Walk In Christ; Live Life In Him!

Reading from Colossians 2:6-13 KJV As we have been buried with Christ in baptism; we are also risen with him in new life.

The Lord's Or The World's Way?

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

                                                                                   (Colossians 2:6-9 KJV)

I have heard often that the government tells us something is good for us and years later I hear that it is not. Some things we are told are bad and later we find out that they are actually good for us.

There are lots of stories about how certain things are good for you and others  things are okay for you to participate in. Some of these stories are akin to fake news. What seems good to the world is not necessarily good. Sometimes those things which are purported to be good are really just out there so someone can make a name for themselves; profit from it; or even justify their own sinful natures.

The voices from the world around us recommending what is good and what is bad come from many directions. They often contradict each other or themselves at a later date. Fortunately, we live in a country where we can make most of the choices for ourselves. It is imperative that as we are being told what is good for us by the world, that we listen to the word of God so that we do not end up doing that which is contrary to the word of God and hurting ourselves and others.

We do have the word of God! Listen to him! As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk in him!

Gift thanks for we have received a great gift! Give thanks for life in Christ!  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

For your own sake and the sake of others, live in him! Live in His Way!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Hope of Future and Fruit of Labor

In all toil there is profit,
  but mere talk leads only to poverty.

                           (Prov 14:23 NRSV)

I was listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson on YouTube this morning and something that he said really caught my attention. He said something to the effect of, "an old person has the fruit of their labor; young people have the hope of their future."  

As an older person, there are days when I am not exactly sure how fruitful my labors have actually been. I have worked hard and for many, many decades. I am not rich financially. But, I feel blessed almost all of the time. I am comfortable. I am comfortable because I know that in the days when I was not so profitable or fruitful, God provided for my needs. I am comfortable because I know that he will always take care of me according to his good will. That does not mean that I get to quit laboring and let God through others take care of me. 

I am comfortable (but, not always and completely because of my sinful nature) in that I do recognize the fruit of the work of my hands. But, the question is: has my labor been fruitful in the eyes of God? Has my labor glorified God? The answer to that is definitely not always.

Dr. Peterson said that the young people have the hope of their future. Hope is a good thing. It is a necessary motivator to strive for the things one dreams of. It is necessary for growth and to being able to, when one grows old, to enjoy the fruit of their labor. 

It is the hope of many of my generation that the young will not make the same mistakes as some of us have; spending too much time dreaming and not enough time toiling to accomplish their dreams. Dreaming is a good thing. But, if we are to accomplish any thing then action must follow and often it is quite a lot of action. It is not enough to say that we will do this or that. We must work to reach the goal. There must be labor in order to be fruitful. Fruitfulness follows labor which follows the birth of our hopes and dreams.

I do not understand the philosophy that those who do not work, even though they are able, should be fed by others. Sadly, it is a growing ideology. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living." (2 Thess 3:10:12)

And, it is not just so that we can have the basic necessities of life that we labor.  Christians will labor and do all that they can to the best of their God given abilities that God might be glorified. When St. Paul wrote to the Colossians concerning our duties to one another he said: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ." (Col 3:17, 23-24)

Whether young or old; whether still forming your hopes and dreams or enjoying the fruits of your labor in your later years; may all things that we say and think and do glorify our Father in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

How Shall We Live; Whom Shall We Please?

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ." (Col 2:6-8 NIV)

How shall we live then? Shall we live to please the world or to please God? If indeed Christ abides in us and we in him we will strive to please God even as Christ pleased our Father in heaven.  For when Jesus was baptized by John (Matt 3:16-17) and when he was transfigured on the mountain (Matt 17:1-5) a voice was heard from the heavens: This is my Son, with him I am well pleased. 

It is difficult to not follow in the ways of the world. We live here. We experience the hollow and deceptive philosophies and human traditions on a daily basis. It is all around us. But, that does not excuse us from following Jesus. In Christ it is possible to know the difference between the elemental spiritual forces and the Spirit of Christ. We are called to take up our crosses and to follow in the way of Jesus to please our Father in heaven. We may fall on the way; many times. But, as we live in faith in Christ, he will pick us up and put us on his path over and over again.

Even as Joshua admonished the people of God to consider whom they would serve; let each and everyone of us ask ourselves whom we shall serve, as well. 

     “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  (Josh 24:14-15)

For our own sake and for the sake of all people, may God help us to follow in the way of Jesus which is pleasing to our Father in heaven; rather than in the ways of world.

God's Peace - Pr. J