Colossians 4:17 - ¹⁷Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord.”

Very quick and simple thought/question for you as we head into the weekend.

We’ve talked before about how God has uniquely created and gifted every one of us.  He has created you with purpose for a purpose.

And we know it is to do good (Ephesians 2:10).

Yet we all get sidetracked and sometimes even derailed.  I don’t know about you, but I hesitate and I’m scared to fail….even when I don’t even know what “it” is that I’m supposed to do.

“Doing good” seems to simple and broad at times; and at others it’s just down right difficult and hard.

This isn’t anything new.  Archippus new this feeling too.  We don’t know what it was that he was supposed to do.  But he knew.  And Paul knew.  And he knew that Paul knew.

We all need someone like Paul in our lives to come along from time to time and simply and lovingly kick us in the butt.

So here it is….God has something for you to do.  Whether you know it or not, you have received work from the Lord to do.  Get to it!

See to it that you complete it.  For most of us, that probably means working until there’s no more breath in our lungs.  That’s ok.

I say, “let’s get on with it then!”

Have a fantastic weekend….

Before you read this…go and read the main post for today first.

I’ll wait….

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Ok, welcome back!  Here’s the other thing I wanted to share but thought it would be to much to include with the other entry – it has to do with the “taking off” part and “actions” stuff we were just talking about.

Look at the first three words of verse 5 – “PUT TO DEATH…”  The author uses incredibly strong language here on purpose.

He doesn’t say ” lose it if you can” or to “try harder” or to “work on it” (you know my pet peeve with that phrase).  He says put it to DEATH.

Also, look at verse 8.  Again, he uses some pretty strong language saying to rid ourselves of the old self.  But, what struck me was the word “now”.

There is urgency here.  Don’t wait.  Don’t play.  Don’t even take your time.  Rid your life of your old self NOW!!!!

I wonder if he was so adamant and urgent because he knew that if we weren’t serious about the “actions” part – that our heart and mind would slowly be dragged away from where they should be.

Get the heart and mind part right.  If we don’t the actions stuff wont matter.

But if we ignore the “actions” part – the “taking off” and “putting on” – it’s only a matter of time before we find ourself in a place wondering what happened to our hearts.

Thanks Paul, I needed this reminder today.

Colossians 3

Real simple thought that occurred to me as I read the Scriptures this morning.

There is a deep and profound dissatisfaction within the human soul.  Just look at the amount of information in our culture about how to change one’s life (weight, wealth, relationships).

Christians haven’t escaped this either.  How could we, it’s a human thing…not a non-Christian thing.

Inside faith circles there are all kinds of books and people encouraging us and giving us ways to become like Jesus, or stay like Jesus once we get there.  There are instructions on things to stop doing and tips on things to start doing.

Colossians 3 lays out a fairly simple road map for us.  It looks like this:  heart, mind, actions.  The “actions” part is broken into 2 branches – taking off and putting on.

Take a look:

Heart – vs. 1 “set your HEART on things above, where Christ is…”

Mind – vs. 2 “set your MIND on things above”

Actions – vs. 9 “…since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self”

Here’s how he breaks down the “taking off” and the “putting on”:

Take off – vs. 5 “put to death…whatever belongs to your earthly nature” and vs. 8 “now…rid yourself of all these things…”

Put on – vs. 12 “as God’s chosen people…clothe yourselves with…” and vs. 13 “bear with each other and forgive…” and vs. 14 “…put on love…” and vs. 15 “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful.” and vs. 16 “Let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly…”

I think the problems come for most of us Jesus followers because we live in the “actions” part.  We’re trying to do all the taking off and putting on without first setting our hearts and minds where they should be.

Of equal temptation is to set our hearts (and maybe even our minds) in the right place but never fully carrying out any taking off or putting on.  So, our life always looks the same.

Which of the 3 do you have the most trouble with?

Want to change your life?  Start with today.  And, start here in Colossians 3.

Singing this song at church on Sunday reminded me how much I love it.  Hadn’t heard it in awhile, so it was good to watch this video a few times today.

Colossians 2:8 – “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

When it comes to truth and spirituality, if you have the “what” without the “why” you wind up with a hollow and deceptive philosophy known as religion.

Paul is strongly warning the Jesus followers in Colosse of how easily this can happen.

The “what” is the details of how we should live.  It’s expectations of conduct.  It’s the language we use.  It’s the image we give off.  It’s manners, and morals, and ethics.

Nothing inherently wrong or bad with any of those.  In fact, there is an incredible amount of good there.

Therein lies the problem.   It is incredibly appealing.  It’s much easier to try to control and manipulate behavior without ever addressing the heart.

Earlier in the chapter he strongly presents the “why” though.  Here’s what he says:  ”Just as you received Christ…continue to live in Him.”

How do any of us receive Christ?  Through faith.  We must continue to live in Him through faith.

Any Christless version of truth is futile and counterproductive in it’s ability to do anything about the inherent human condition.

Paul’s point is that it actually makes it worse.  Because it lulls us into a false sense of security.  Because it serves to only strengthen the impulses and urges we are attempting to control.  (“they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence” – vs. 23)

The difficult part of this conversation as a Christian is that none of us feel like it applies to us.  It’s extremely difficult to see this in the mirror.

However, when we focus on rooting our life and identity in Christ and strengthening our faith (vs. 7), we’ll stay connected to the Head (vs. 19) and put off the sinful nature (vs. 11).

By the way, in his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing God speak his truth to us through His Word.  That’s how we strengthen our faith.

As your alone with God today, listen for His voice speaking to you through His Word…..and let your faith be strengthened as a result.

Colossians 1:15-23

Although I don’t want to get into a conversation about them, one of the habits I’ve gotten into when I read the Scriptures is reading different parts in several different translations.

It always lends itself to a deeper, fuller, more textured understanding of what I’m reading. That’s what I suggest for this passage above.  (NKJV, NIV, NLT, Message, and The Voice if you have it)

I’m really chewing on a few things from these verses.

1.  vs. 15 – In Jesus, the invisible God is visible.  Even those of us who are  Jesus followers tend to act as if God is intentionally elusive and hiding – all the while throwing up roadblocks for those who are trying to reach him.

I know we say we don’t think this way, but we can’t help it – that misconception is part of the brokenness of humanity.

He isn’t elusive.  He isn’t hiding from us.  He chose to make himself visible to the whole world for all time by taking on flesh and becoming part of human history.

He is the pursuer, not the pursued.  You can search every religion or philosophy on the planet – the God of heaven is the only god who has come to rescue us.

2.  vs. 19 – Lately I’ve been gripped by the poker phrase, “all in” – the act of putting all your chips in, holding nothing back.  I’ve been challenged by this notion in my faith and the dreams and vision God has for our church.

Financially, emotionally, mentally, chronologically, and spiritually – I want to be all in.  That’s why I love vs. 19.  It pleased God to go all in.  To have the entirety of his glory and fullness exist in the person of Jesus.  Wow.

3.  vs. 13 (bonus verse), vs. 20-22 – We were once alienated from and enemies of God who not only lived in darkness, but were under its domination.

Because of the truth we see in verses 15 & 19, we have been rescued, redeemed, forgiven, and reconciled in, through, and to God.

4.  vs. 22 – “without blemish and free from accusation” – did you know that those words describe you?  Not just how God sees you – they actually describe you.  HOLY COW!!!??!?!???!!?

It is unbelievable that the broken and messed up human that I am can actually be described this way.

Stop and reflect on that for a few minutes.

Have a great day!

I wanted to write how Philippians 4 is one of my favorite chapters.  But I realized how often I have referred to a verse, chapter, or book as one of my favorites over the last 6 months.

The truth is that doing this Growth Project together has ignited my love for the Scriptures in a whole new way.

The insight, truth, instruction, encouragement, challenge, and transformation (and on, and on, and on) gained from the Word of God is nothing short of life changing.

It is my deep and sincere prayer that you are having the same experience.

Philippians 4:5 – “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

The Philippians were facing the challenge and bullying of the hard core religious establishment as they attempted to try and prevent the spread of the message of Jesus.

At the same time, they lived in the context of the Roman Empire – which was not all that different in it’s experience from Western culture today.

In the middle of all this is the instruction to live in such a way that gentleness be evident to everyone.

Deal with everyone gently.
Gentleness is not weakness.  Gentleness can only be chosen by the strong.  It is an intentional choice.  It characterizes the Jesus life.

I know one thing, it isn’t a natural reaction for me.  It’s much easier to be harsh, to fight fire with fire.

I wonder if my gentleness is evident to my wife and kids.  I wonder if it’s evident to my neighbors and friends.  Much less to all.

This instruction comes with the curious tag line, “the Lord is near.”

It’s a statement of reality, an encouragement, and a promise all wrapped in to one.

Regardless of the circumstances.  Regardless of how you feel.  Regardless of what that person is doing or saying to you.

The Lord is near to help.  He is near for strength and hope and encouragement.  He is near and not far away.

I can’t think of a better note to end on.  The Lord is near.

You can talk to him.

You can cry out to him.

He will answer you.

Before we get started today, I came across this video that I had bookmarked some time ago and watched it again.  It is called “cardboard testimonies” and is amazing.

I was incredibly moved by God’s power to transform human life.  It’s kinda long but is definitely worth it.  Hope it moves you like it did me.

Philippians 3:2-3 – “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. ³For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.”

A brief and simple observation today.  In first century Rome, dogs were considered low life scavengers…and not very popular.

In addition, Jews didn’t like them either because they considered them to be unclean animals.  In fact, during this time, Jews often referred to Gentiles (non-Jews) as dogs.

This is a powerful contrast to the message of the video above.

Check out Matthew 15:21-28.  By the way, in this story Jesus is purposefully using hyperbole to make a point to this followers.

He is sarcastically playing in to their indifference toward the woman in order to get their attention.

Back to Philippians.  The tables have turned.

Here you have Paul, a Jew’s Jew, speaking to non-Jews and referring to the Jews that were insisting on the religious practice of circumcision to make oneself right before God as dogs.

In other words, these are fightin’ words for Jews – incredibly insulting.

The author did that on purpose.

It hit me how hard it is to keep the main thing the main thing.  How easily we slip into adding things to Jesus in the name of standards, righteousness, holiness, etc…

What’s tragic is that when we do this, the tables turn on us without us knowing it and pretty soon we find ourselves in a “woe” moment – Luke 11:52.

Let’s conclude today with David’s prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 –

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Philippians 2:3 – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

In all honesty, today’s reading is jam packed with tons to write about.  But, I couldn’t help coming back to this verse over and over again.

It reminded me of just how revolutionary the Gospel is.

At humanity’s best, we teach our kids not act selfishly or in a self-aggrandizing way.  Granted, more and more, out culture seems to be normalizing these types of  actions.

But, as I said, that’s our best.

This verse goes way past our best though.  It cuts to the heart.  It’s going after motive.

Don’t do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.   If it appears loving but has a selfish motivation, don’t do it.  If it brings about good, but was intended to make people think more of me, don’t do it.

WOW!

In other words, the Gospel doesn’t embrace an “ends justifies the means” philosophy.  Especially on an individual level.

I’ll be real honest – I have LLLLOOOONNNNNGGG way to go on this one.  This one verse is incredibly convicting.

I wonder how much I would attempt or get done if I endeavored to truly live by this truth.

The book of Genesis tells us that we were created to live in the warmth and security of the love of our Creator, God, and Father.

When that relationship was severed, we were left struggling to prove ourselves and our worth to each other – selfish ambition and vain conceit.

The word that is used and translated as “selfish ambition” literally means “rivalry”.  Competition is not to be our motivation.

Jesus never acted out of competitiveness.  He was never trying to outdo anyone else.

Nothing wrong with a healthy athletic competition.  Problems arise when it becomes the primary paradigm that we operate from in our lives.

Also, the word that is used and translated as “vain conceit” is better translated as “vain glory”.

That’s an interesting choice of words.  Psalm 8:5 tells us that God created us and crowned us glory and honor.  Yet here we are, chasing after vain glory.

I don’t know about you, but I seem hardwired not only to try and outdo those around me, but to want to gain recognition and attention in the process as well.

I always say (jokingly) that I am my favorite person.  Unfortunately, more often than not, it’s more truth than humor.  I don’t think I’m alone in that.

I’m going to take the next few minutes and confess and talk to God about my need for His healing in my life.

Maybe you should do the same…

Philippians 1:12 – “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”

I often talk about the mistake we make of reading the Scriptures through the lens of hindsight.  It is natural and normal, but it’s a mistake because the adage is true, hindsight usually is 20/20.

The passage of time broadens our perspective and allows us to see a bigger, fuller picture.

When we ONLY look at the Scriptures through this lens we miss much of the power of the narrative because we overlook the humanity and faith of the people involved.

When we read the Scripture through the hindsight lens we read statements like the one Paul made in verse 12 that’s quoted above as factual.

It is true and factual that what happened to Paul served to advance the gospel.  We can easily see that now.

But, in spite of the example he gives, Paul could have no way of knowing how true his words really were.

This statement by Paul is as much a statement of faith as it is fact.

Paul knew that in every circumstance he faced, God was opening a door for him to be used to share the message of Jesus.

Even if that door was the door of jail cell.

Here’s the kicker – because of Paul’s choice to view his life this way, his statement of faith became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It is very common for us to share with those around us stories of things that have happened to us.

And we have all been moved by stories where God has used incredible times of brokenness and tragedy in other’s lives for his redemptive purposes to bring about good in the world and, ultimately, advance the Gospel.

Juxtaposed to those moments  are all the conversations we have with people (including, perhaps especially Christians) who are searching for and hoping for some meaning or purpose to the mess they find themselves in.

Is it possible that people who have found meaning and purpose in the dark and broken moments of life were able to do so because they brought it with them?

I definitely believe so.

We shouldn’t be searching for the meaning and purpose in the suffering, but should be carrying meaning and purpose with us into those moments.

It is then we will be able to state as a matter of fact and faith, “what has happened to me has really served to advance the message of God’s love, grace, and redemption!”

Finally, check out some of Paul’s remarks at the conclusion of this first chapter:

“For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.”

What an amazing filter through which to view what has happened/is happening to you.

Have wonderful day!

I always need a little something extra to get me going on Monday mornings.  Love this video and song.  Probably watched it 3-4 times.  Enjoy….

Wasn’t that awesome!?!?!  Thanks to my man Lincoln Brewster for that.

Amazing wisdom wrapped up in Proverbs 17.  2 verses jumped out at me and they relate nicely to one another.

First, verse 17 says this, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

True friendship is an invaluable commodity.  People reach out to me all the time while in crisis.

One thing I’ve noticed in these situations is that the majority of us simply don’t have people who we can turn to when life is crashing down around us.

Most people are missing that friend that loves at all times and that brother or sister that will take us by the hand and journey with us when we’re broken.

The challenging part of this reality is that there is no quick fix.  It takes time to develop these kinds of relationships.

That’s why I believe in small groups.  But, a small group of people meeting together regularly is only the environment from which these types of relationships can develop.

If we don’t open our lives to those around us, we can attend a small group for years and still have relatively shallow relationships.

Not coincidentally, the road that leads us to a life of HAVING deep friendships begins with us BEING a friend that loves at all times; with us choosing to step into someone else’s adversity and navigate it with them.

I think we’re given a good first step in verse 9.  It reads, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”

Think about what it means to “cover an offense”.

It certainly means knowing how to keep our mouth shut.

I think it involves being a peacemaker.

Forgiving quickly.  Offering grace.  Offering our hand even when our heart has been wounded.  All of these serve to cover an offense.

Covering an offense has a healing effect – like medicine and a bandage on a wound.

Perhaps most importantly, is that it promotes love.

Purpose for this week to be a week where you intentionally deepen existing relationships and start new ones.  Look for ways to love those around you at all times.

Love, forgive, support, pray, and cover offenses.

Your life and faith will be better off for it….