Colossians 1:12-13 (KJV)
“12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son”
Epaphras visited Paul’s ministry in Ephesus and so moved by the Gospel he returned to Colossae and began to share the good news with those who would listen. As a result, the church was birthed in his home town (Colossians 1:7).
After the city became influenced by the Gospel, those who had chosen to believe struggled with the back lash of influence given by the city. The two strongest influences were Gnosticism and Judaism.
They are reminded to give thanks unto Father God. This reminds us of our adoption and that we are family. Our greatest family connection in all this is we have the same Father. As a result, our inheritance is this; we get to see things from His perspective.
There is a light in us superseding all other lights. We have been delivered from the power of darkness and have been translated into the kingdom of His dear Son (King Jesus). Being translated into His Kingdom is when His way of seeing, doing, and being becomes ours.
All the “Ism’s” manifesting in our world today and their influences as with the saints in Colossae cannot match the light radiating from our Father. This light is relational – He is our Father and we are His children; it is as we relate to Dad that we get to see, do, and be like Him – this is the Son’s Kingdom.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
LATER ALIGATOR
Luke 18:31-34 (KJV)
“31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
They had this look in their eyes with Jesus many times, like a cow hunting for an acorn in a snow storm. Jesus did His work and told them; He knew the Holy Spirit would come to do His work and turn it to life later.
The Holy Spirit is all about resurrecting things and making better sense of it after the fact. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).
Sometimes things are hidden from us; not that God is hiding them, it is the way we see things in the present hiding what is to come to pass. We struggle with how things are taken from us so God can add to us. Jesus being taken from them in the manner He was to be taken did not make any sense at all; even to the point, their present paradigm dismissed what He said about the future.
How many things are we dismissing because of faulty paradigms? All I can say is “later alligator.” Some things we have to live through and see die before the Holy Spirit can resurrect it to life.
“31 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
33 And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
34 And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.”
They had this look in their eyes with Jesus many times, like a cow hunting for an acorn in a snow storm. Jesus did His work and told them; He knew the Holy Spirit would come to do His work and turn it to life later.
The Holy Spirit is all about resurrecting things and making better sense of it after the fact. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).
Sometimes things are hidden from us; not that God is hiding them, it is the way we see things in the present hiding what is to come to pass. We struggle with how things are taken from us so God can add to us. Jesus being taken from them in the manner He was to be taken did not make any sense at all; even to the point, their present paradigm dismissed what He said about the future.
How many things are we dismissing because of faulty paradigms? All I can say is “later alligator.” Some things we have to live through and see die before the Holy Spirit can resurrect it to life.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
JUST DO IT
Luke 8:19-21 (KJV)
“19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”
Doing the Word of God runs deeper than blood. Here is this “hearing and doing” thing again. Experience is the revelation of doing. There are some things we cannot do effectively until we have done it. There are some “know how’s” that can only be known by doing. God’s Word is one of them.
Speaking of revelation, Jesus is the Word; therefore, doing Jesus would be doing the Word. This is why He said “…learn of me…” Many deliberate the Word until it is deluded to interpretation. Simply doing it will give us understanding we cannot have metaphysically. Once we have done it and it works for us or even with us, we have it and it has us.
“19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.”
Doing the Word of God runs deeper than blood. Here is this “hearing and doing” thing again. Experience is the revelation of doing. There are some things we cannot do effectively until we have done it. There are some “know how’s” that can only be known by doing. God’s Word is one of them.
Speaking of revelation, Jesus is the Word; therefore, doing Jesus would be doing the Word. This is why He said “…learn of me…” Many deliberate the Word until it is deluded to interpretation. Simply doing it will give us understanding we cannot have metaphysically. Once we have done it and it works for us or even with us, we have it and it has us.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
THANK YOU
Jesus You came, not that You weren’t here before; You came
as one of us, You wore our skin and journeyed from birth to death as we do.
Amazing, how can I not acknowledge You? You made the choice for me and countless
others; I simply make You my choice.
As limited as I am, You even the odds, and the fact You came
and that I simply believe You did continues to do in me what I cannot do in and
of myself. Thank You.
HEARING AND DOING
Luke 6:49 (KJV)
"49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."
Our heavenly Father considered hearing and doing one in the same under the Old Covenant – Jesus His only begotten Son considers them the same under the New Covenant. As far as they are both concerned, if we are not doing we have not heard. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing comes by the Word. What are we hearing? Are we hearing anything at all?
"49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."
Our heavenly Father considered hearing and doing one in the same under the Old Covenant – Jesus His only begotten Son considers them the same under the New Covenant. As far as they are both concerned, if we are not doing we have not heard. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing comes by the Word. What are we hearing? Are we hearing anything at all?
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
MERCY
Luke 6:27-36 (KJV)
“27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Jesus is life altering. I would love to comment on each action He spoke of here; rather, I will discuss the nature of it all. Basically, Jesus addresses our reactions. Acts against us as individuals should not alter our choice to love. This tells us something very significant about love; love exists as much for the undeserving as it does for the deserving. Acts against us are the greatest opportunities to give what has been given to us by God. “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (vs.36).
Our capacity to give mercy is measured by our ability to acknowledge and value the mercy given to us. Let’s let mercy do in us what it longs to do in others.
“27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”
Jesus is life altering. I would love to comment on each action He spoke of here; rather, I will discuss the nature of it all. Basically, Jesus addresses our reactions. Acts against us as individuals should not alter our choice to love. This tells us something very significant about love; love exists as much for the undeserving as it does for the deserving. Acts against us are the greatest opportunities to give what has been given to us by God. “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (vs.36).
Our capacity to give mercy is measured by our ability to acknowledge and value the mercy given to us. Let’s let mercy do in us what it longs to do in others.
Monday, June 23, 2014
PLANTED
Isaiah 61:1-4
"1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy ...for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."
"1 The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy ...for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations."
Trees are not transit they are established permanently. They become apart of the earth where they are planted. They will do one or the other, “thrive and survive” or they will “wilt and die.” Their survival comes from daily resources of which they draw from. They draw from the storms and the sunny days, they draw from the soil and the wind that blows, they need it all to grow.
Isaiah describes those who are anointed as the planting of the Lord as trees of righteousness; he describes the anointed as those who are appointed. Therefore, it can be said that we are anointed and appointed with a purpose in mind. We are appointed to those that mourn to those who are lamenting and living their lives in regret.
Regret is a sense of loss and longing for someone or something gone; regret can be a feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wish could be different. In our text it is a reference to those in Israel lamenting the loss of their homeland and with it a loss of their identity and sense of belonging.
Their condition was self afflicted they brought it upon themselves; nonetheless, their mourning was very real, they had become a very regretful people wishing that things were different.
Regret can leave one with the feelings of abandonment, discouragement, and even bitterness. These feelings become so deep that it blinds the mind of seeing any hope or encouragement, everything in life is laced with this negative view of things.
The anointed of the Lord are to build up the waste places, we are to build up the desolate, we are to repair the waste cities, and we are to heal the desolations of the generations devastated by their self afflictions.
This will take commitment, deep consideration and understanding of the twisted. The anointing is a power that unveils truth in the midst of lies, disfigurement, and convoluted distress. The anointed must be untwisted themselves that they may untwist the twisted.
Isaiah describes those who are anointed as the planting of the Lord as trees of righteousness; he describes the anointed as those who are appointed. Therefore, it can be said that we are anointed and appointed with a purpose in mind. We are appointed to those that mourn to those who are lamenting and living their lives in regret.
Regret is a sense of loss and longing for someone or something gone; regret can be a feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wish could be different. In our text it is a reference to those in Israel lamenting the loss of their homeland and with it a loss of their identity and sense of belonging.
Their condition was self afflicted they brought it upon themselves; nonetheless, their mourning was very real, they had become a very regretful people wishing that things were different.
Regret can leave one with the feelings of abandonment, discouragement, and even bitterness. These feelings become so deep that it blinds the mind of seeing any hope or encouragement, everything in life is laced with this negative view of things.
The anointed of the Lord are to build up the waste places, we are to build up the desolate, we are to repair the waste cities, and we are to heal the desolations of the generations devastated by their self afflictions.
This will take commitment, deep consideration and understanding of the twisted. The anointing is a power that unveils truth in the midst of lies, disfigurement, and convoluted distress. The anointed must be untwisted themselves that they may untwist the twisted.
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