance.

I challenge you reader to consider your own life and ask yourself this question, “What have I done today that was not for my own gratification?”  If you ask yourself that question and find that you cannot come up with one thing, I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and give it a try.  If you are only doing for others so that you will benefit, you have not challenged yourself enough.  Try taking time out of your day to do something for someone that will not have anything to do with benefiting yourself.   Let me explain.  If you partake on a mercy mission for someone else, make sure you are not thinking that it’s for your own benefit or self glorification that you are doing it.   True acts of kindness, love and humility do not come from knowledge, they come from the heart.  Outpouring unconditionally!

Last year there were several wonderful friends who took time out of their days to sit with me or write to me.  The fact that they thought of me and prayed for me was enough, but these women actually took the time out of their busy lives to let me know.  Unconditionally!  From guilt free quilting to those friday pizza nights where I would otherwise have sat here alone.  From e-cards of inspiration to the hand written notes mailed through the post, I was blessed by the giving of their time.  I can only hope that they too felt blessed by the love they shared with this lonely Christian in her time of need for fellowship.

My friend and I sat together yesterday and began reading a book.  Although my friend can no longer read and I am actually doing the reading, our discussions during and afterward were wonderful.  We began the first week with the first two chapters of the book and studying Psalm 13.

How long, O LORD?  Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?  

Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep and the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.   Psalm 13

We both discussed how blessed we are knowing that we had the fellowship with one another, and the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ.  David, in writing this psalm, felt alone and abandoned by God, yet he trusted in His love.  He knew God was there or he would not have called out to him to begin with, but he cried out for the reassurance.   He just longed for the fellowship and comfort of the Lord to help with the loneliness  that was overtaking his physical being.  Is this any different than how we feel when we are going through trials?  As Christians we know God is ever present and we can trust in His love, yet we long for that physical fellowship.  It’s in our human nature to have that need, and yet, so many are left in their lonely state.

In both of my studies this week, the same question came up, “Why is it so important to establish a right view of God before adversity hits?”  (CBS JOB commentary)   Both my friend and I agree that in our circumstances we could not get through all that humanity and disease throws at us if we did not have trust in the Lord and trust in salvation.  In saying that, it does not mean we will not have tears and that we will not be discouraged at our current situation.  Just as David was discouraged, he still trusted in “steadfast love” which in turn allowed him to “rejoice in salvation”.   Rejoice…

Rejoicing in the everlasting love of a creator who has chosen us to be a part of his kingdom.  Rejoicing in his blessings of family and fellowship with other like minded brothers and sisters who will share in an eternal life.  Rejoicing in the blessing of vision to see that our sorrows are short lived in this world.  Rejoicing that Jesus Christ took upon himself the sins of mankind to save.  Rejoicing in the Hope and Faith of healing and God’s everlasting care in our lives on this earth.  Rejoicing in knowing Him!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”    Romans 1:16-17