Tag Archives: Colossians 1:27

Who is the Holy Spirit?

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Perhaps you know you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit. If so you know the power and freedom that comes from resting from your own works and letting the Spirit guide you. You know the peace that replaces your anxiety and worry. Instead of exhaustion and frustration you’ve found fulfillment and contentment. Instead of dealing with pain and disappointment by yourself, the Spirit comforts you and reminds you, “You are not alone.”

 

We’ve mentioned before that the Spirit is a real and divine being who is part of the three-part God: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All who confess their sins and ask Jesus into their lives are given the Holy Spirit. The question is what do we do with Him? Like Jesus, he will not force himself on us. Oh, but if we seek to develop our relationship with him, he will penetrate every aspect of our lives, including our personality!

 

Maybe  you’ve thought the Holy Spirit was the same as emotional worship. But no, he is much more. He has a will and intelligence, feelings, and desires, same as you and me. He is the key player in you becoming “a new creation.” When we invite him to search the depths of our heart, he is able to reveal to us things we do not see in ourselves. Not only that, but he gives us perfect guidance for every situation. The Holy Spirit provides real power for victorious living, succeeding to win battles we’ve never won on our own. Acts 1:8 says “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” Ask yourself, “Am I living a life of victorious power or a life of one defeat after another?” Because he is deity he gives us access to the wisdom from above. He interprets our prayers when all we can utter is groans. Because he is just like  Jesus, we can get to know the Spirit by knowing Jesus, as revealed in scripture.

 

Knowing who the Spirit is gives us understanding, but it isn’t the same as experiencing his power and grace. It is one thing to have a promise and quite another when that promise is fulfilled.

 

Jesus said, “I am sending you something better.” Better? What could be better than Jesus with us? Jesus IN us. How else could Jesus dwell in each of us but by sending his perfect Spirit who is our only hope? (Colossians 1:27) We don’t need to prove Jesus with debates. All we need to do is let his Spirit speak to us, respond, and his light of truth will shine in and through you.

 

This  is indeed something quite better. Beyond having thoughts of Jesus as our guide and life model, Jesus realized we needed to experience his resurrection power and truth first hand. And he accomplished this by sending us his Holy Spirit to live in us; so we could be filled to the fullest of all Jesus is – his love and joy, his suffering and grief, and the wisdom and power to live victoriously as God intended us to live.

 

Meditate on this and how being filled with the Spirit would revolutionize your life. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

Be who you were meant to be

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Have you ever wondered why other people could come to such outrageous conclusions, only to realize in a moment of humble revelation that your own way of thinking is a bit odd from their perspective? Some of us perceive the world primarily through thoughts and ideas while others are more oriented to experiencing the world according to their emotions. Some people are descriptively detailed in their flowery and poetic accounts of things while others are more like Jack Webb: “Just give me the facts, Ma’am.”

 

The truth is we’re wired differently in how we think and respond. And that’s okay. None of us perceive the world perfectly through God’s eyes, so he gave us each other, in our different make up, to help each other grow in understanding. We need the assertive as well as the shy. We need those who think more deeply and somberly as well as those who see happiness more easily.

 

Sometimes we wish we were more like someone else. And maybe that’s a good thing if they are responding to God in an honoring way and we aren’t. We can learn from them but we’re not called to be them. We’re called to be who God made us.

 

Being the person you were meant to be sometimes involves change. Like Nala told Simba in the Lion King, “You’re more than who you’ve become.” Deep within us is call to become all God designed us to be. Becoming all we were meant to be requires tossing off immature ways of thinking and behaving that are not helpful. We weren’t created to be impatient, frustrated, bitter, angry, selfish, or grumpy. Gossiping, complaining, judging, lying, and cheating are not the hallmarks of our design. Thank God he can change those if we surrender them to him. All of these are reprogrammable by the renewing of our mind.

 

You may be shy and want to be assertive. You may be impetuous and impulsive and want to learn patience and self-discipline. You may be quick to arrive at answers while others are more cautious and hesitant in their response. You may tend toward feelings depression and want to be happy. And you can learn to adapt in ways that bring balance your life. But rather than seeking to become someone else, seek to become who you were called be. Don’t settle for less.

 

Live in a way that reflects to others that God has brought you to himself, through Christ who is our hope in glory. (Colossians 1:27) Live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. Live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Colossians 1:10, Ephesians 4:1)

 

Be more than you’ve become. Be all that God created you to be!

The gates of life

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Dan Stone uses the analogy of passing through various ‘gates’ as we walk the path of a Christian life. First, is the gate of salvation. We don’t even make it that far until we admit that we have a sin problem that we can’t solve. We try to pass through by our own strength, our good deeds, our ‘religious’ behavior, our generosity, or by being a ‘good’ person. But none of this works. We only pass through the gate of salvation by surrendering all that we are and trusting in Jesus.

 

As we continue our journey through life, we begin to explore the meaning of life. Beyond the forgiveness of our sins (which we might forget is such a very huge deal!), we try to live a ‘good’ Christian life still in our power. We read the bible, we pray, we attend church and give money for good causes. We exhaust ourselves trying to ‘be good.’ And then we come across a second gate where we really experience “God with us.” We pass through this gate, realizing that Jesus really does want to help us through the battles of life. It’s a weight off our shoulders to know that we’re not alone in our struggles. So we continue our journey of trying to live the Christian life…with God.

 

Now there is a third gate that remains undiscovered by many. It only appears when we realize that we can’t live the Christian life. We pass through this gate when we acknowledge that Jesus doesn’t merely help us live our life, Jesus IS our life. “Christ is in you and HE will live the life.” Instead of viewing life from our perspective, we are able to experience life and its purpose through the viewpoint of Jesus living in us. As we pass through this third gate we realize what the inscription means:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

 

Many of us understand why we have to pass through the first gate. We realize there is no other way to escape our sin problem, no forgiveness of sin at all, without the saving grace of Jesus. And as we devote ourselves to knowing our Heavenly Father we eagerly pass through the second gate, inviting God to help us on our journey. But we hesitate at the third gate, if in fact we think about it at all. Because this part of the journey requires total surrender into God’s hands of all we hold dear: our belongings, our career, our family, in fact our very identity. It requires dying to self, letting self be “crucified with Christ”. We think maybe we could just try harder to live the Christian life in our own power. But it’s both futile and exhausting to attempt it.

 

We don’t walk the Christian life. Jesus-in-us IS the life. Living with Him is not enough. The abundant life is only found by letting HIM live our life – in us. “Christ in you the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

 

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” John 14:6

 

 

Finding the grace of God…in holiness

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Grace, an undeserved gift, the exercise of love, kindness, compassion, mercy, favor; the disposition to benefit or serve another. We all want grace.

 

Some try to secure the grace of God by doing good works. Ephesians 2:8-10 says that we are indeed created for His workmanship to do good, but it is only by grace that we are saved, the grace that comes as a free gift of God through His son Jesus.  We access this amazing grace by believing who Jesus is, the Son of God, by asking Jesus to forgive our sins, to turn away from sinful ways, and to invite Him to be Lord and Savior of our life.  If you have made this sincere commitment you know the natural response of a truly repentant and thankful heart receiving this amazing grace is to love others and extend grace to them.

 

Hebrews 12 offers both a warning and encouragement to us:

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless…” (v 14-16)

 

In this day and age holiness may seem a bit archaic and might even bring to mind certain legalistic and ‘goody two shoes’ attitudes. It may also bring a feeling of overwhelming frustration: “How can I be holy?!”  Holiness is our utmost calling, and He who calls you to it will equip you.  You see, holiness is not just the end goal of a maturing Christian’s life; it is at the beginning of our walk with God and essential to discovering the fullness of His grace and extending it to others in our daily lives. It is much more than seeking to live by moral standards. To be holy is to discover the Living God in us. (“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27)

 

Take some time today, maybe right now… ask God to reveal to you what stands in the way of you and holiness. Be it secret behaviors or secret thoughts, selfish ambitions to control your own life or that of others, or a bitter root separating you from others, the answer is also what keeps you distant from Him. Not only that but distant from experiencing the fullness of His amazing grace in your life.   Holiness is found by disciplining yourself to maintaining the presence of God throughout your day, constantly seeking the one who loves you most. It is as much a desire as a product of our lives.  It is revealed in discovering God living in you throughout all your activities.  Holiness is not some pious behavior. It is the outpouring of a thankful and grace-filled heart.

 

Want to experience real grace? Be holy…because He (in you) is holy.

(1 Peter 1:16)

 

 

Nutrition for your soul

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The bible is meant to be bread for daily use, not cake for special occasions.

 

The prophet Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to find that the house of God, the holy place of worship, had not been properly cared for. With great zeal he asked the people, “Why is the house of God neglected?” (Nehemiah 13:11)

 

In old testament times, the people regarded their place of worship as the residence of God and were to treat it with great reverence. But Jesus changed things when He gave us His Spirit to live in us. I no longer live but Christ lives in me; Christ in me the hope of glory (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27). Now we are the temples of God, not the brick and mortar buildings, if His Spirit lives in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Doesn’t it follow that we should take care of that temple? The physical body, yes, but as important, our soul and spirit?

 

I like cake, especially our traditional family chocolate birthday cake. It is as rich as it is tasty, so we save it for special occasions. But bread (regular or gluten-free) is more of a staple for the every day diet. Just as food is nutrition to the body, so is the Word of God nutrition to our soul.

 

Is the Word a mainstay of your daily diet? A sure way to stave off spiritual weakness is to make sure it is! And as for me, I like to eat at least three times each day. Don’t you think our spiritual beings need as much nutrition?

 

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” Psalm 34:8

 

 

From Pieces To Peace

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In yesterday’s post we discussed how we all hold pieces of each other’s life puzzle. The key, and the will of God, is to develop a sense of awareness of the people around you because sometimes it is a total stranger who crosses your path and one or both of you hold a piece of the other’s puzzle.

The last two weeks of dealing with high blood sugars on top of the continuing chemo effects has been a struggle. Being pretty active and driven in my normal state, temporary diabetes has me on a constant sugar high. The insulin is helping, but it will take some time to resolve. In the meantime, I’ve tried applying to my life the true principles I’ve learned across 30 years of teaching and fostering personal and organizational change. Truthfully, I learned a long time ago that you don’t really change anyone other than yourself (and THAT is a tough sell too). What you can do is to create and nurture a supportive environment that is conducive for you and others to make better choices about their behaviors.

So in this new manic state, I sleep 3-4 hours per night and am active all day. But all my self-effort to make positive change happen in my life, to be less irritable, less obnoxious, less hyper, less hurtful…it is not only extremely draining but of devoid of power to change. In fact all my self effort to control my behavior actually made things worse.

And then, I read my daily devotional by Sarah Young, who wrote this book, Jesus Calling, (JUST FOR ME.) 🙂 She writes:
“It is not so much adverse events that make you anxious as it is your thoughts about those events. Your mind engages in efforts to take control of a situation, to bring about the result you desire. Your thoughts close in on the problem like ravenous wolves. Determined to make things go your way, you forget that I am in charge of your life. The only remedy is to switch your focus from the problem to My Presence. Stop all your striving, and watch to see what I will do. I am the Lord!”

I am stunned that I had allowed myself to stray from this basic truth that has guided me through this unexpected journey. Switching my focus from the problem to His Presence in me allowed me to instantly calm down. Marcia and I have enjoyed four consecutive days where both of us are freed to be more relaxed amidst the various pains and struggles. It wasn’t just a piece of the puzzle I needed; it was the peace that surpasses all understanding that I needed to reclaim. Looking for pieces of your life puzzle? They are found on the path to peace.

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27