Mature in Christ - Part 2

Colossians 1:11-14

Now Paul gets much more specific of how believers can walk in a worthy manner that pleases God. Paul instructs believers to do this by putting to death the old sinful patterns of life and replacing them with a new life that is continually being changed into the likeness of God.  Pleasing God means putting to death immorality, impurity, evil desire, covetousness, anger, wrath, malice, slander, lying and obscene talk. These things are to be replaced with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, and love (Colossians 3:5-14).

Paul’s prayer for these believers is for a complete change in their lives. He is not just praying that they know more about God or that they start doing better things, he is praying for them to become completely different people. He is praying that they kill off all of their old sinful practices and habits and completely replace them with a new man that is being renewed in the image of God.

Joyfully endure in patience

Paul has also been praying that these believers are able to joyfully endure their trials with patience. Paul, who was writing this letter from prison, knew all about the pains and hardships that often accompany a life of service to the Lord. Paul was able to retain his joy no matter how hard his circumstances became because he viewed his life from an eternal perspective. He saw all troubles in this earth as light momentary afflictions that paled in comparison to the eternal weight of glory that awaited him in the next life (2 Corinthians 4:17). The joy that came from his hope in the promises of God allowed him to endure all things.

His prayer for the church was that God would give them all the strength that they needed to endure with joy. We as well need to pray that the full power of God would strengthen our faith so that we can have patience and joy in all situations.

A mature follower of Jesus is able to view hardships from an eternal perspective and endure with patience and joy.

Always be thankful for your salvation

Paul prays that these believers will continually be giving thanks to God for their salvation. A key to spiritual maturity is a regular recognition and remembrance of the amazing work that God has done for us through Jesus. The more we are transformed into the likeness of Christ the more we will remember with thankfulness what Jesus has done for us. By giving thanks we will remember that through the righteousness of Jesus we are now qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints (Colossians 1:12). By giving thanks we will remember our former status of living in darkness without hope and how we were rescued and placed into a kingdom which we had no right to enter (Colossians 1:13). By giving thanks we will remember how we were bought with a price, the blood of Jesus, freeing us from slavery (Colossians 1:14). By giving thanks we will remember how all of our sins and transgressions against the God who created us and loves us were forgiven because of the sacrifice of His son.

A mature believer never loses sight of the wonderful work of Jesus Christ. Thankfulness is always on his lips.

As the natural goal of a child is to eventually become a mature adult, the goal for every believer is to be mature in Christ. As we seek to be transformed into a mature man or woman of God we should look to Paul’s words in Colossians 1 and echo his prayer for our own lives as we live "Coram Deo"

Adapted from http://www.youversion.com/contributions/62941/expository-summary-colossians

Mature in Christ - Part 1

Mature in Christ – Colossians 1:9-10

The book of Colossians begins with Paul joyfully acknowledging that he has heard about the faith of the people in the church of Colossae. He says that from the day that he heard about their faith he has been praying that certain things would occur in their lives, namely spiritual growth. Paul is obviously very pleased that the people in this church are now brothers and sisters in Christ. They have heard the gospel, the good news of the grace of God and understood it and believed. But Paul knew that this was just the beginning of their lives. Their initial faith in Jesus was not the end of his ministry to them nor was it the climax of their relationship to Christ, but it was just the beginning of their new life in faith. It was the start of a lifetime of transformation.

Paul, as a minister of the word, recognized that his role was not just to proclaim the gospel and to win people to Christ but to “present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). The maturity of the believer was of supreme importance to Paul. It is what he said that he toiled for and struggled for with all the energy of God that was working within him (Colossians 1:29).

Paul describes to the church how he has been praying for them in order for them to be transformed into mature believers. These thoughts are not just relevant for the people in Colossae but should be taken as instruction for what all believers should pray for and yearn for in their own lives in order to grow spiritually mature.

Be filled with the knowledge of his will

The first and most important part of Paul’s prayer for these young believers is that they will be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. An understanding of God’s will and desires is crucial for spiritual growth. We cannot begin to take on godly characteristics or to live in a way that is pleasing to Him unless we first have knowledge of what it is that pleases Him.

If I tell my son to clean his room, to please me he must know what I am looking for before he begins. He can work hard at cleaning all the dirt off his toys but leave them scattered all over the room and I will not be pleased. He can gather up everything and throw it into the closet making sure nothing is left on the floor but I still will not be pleased. There is a way for him to clean his room that is pleasing to me and unless he finds out what it is he will work all day in vain. Likewise, there is a specific way that God wants us to live and we cannot do it without an understanding of what it is he wants.

God’s revealed instructions are recorded for us in the pages of the Bible. For us to be knowledgeable of His will we must be knowledgeable of the Bible. Psalm 19 tells us “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” and that “the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes ” (Psalm 19: 7-8). It is the testimony and the commandments of God that is recorded in the Bible that gives us wisdom and opens our eyes to understanding. It is when we delight in the pages of the Bible and meditate on them day and night that we can begin to have spiritual wisdom and understanding.

The prayer that Paul had for the believers at Colossae and the prayer that we should have for ourselves is that God will give us wisdom and understanding as we meditate on God’s revelation to us.

Live in a way that pleases the Lord

Paul prays that the believers will be filled with knowledge, but not for the sake of being knowledgeable. This understanding and wisdom comes so that we will “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10). The purpose of knowing the will of God is to live in obedience to that will in order to live in a way that pleases God - "Coram Deo"

Adapted from http://www.youversion.com/contributions/62941/expository-summary-colossians

You can run but you cannot hide

How often have you heard - or even used the phrase "You can run but you cannot hide" ?  In one of the greatest heavyweight boxing fights of all time, (Joe Loius vs. Billy Conn in 1941) Conn would not gain weight for the challenge, saying instead that he would rely on a 'hit and run' strategy.  In response he received the now famous line from Louis. From sporting events to Law enforcement or in casual conversation, this phrase has never meant as much as it does in Psalm 139: 7-10.

Matthew Henry's well-known commentary originally published in 1706 describes this Psalm as one of the most excellent of all the psalms of David.  Being always under the watchful eye of God is indeed a sobering thought and no flight can remove us out of God's presence.

Charles H. Spurgeon comments:

From the sight of God he cannot be hidden, but that is not all,—from the immediate, actual, constant presence of God he cannot be withdrawn. We must be, whether we will it or not, as near to God as our soul is to our body. This makes it dreadful work to sin; for we offend the Almighty to his face, and commit acts of treason at the very foot of his throne. Go from him, or flee from him we cannot: neither by patient travel nor by hasty flight can we withdraw from the all surrounding Deity. His mind is in our mind; himself within ourselves. His spirit is over our spirit; our presence is ever in his presence. Whether we rise up or lie down, take our wing or make our bed, we shall find God near us. What an awful thought, that some men seem resolved to take up their night's abode in hell, a night which shall know no morning.

God is a Spirit, and therefore it is folly to think that because we cannot see him he cannot see us. Just another reminder to live "Coram Deo"

Qualities of a Great Ambassador

What a joy and privilege it is to come together in the Lords House on The Lords day to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Once again, I have been blessed and challenged by the teaching of Gods Word this morning. The sermon message was a continuation from last week focusing on 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 as our Pastor today talked about the characteristics that will mark our qualities as a Great Ambassador.

The three main points from the message were:

1. Integrity of the Messenger
   As a messenger - or an Ambassador, we must go about our daily business, being who we say we are and it is not enough for us to just know this, but to live it.  In Galatians 2:20 we read that "it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me". In practical terms, that means to live a life that is not only impacted by Jesus Christ but also controlled by his love (2 Corinthians 5:14), been transformed by the renewal of our minds and by presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1-1)
   
   
2. The Integrity of the Message
   As important as the integrity of the messenger is, the message itself cannot and must not ever be compromised.  We are warned in Galatians 1:8-10 against preaching a wrong gospel.  We need to get the message right lest we are accursed. Romans 5 shows us how we can have peace with God: Vs 8 "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" and vs 11 "More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation". As pastor was preaching we were reminded that it is by grace through faith that we are saved and not of our own doing (Ephesians 2:8) and I recalled a few lines from the old hymn "Rock of Ages" -  "Nothing in my hand I bring....Simply to the cross I cling"
   
   
3. Incredible Intimacy
   How much does God love us?: "God shows his love for us in that while we are still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) and we are now implored to be reconciled to God so that "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Being an ambassador for Christ will mean carrying the message and living a life "rooted and grounded in love...and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God". (Ephesians 3:14-19)

This is living "Corem Deo" - to the praise of his glory!

And it was good....

This morning started off slightly earlier than usual for a Saturday as I had a ministry breakfast meeting.  What a joy to share in ministry with these fine men of God. It was a good meeting and a good breakfast as we talked and planned our fall events for CBC Men's Ministry.


As it turned out to be such a beautiful morning, I decided to take the dog for a walk after the meeting and soon found myself on the Fort to Fort trail in Fort Langley.

While I was walking Miley, it was fun to see how he walked beside me and took in every scent and sight around.  He even tried to make a dash for the squirrel that ran across the path in front of us which made me (and others on the trail smile).  Not even a butterfly or the tiniest creeping creature seemed to be missed.  As we walked and played, I could not help but notice the beauty of my surroundings and was soon  reminded of how it all began:

In Genesis 1:1 we read that  "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...".Then God said, 'Let there be light', and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.

This was on the first day.  On day three, God separated the dry land from the waters and God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called seas... The earth brought forth vegetation, plants and trees  And God saw that it was good.

On day five, God let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly across the expanse of the heavens. And God saw that it was good.

Then, on day six, God created living creatures, livestock, creeping things and beasts of the earth.  And God saw that it was good.

God then made man and gave man dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good.

What a wonderful reminder of the goodness of God and enjoying all He has given us to take care of as we continue to live "Corem Deo"

Walking in the light

1John 1:5-10

5.This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
6. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

John gets right to the point in verses 5 - 10. God doesn't mix light and dark. We are either in the light or we are not. We can make all the claims we want but our pride, our ego, our good intentions, our excuses, and our pretenses don't put us in the light. We have to keep coming back to John here to recall that this facade doesn't deceive anyone but ourselves.

And what does John say about this sin? That when we confess it, God is faithful and just and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So John turns his readers back to the wonderful character of God and expands their understanding of what it means that He is light. God is faithful, just, forgiving, and cleansing.

Are you trusting Jesus for the forgiveness of sin?

Intergenerational conflict continued .....

Shortly after I posted my last blog on intergeneration conflict in the workplace, I came across another article written by respected author and teacher D.A. Carson dealing with Generational Conflict in Ministry.  Well worth the read, but in in summary:

1. Listen to criticism in a non-defensive way
2. Be prepared to ask the question, “What are we doing in our church, especially in our public meetings, that is not mandated by Scripture and that may, however unwittingly, be functioning as a barrier to getting the gospel out?
3. Always focus most attention on the most important thing
4. Work hard at developing and fostering good relations with those from the other generations

Again - not easy, but necessary if we want to live "Corem Deo"

Living with Intergenerational conflict

One of the 'tweets' that came across on my Twitter feed this morning pointed me to an article on "Six guidelines for resolving intergenerational conflict at work".  I was intrigued as I have been experiencing something similar in past weeks so went ahead and 'clicked' on the link. Most of what I read I could easily identify with.  Here are some of them:

1. Traditionals and Baby Boomers don’t like to be micromanaged.
2. Baby Boomers value teamwork, cooperation, and buy-in, while Gen Xers prefer to make a unilateral decision and move on–preferably solo.
3. If you have a knowledgeable Boomer who is frustrated by a Gen Yer’s lack of experience coupled with his sense of entitlement, turn the Boomer into a mentor.
4. Each generation has valuable lessons to teach the next. For example, Traditionals and Boomers have a wealth of knowledge and tricks of the trade that younger workers need. Generation X employees are widely known for their fairness and mediation abilities. Generation Y workers are technology wizards. And Linksters hold clues to future workplace, marketing, and business trends.

Ok - so I am a boomer and report to a Gen X'r so I can easily see how this works and there is almost always a generational component to conflict, not only vertically but also on the horizontal level and as the article states, "we have to recognizing new ways to resolve it". The article continues by making good suggestions like mentoring and learning from each other; finding commonality; sharing perceptions etc.  It is however so much easier said than done and I am still leaning how to do so.

As I was reading this and thinking through it I kept reminding myself that over and above all the good suggestions is that I have to continue to live "Corem Deo".  How easy it is for the natural man to get in the way and so I naturally turned to the Word of God to see what additional insights I could find:

I start with Ephesians 6:5-9:

⁵ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, ⁶not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, ⁸knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. ⁹Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. 

Ha - yes, sometimes I do feel like a slave - but joking aside, we see further down that Paul clarifies by saying " whether he is a slave or free".  The theme is repeated in so many places; Col 3:22; 1 Peter 2:18 and 1 Timothy 6:1 to name a few. 


It's not easy to live live out this lifestyle, but by the grace of God. And as we learned in church yesterday from:  2 Corinthians 5:14 - "For the love of Christ controls us..." 

A Room Full of Ambassadors

What a wonderful time of worship and hearing God's word this morning; One of the worship songs we sang was the well known "Jesus Messiah" by Chris Tomlin.  The words really struck a chord (pun intended) with me because this is what this blog is all about.

He became sin
Who knew no sin
That we might become His Righteousness
He humbled himself and carried the cross

Love so amazing
Love so amazing

Chorus:
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all

The message was from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 and deals with the ministry of reconciliation where we are implored to be reconciled to God.  The following two questions then are asked:

1. What should I do?
   Knowing that our chief task and purpose is to glorify God 1 Cor 10:31 and that our citizenship is in heaven Philippians 3:20 we have an obligation to be an ambassador for Christ.
2. Why should I do this?
   Being an ambassador for Christ must never be a chore but a privilege resulting from an overflow of a joyful heart.
   - We are being prepared for an eternal weight of Glory 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
   - Knowing the fear of the Lord we persuade others 2 Corinthians 5:11
   - The love of Christ controls us 2 Corinthians 5:14  

All in all, a wonderful time of worship, fellowship and being reminded of our calling.  But hey, why not listen to the entire message yourself here.

Warning Against False Teachers

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.

1 Timothy 1:3-7

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:1-7

First blog....

While I have had this blog site since 2008, I have never even posted once - that is until now. Thought I'd give this a try and see what happens.  Can't promise it will last though :)

Quotes from recently read books

So our pastor has challenged us to read a book each quarter.  Here is a selection of quotes form some of the books recently read:

"Many who profess faith seem to think that Christianity is something to add to their already busy lives, not something that controls, constrains, and shapes their vision and all of their goals"

"Where is our sense that we are meeting with the living God, that we are doing business with God, that we are interceding with genuine unction before the throne of grace?"

Call to Spiritual Reformation, A: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D. A. Carson

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"To come to Jesus Christ for salvation is not to raise a hand or sign a card, although such things may sometimes be done at the time of repentance. To come to Him is to come to the end of one's self and one's sin, and to become so desirous for Christ and His righteousness that one is willing to make any sacrifice to follow Him."

"Too many believers think being a witness consists of telling people that they can have a better, easier life by embracing Jesus. But that was not the message Jesus taught His disciples, nor was it the message they took to the world"

"Sadly, the church today has watered down the gospel message, often removing any emphasis on sin and the need to repent from it. But the true gospel—the one Jesus and the apostles preached, and the one that we should preach—requires both genuine faith and heartfelt repentance, a sincere willingness to turn from sin and follow Christ."

Men of the Word by Nathan Busenitz

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"Coram Deo is a short Latin phrase packing a potent punch: 'before the face of God.'"

"The cross transforms my view of people. Although made in the image of God, because of sin they are guilty, corrupt, and liable to punishment before a holy God. However, the gospel offers men and women hope, because on the cross Christ paid for the sins of all who would ever be forgiven. The cross gives my life purpose. Through the cross I've been purchased by God and restored to his original purposes for me. I now can know him and glorify him in this world, reflecting his character and laboring to see his reign expressed throughout creation"

Worldliness by C. J. Mahaney