Tag: Colossians

Bold Christian Life: Lord’s Day 40

Date: October 5, 2025

Colossians 3:12-14

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

I have to admit as I began to drill down into this topic of forgiveness and love, there came a point where I had to say, “How did I get here?”  I even asked myself the question, “Is this really necessary?”

I revisited the text several times.  Considered the cultural climate.

I debated mentally for a long time.  For days, while driving or random quiet times there was this back and forth in thoughts because I could leave this. Ultimately, as you will obviously see, the decision was to press down.

In Colossians 3:12-14 we are instructed to be compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, loving and to be forgiving.  Last week, in dealing with this text in Colossians 3 and in light of recent cultural events we discussed the nuances of forgiveness.

But there is an additional issue; we have the following passages which point the opposite direction.  Consider the following:

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
5 The boastful shall not stand before your eyes;
    you hate all evildoers.
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
    the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. Psalm 5:4-6

3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies. . .
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! Psalm 58:3,6

21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies. Psalm 139:19-22

Maybe you have not noticed these three Psalms as you, over time, have read through your Bible.  It is possible that your mind wandered and the full impact of these really did not set in.

These are certainly from our Scriptures.  Which begs the question in light of our passage on forgiveness and being a forgiving people, how does this fit?  What are we to do with these very colorful descriptions, prayers and praises to God in what to do with our enemy?

These are three examples of what we call imprecatory Psalms.  Imprecatory is a prayer for God to call harm or evil on someone.

My first sermon here in February was from Isaiah 6:1-6.  One of the points of that sermon concerned the thrice repeated description of God, “Holy, holy, holy.”  This was a matter of emphasis, and it mentions specifically God’s holiness. 

The description did not address God as “love, love, love.”  Nor did it express him as, “merciful, merciful, merciful.”  God is loving.  God is merciful.  God is forgiving.

What the passage states clearly mention is God’s holiness.  God is “holy, holy, holy.”  He has a passion for that holiness.

There are just 4 other Scriptural instances where something is repeated 3 times.  One of those is Revelation 8:13 where it says regarding the coming judgement of God, “Woe, woe, woe.”

There is strong emphasis in American evangelism on the love of God, and So much so that it comes at the expense of the holiness of God. This has led to some having a misunderstanding of forgiveness.  This was the idea introduced last week. 

For God so loved that he gave . . . to this we say “Amen!” We are grateful as we were unworthy and unholy and our gracious and merciful God made us holy.

Underestimating God’s holiness and  misunderstanding of forgiveness it has weakened our ability to hate evil and  renders us logically unable to defend the faith from the enemy. (repeat – rest of what I say will clarify)

My hope today is to return us to a bold faith.

Speaking from the heart, I have watched the faith that I love get completely wrecked.  I have seen the country that I love get completely wrecked. 

There has been an ongoing deterioration of faith and values that if I were to publicly state, from this pulpit, what is being said by others on similar pulpits, I might be able to keep my job but there would certainly be meetings.  There are things being said in pulpits at this very hour that is straight from Babylon and Sodom and Gomorrah.

Similarly, there are acts of violence committed every day against believers in this country.  I was typing out something for Donnels Creek and my Attention Deficit kicked in. I thought to myself, I wonder how many people enrolled in the 31 Days reading have watched the video today.

Y’all know I can see who has been looking right?  There was a sharp decline from day 1 to day 2 to day 3. 

Anyway, I popped on over to the Tube and of course greeted with the home page of suggested videos.  There was one of five to seven people standing on a street corner, peacefully protesting an abortion mill.  Two of them had signs.

They were approached by 5 people, one carry a club, three carry semi-auto rifles. They were in all black, masked from top of the head to foot.  They douse them with bear spray while the semi-auto stood ready to shoot if any dared to strike back.

What about persecution worldwide?  This is not mentioned on any news channel.  (have photo) This is a photograph of a mass grave being filled.  September 20 (two weeks ago) more than 90 Christians were murdered by Islamist in Ntoyo Africa in eastern Congo.  No a whisper of this.

On my shoulders to the right was bad Matthew.  To the left side was bad Matthew and those two began to fight it out.  “I hate those who hate you God.”

How it typically goes for the Christian who loves Jesus is like this, They have been taught about forgiveness.  They know what Colossians says. They know the words of Jesus.

If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn him the other.  Love your enemy, pray for those who persecute you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven.  For he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends the rains on the just and the unjust.”

What are we to do with these words of Jesus?  Do they make us sitting ducks; patsies? How do we reconcile this teaching of Christ with the imprecatory song and prayer of David?  Can we say, “Do I not hate those who hate you?”

I look around me and there is an overwhelming rise of evil around us.  I am telling you; I hate watching this happen to our FAITH and our country.  We are in a time period where we are not shielded because we live in a small town. 

Do we “Marcion” this tough Scripture in Psalm.  Just cut out what we do not like?  What does not seem to fit with the rest of Scripture?  So we can understand our text in Colossians: be kind, compassionate, forgiving, meek, humble and patient?

Like our time with forgiveness, last week, there is a nuance which must be understood. 

Application: From there to Here

In order to interpret our texts properly we must understand the context AND the whole counsel of God.  What does our text say?  What does the rest of Scripture say?  How do we reconcile these two things?

Think of a village.  We can call that the Village of Colossae.  Those are the people who read this text first.  These were the people to whom it was written.  It has an application over there and that application could be different than over here. 

Picture a village over here, we will call it the Village at Donnels Creek.  It is a Village that is roughly 2,000 years and also nearly 6,000 miles away.  There is a body of water that is in between the two villages.

The responsibility I have is to see what did the application mean over in that village and then build a bridge to connect the two.   

We also carry a backpack – Like Dora the Explorer. We carry this backpack that is filled with the Whole Counsel of God.  This is what God has said to other villages. We use all this information to rightly handle this word.

Last week we began our first look at this section of Scripture in Colossians, and our focus was on 3:13 and forgiveness. Of course, taking note of the current cultural climate with the recent events of Ms. Kirk forgiving her husband’s killer.

Because we are chosen, holy and beloved we are to put on some things: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience and forgiving.  As a forgiven people we are to be forgiving.

There are two words for forgiveness used.  I mentioned this last week.  It is more of a painted picture than a word.

First word is ALPHIEEMI– which means sent away, put over there, separated, removed. It is the word used here in Colossians  3:13 forgiving one another as the Lord has forgiven you. 

Second word is KARIZOMAI– free, favor, a cancelled debt.  This is the word used in Matthew as we prayed the Lord’s Prayer last week.

One word means something taken away.  The other word means something given.

We had Ms. Kirk who said at her husband’s funeral, to her husband’s killer, “I forgive him.”  Then Stephen Miller who said of the same killer, “You have nothing, you are nothing and we are coming after you.”  We then explored how both of these can be a right response. Even though they are opposite each other, they can both be a Biblical response.

After mentioning several instances in Scripture where just a blanket statement of “I forgive you” is not automatically provided we can list at least three categories.

  1. Personal
  2. Public (Magistrate)
  3. Pastoral

On a personal level we are to be forgiving.  In the Church we are to be forgiving.  This is the context of what we are reading.  Jesus has given us grace/forgiveness and he has taken away our debt.  Let us imitate that.

But when considering the while counsel of God, there are other texts which shed additional light on this.  Matthew 18 and an unrepentant brother is an example.  Also Jesus’ and Paul’s teachings bring further nuances.  If you missed last week, please watch or listen online.

He is not addressing the same problem here that was addressed in Corinth.  There were serious issues in Corinth, issues of heresy.

Fortunately, the letter we are reading is addressing an issue where Paul is just saying, “Love each other and do the things that look like love” This would include patience, meekness, forgiveness, kindness and humility.

If you apply this teaching to the heresy in Corinth it would make the response weak and ineffective. 

The pastorate is to look out for the flock.  We will get more into this in our next series on leadership in the local church. The pastoral oversite is to watch for “savage wolves” (Paul’s words in Acts 20).

Our passage appears in a time when I have been in many discussions over the current state of morality in our country AND our nation. What do we do?  Do we just keep identifying the problems, speaking about the problems and do nothing?  Then let us take the teeth from the Lion of Judah!

Fighting on Our Terms.

480 BC (included map)

Historian Heroditus

The book we are studying, Colossians, was written by Paul at the same time which Ephesians was written.  They were most likely carried by the same mail carrier as they were delivered.  We can find in Ephesians how to fight.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic xx powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Xx 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you xx can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Let us not be weak.  Let us be bold in our faith.  Let us not give an inch.  Let us, just like the Athenians and the Spartans fight on our terms.

We face an enemy that is large.  We face an enemy that has tried to execute us throughout time.  Even in recent times as shared earlier, 90+ believers executed in one night. 

We will not be meek with our enemy.  We will be forgiving and meek with each other.  But we will be bold and brave and fight the enemy in prayer.  We will hate that which the Lord hates and at the same time, at the VERY SAME TIME pray that all men everywhere repent. 

Christian, I am calling your attention to the holiness of God and it is nothing to be weakened or trifled. We can be bold in our faith and we need to be.

So many of us see on gravestones or hear quoted at funerals for those who died as believers that they fought the good fight and have defended the faith. . . yet most of us have seeded territory our whole life because we misunderstood how to live boldly.

We have territory here.  Several weeks ago I mentioned that one of two avenues for growth in this church is the youth program.  Are you fighting for those kids? Are they in your prayers?

God will bring people to where there is an ability for them to flourish. He will bring souls to a place where people will fight for them.

In this culture, in this time when the faith is devalued and tread upon, this is a time where we understand that we must hate what God hates, love what God loves.  Let us pray for repentance and really believe that it can and will take place.

Bearing His Image: Lords Day 38

Date: September 21, 2025

Lord’s Day: 38

Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ

Title: Bearing His Image

Text: Colossians 3:9-10; Genesis 1:26-27

This is the Reading of God’s Word

Colossians 3:9-10

Colossians 3:9 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 

Genesis 1:26-27 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

Introduction:

Edmond Rostand wrote the play Cyrano de Bergerac in 1897.  Anyone know what that is about?  The movie Roxanne was released 90 years later, in 1987 and it starred Stephen Martin and Daryll Hannah which was a loose modern bend on Cyrano de Bergerac.

Cyrano had a very low opinion of himself because his nose was too large, and he had gained a love interest who was very beautiful.  His interest in this beautiful woman was not just a physical desire.  He cared for her completely, her mind, her heart, her likes, her dislikes.  Yet he would not allow himself to pursue her because of the possible rejection that he faced.

There was another man who also was interested in this beautiful woman.  This man was extremely handsome.  He had all the outward marks of an attractive male, tall and strong but he was not in any way smart or intelligent. 

Cyrano found his way to express himself and it was through this handsome man. He would write her letters and poems and send them to her with this other man’s name attached.

There would be scenes in the play where Roxane, the beautiful woman in the play, would be on her balcony speaking to the handsome man at night and Cyrano would be hiding nearby, whispering words for him to say.  It is these very words that caused Roxane to develop a deep affection for this handsome young man.

Cyrano continued to harbor his own affection for Roxane but remained hidden.  He did not want to be vulnerable.  He did not want to face the rejection.  He was ashamed.

This came to mind while considering our passage here in Colossians 3.  Last week we introduced this idea of the old self and the new self.  We will be building on that idea this week.

If we do not properly understand our relationship with Jesus and more importantly, OUR POSITION IN JESUS, we will begin to resemble Cyrano.  HOW? It is in the struggle between good and bad, righteousness and evil. When confronted with holiness, we will see our deficiencies.

Within us, the Spirit begins to work and Jesus becomes precious to us.  He is no longer just a good teacher.  He is no longer just an old Rabbi.  He is precious and we love him. We want to read of him and learn from him. 

But when we do not understand our position IN HIM, and we see our Spiritual life as totally dependent upon ourselves, it is a heavy burden.  When failure comes, and it will, we do not feel attractive enough to approach him.  Let’s just stay on the downlow.  There are others who are much more attractive than me to Jesus. 

This position keeps us from fully experiencing Him. Loving him from far away.  Living with this notion that if we get too close, he will reject us.  Let’s not get too close.

Textual Observations:

3:9 “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.”

This section began in 3:5 that we are to put to death what is earthly in us.  As believers, here are our marching orders.  What are we to do?  It is an imperative. It is passive (according to the grammar). What does that mean?  We are commanded to perform a thing which we will be helped to perform.  You are not alone in this.

Then there is a list of things and we dealt with those over the past few weeks. Sins of the flesh and sins of the mouth.

Then he gets to 3:9-10 and says, we are to put these things away “seeing  that we have put off the old self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”   

We see this word appear again.  It is a word that we talked about way back on June first.  The sermon title was Iconic Jesus. 

That word here for image is the Greek word icon.  Remember that Sunday?  I put up a bunch of icons on the screen and you had to guess the brand that the icon represented? 

That same word is used here.  There is this statement about the OLD SELF and the that old self is being renewed in knowledge after the  of its creator.  Interesting isn’t it?  What does it mean?

There is a lot going on there in that statement.  Let’s spend some time unpacking it.

Created in the Image of God

26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

On day six God made man, it was the pinnacle of His work.  How is this true? It says that man (which means humanity) was made in the image of God.  Here is our word.  Greek eikon was used to refer that man is in image of God.  The male is in the image of God and the female is in the image of God.

How were we made in the image of God?  In what ways do we look like Him? What traits or characteristics do we have that are similar to God?

There are what we call communicable and incommunicable traits of God.  The Incommunicable traits are ones that only God possesses such as this partial list would be what I call the Omni’s which means ALL or EVER. 

God is omnipresent.  He is everywhere at once.  There is nowhere God is not. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (Psalm 139:7-8).  

THIS WOULD INCLUDE Eternality– God does not have a beginning or an end.  Hard to fathom this but it is true. “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Psalm 90:2).

God is Omniscient (all knowing).  God learns nothing.  There is nothing God does not know.  There is nothing you can do to teach God something.  He does not learn something new from you. “God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything” (1 John 3:20). I know most things, but not everything. 

God is Omnipotent (all powerful).  God is all powerful. There is nothing outside of His power.  He does not need to sleep.  He does not need to work out.  “Nothing is too hard for me.” (Jeremiah 32:17).  I am not all powerful.  I get injured.  I get tired.   

This would includeIndependent– It is said by some that God created the Universe and humanity because he was lonely.  There are variations of this but it is untrue.  I don’t know who started it but it is false and bad theology. Paul said in Athens, “God made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man NOR is He served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives all men life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24-25)

These are a few of the attributes of God that He has that we do not have.  He alone has them.  Even Adam and Eve, before sin, did not have ALL the attributes of God.

Communicable attributes of God.  These are things that God has that we also have.  It would include this partial list:

Knowledge – God possesses all knowledge, but we do have some knowledge.  Some have more than others. Some are geniuses, most are not.  But all have an ability to retain and learn something. 

Love – 1 John 4:8 says that God is love.  I can love.  I do not love like God, but I can love.  Everyone, even Hitler, loved someone and was loved by someone.

Wisdom – We read that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.  God possesses all wisdom, but we have some too.  Again, like knowledge and love, some have more than others.  But everyone has some wisdom.

So, you can see, this is a partial small list of the characteristics that God has, that we also have in our own lives. 

In what way were we made in the image (the eikon) of God?  How do we resemble Him?  How do we reflect His image?

It is in holiness.  How do I know this? From our passage in Colossians.

“Since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being RENEWED in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” (Colossians 3:9-10)

There was something lost in the paradise of Eden.  Something that happened that damages that reflection of God’s image that it needed to be restored.

Holiness.

That is it.  We still retain, at least some wisdom.  We have retained our ability to love.  Some to the degree that they love things more than God.  We love ourselves more than we do the Creator.  We are able to gain knowledge but, in the flesh, it is void of the author of knowledge.

What was lost for humanity in Adam is holiness.  That which was lost can be regain in Christ Jesus.  Because of this, put off that which is earthly. 

That ICON we regain IN CHRIST is Holiness.  We do not need to hide like Cyrano.

Putting On – Application

  1. The motive for change is the new self

Andrew Murray[i] says that Christians have 2 natures that are striving within them.  And they are striving against each other (Ga 5:17, 24-25; 6:8; Eph 4:22; 1 Pt 4:2).  The motive to achieve holiness is the new self, which is the life in the Spirit.

If you want to dig deeper in this, I encourage you to read John Owen who wrote, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ.  Be prepared NOT to read one chapter at a time.  Be prepared to read one page at a time.  Be prepared to read this over the course of a year.  This is not a quick fix.

But also, be prepared to grow deeper and deeper in love with Jesus.  Be prepared to see the work of Christ in your life from an entirely new perspective.

John Owen says that this new nature is like turning on a lamp.  It is not simply knowledge.  We do not just gain knowledge, but we gain illumination.  We see ourselves differently. THE NEW NATURE SPEAKS

We find with this light that we look in a mirror.  The mirror is Christ.  We begin to see things in this reflection that we want to change.  Things that do not look like our life.

Do you remember, “Christ, is our life” Colossians 3:4.  As we go through this life, there are the two natures.  These are at war with each other.

  • We put on this new clothing of righteousness the old will not feel right

Throughout our time in this section, I have really wrestled with how to present it.  Here is my issue, because we have these two natures in us, I do not want to appear flippant and just proclaim, we are going to sin.  At the same time, I also do not want to appear too harsh because we are going to sin.

It could be this is what John felt when he was writing 1st John when he said, “If you say you have no sin you are a liar and the truth is not in you.”  Yet a few words later he says, “But I am writing so you will not sin.”  Then next breath says, “If you do sin, we have an advocate who is faithful and just to forgive us.”

There is this back and forth.  It is the struggle.  I want to encourage you to strive for holiness.  At the same time, it is not your striving that is saving you.  It is your striving that points to whom you belong.  You belong to the Savior, and it is His righteousness that will save you. HE IS THE NEW CLOTHING.

I have an old t-shirt, grey in color.  I got it from Walmart about ten years ago. I bought about 5 of them, I often do this because when I like something I stick with it. 

But out of the 5 I have one remaining; it was different than the rest and it is my most comfortable shirt.  I like to wear it.  It is growing thin, almost to where you can read through it.  It is still my favorite.

You have any clothing like that?  Clothing that maybe you put on that you do not wear out of the house.  You wear it because it feels right, and you can relax in it. 

You find out that I am coming over to visit with you and now disappointment because you have to change.  You were comfy, now uncomfy.

This is life for the believer with these two natures, one in the flesh and one in the Spirit.  When you sin, it will not feel right.  It will not fit right.  You will not be satisfied.  You will want to get out of that as quickly as you see it. 

  • Change is the constant

While going through Colossians, we have looked at some of the original grammar.  It reveals more than often the English text provides.  However, I did find a translation of 3:10 that I really like:

“Put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its creator.” Jewish New Testament

This is progressive sanctification.

This translation shows that this growth in Christ is not just a one-time thing.  Just as we have two natures striving in us, there is one nature, the one of the Spirit, that keeps lovingly and faithfully drawing us to the image of Jesus. 

This is the eikon that has been restored.  The image and likeness of Jesus that we see in Colossians 2:15-20 is the eikon that has been given to us.  What was damaged in the Garden has been restored in Christ Jesus.

Close

Zechariah 3 there is this beautiful scene where the enemy brings Joshua in a court setting.  The enemy is the prosecuting attorney, and they are standing before Jesus. Joshua is said to be standing there guilty. The guilt is in his garments.  He was filthy. 

It was then that Jesus commanded his garments be changed.  Joshua was to be clothed in clean and pure garments.  Jesus said to him, I have taken away your iniquity.

Christ has robed us in righteousness.  What is our charge? Grow in Him.  Our image has been restored.  Grow in Him. 

I want you to love Jesus.  I want you and this community to see Jesus, grab hold of Him and love Him.  To forsake ourselves.  To live for something more than our appetites. To taste and see that the Lord IS GOOD.

[i] Andrew Murray, The Essential Works of Andrew Murray, Barbor Publishing, page 190.

Old Self, New Self: Lord’s Day 37

Date: September 14, 2025

Lord’s Day: 37

Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ

Title: Old Self, New Self

Text: Colossians 3:5-10; Matthew 26:41

Opening Remarks

As a pastor, it is my desire to keep the main thing, the main thing.  The MAIN thing here is Jesus Christ, our Savior.

There are certainly moments when SOCIAL matters find their way into the church body and when they do, it is wise for us to consider them and discern what we must do. This week past week is one of these moments.   

On Wednesday I watched with great difficulty and sadness, as the events unfolded in Orem, UT with Charlie Kirk.  Because I watch very closely, every day, social matters, I have remotely followed Charlie Kirk and his organization Turning Point USA, from its very beginning.

I say remotely because this organization has a focus on high school and college age people.  For those of you who are not aware, in about 13 years he grew this organization from an event that had 200 people to 14 events yearly that had 10,000 people.

Charlie would respectfully take questions from audience attendees on a wide range of topics.  I admired him for he was incredibly knowledgeable, humble, respectful, thorough and above all, he represented Christ well.

If I had to think of a modern-day Paul, from Acts, when he would go to the Areopagus and face opposition while standing for truth, it would be Charlie.  He has done this for years, going from campus to campus all over these United States. In these campus’ he would freely exchange ideas and defend the faith.

As you may know, Charlie was shot Wednesday while doing one of these college events.   In my opinion, he was killed instantly and is now in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

In the hours after this incident, I monitored many reactions. Most of that reaction was great sadness.  A significant portion is celebration and mockery.

I wanted to address this with the congregation for several reasons:

Firstly, the description of what happened to Charlie Kirk has been labeled an assassination. I do not agree with this.  Charlie held no political office, nor was he running for political office.  He did support various political candidates through the years.  He also discussed political matters in relation to faith, for so much of our political focus today absolutely bleeds over into morality and matters of faith.

For this very reason, Charlie was not assassinated.  Charlie became a martyr.

Charlie represented the faith and morality of Scripture, and it cost him his life.  There are many people who die as martyrs every day on this earth, but rarely do we witness one this public and in the United State of America. He absolutely, represented Jesus well and also Scriptural truths.

Charlie was just a man. He was heard often confessing freely he was a sinner saved by the Grace of God. Just like you and me he was ONLY perfect in Christ. Every public moment I witnessed, He represented Christ very well. 

Secondly, because of this, I want to pray for his family.  He leaves behind his wife, two daughters and a father and mother.  Because the internet is forever (as far as we know), the video of the husband and father to these children will forever be there for them to see. It is hard for me to fathom this. 

Not only will they have to experience the remainder of their life without their loved one, the videoed events which unfolded Wednesday will be a constantly available reminder.

Thirdly, Charlie did not leave this earth one second earlier than our Lord had planned.  God is sovereign over all things.  He is Almighty, Creator God. There are things regarding His rule that we do not understand and for me, this is one of those things.

This has been hard for me to process. My prayers this week have sounded a little like Habakuk questioning God.

But I trust in the Lord. I have faith in Him. Psalm 103:19 says, “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.” And Psalm 135:6 states, “Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the deeps.”

As a congregation this is one of those moments where we must stand firm even when it is difficult to grasp; even when it does not make sense.

I want to pray for the Kirk family and all those close to him; His wife, children, parents, siblings and others.  I also want to pray for this country and its leaders.  The fall out of this moment has an extraordinary possibility to expand into a much more serious matter.

Would you please pray with me?

Lord, we come today with humble hearts and heavy hearts.  The condition of the world around us and even in our own country has been stretched and strained. There are wars and conflicts abroad and at home and we long for peace.

At this moment we pray for the Kirk family and the tragedy that they faced this week.  There is no emotional relief for them for some time to come as this event will play out in the media and courts and in the political arena for the foreseeable future.

We pray for peace for that family.  As I voice this prayer, I do believe that Charlie is with you.  He had all the visible fruit of a devout Christ follower.  Because of this, we pray that you comfort his wife, children, parents, extended family and coworkers.  The visions of Wednesday will remain abundantly available.  We pray for those who were at the event Wednesday, the students and the attendees, that for those who have been traumatized by what took place, you would comfort them as only you can.

We pray for the leaders of this country.  We pray that you, Jesus, as you reign as Lord, that you would act and bring peace.  Help us to trust in Your sovereignty. Strengthen us that You know best. 

May your Church grow in number and influence.  May it grow here in Springfield, in America and in the World.  Isaiah says that of the increase of Jesus’ government and of peace there will be no end, that on your throne you will establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness forever more.  That the zeal of the Lord will do this. We say Amen, come Lord Jesus.

We turn our attention to this text in Colossians and ask your blessing on our time in Your word.  I sincerely ask a blessing upon myself as I deliver these thoughts. 

It is in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

This is the Reading of God’s Word

Colossians 3:5-10 and Matthew 26:41

Colossians 3:5: 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self[d] with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 

Matthew 26:41:  “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation”

This has been the world of the Lord 

I would like for you to think about Samson, the Bible character from Judges who was strong.  He had to take a Nazarite vow and his strength was in his hair.  As long as he did not cut his hair he would have miraculous strength.

For just a moment, I would like you to picture in your mind what you think Samson looked like.  There are no wrong answers because we are not told and there are no pictures in the Bible, but just imagine what you think he looked like.  If you need to shut your eyes you can. 

Alright, you have a mental image?  Does he resemble Arnold Swarzenegar?  Does he look like the Rock or Andre the Giant?  Is he really big and muscular?

That was the image I had for most of my life.  When Samson came to mind I thought of a very large (the fit large) kind of man.  But when I consider it further, I don’t think so.  I think Samson looked like every other average man out there during his day. 

If you remember the story Samson defeated Israel’s enemies the Philistines.  They were always trying to find a way to get him so there came Delilah.  Samson was sweet on her and she kept trying to trick him.

What was she trying to find out?  What is the source of your strength Samson?  Please tell me, how are you so strong?

If he were the Rock or Andre the Giant, there would be no doubt that Samson was strong on his own strength. There had to be a mystery as to the source of his power because they tried tricking him many times to get him to reveal what it was.  He was 100% dependent upon God for his strength. (Which is true if he were little or big I just think he was average or small because it baffled people as to how he was so strong.)

Textual Observation

We return to our text of Colossians 3 and we see here in verse 5 that we are to put to death what is earthly in us.  We have been on this section and this verse for several weeks. Today I want to address how can we put to death what is earthly in us?  There is the old self and this new self, what does this mean?

From the beginning I would like to say, the source of the strength Samson had during his time is the exact same source of strength for us to put to death what is earthly in us. It is God!!!!

In our text a list is made of what we are to put to death:

  1. Sexual immorality, Impurity, Passion, Evil Desire, Covetousness (which is idolatry.

So the issue here is, is Idolatry pointed at covetousness or the entire list?  The answer is yes to both.  In one sense, the way the sentence is constructed, covetousness IS idolatry. 

What is coveting? When you strongly yearn for something.  It is an unusual yearning.  It is not a yearning like, I would like to have a skyline hot dog.  I would like to have that Carhart shirt because it looks nice. To covet is to have such a desire to have a thing that you would sin to get it.  It places that thing FIRST.  Any affection that is before God is an idol.

Therefore, The things that begin that list, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire can be things that are coveted. Also Idols.

  1. Put away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk and lying. The first list is sexual in nature. The second list is anger and speech related.  There is a righteous wrath of God judging these things.  There will be an accounting for these things.

Except, for those whose lives are hidden with Christ in God (3:1-4).  What is true for those who find themselves IN CHRIST they are a new creation. 

The old self looked like one thing, the new self looks like another.

Now, I have some people who are going to assist me today. 

What a beautiful day to have Milani baptized into Jesus.  She has symbolized today this new birth.  We have been given a visual presentation of what happens to the believer.  They are buried and raised just as Jesus was.

I have asked her and some others to come up and help me today. 

Point 1) Your greatest enemy is your sin:

The flesh has desires.  This list that I just read is a reality.  Paul in this letter is telling the believers, put these to death.  HOW CAN THEY DO THAT?

When we gain Christ, we are changed! We are “RENEWED IN KNOWLEDGE after THE IMAGE OF THE CREATOR.” (3:10) This Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25-27) becomes a part of us.  Our affections change.  (Bring the “Holy Spirit” representative on stage who will be holding the Ezekiel passage)

GOD AT WORK IN MILANI – Just like Samson

This influences your whole life.  You begin to love all things Jesus (at this point put on her new sticky notes that represent the new Milani and separate her from the evil desires). The old Milani dead, the new Milani alive.  She is a new creation.

We (She) are still here on this earth.  We are still in this body.  Our affections changed but we fight.  Christ is our righteousness.  When God looks at Milani He sees Christ.

Point 2) Putting to death our sin (3:5) means there is sin to put to death.  Jesus died FOR our sin, we are to die TO our sins[i]

Milani, and us, have these fleshly desires that just pop up.  They want to come in.

  • “Hi Milani, can we talk?” NO
  • “Hey there Milani, you know, if you and I hang out, you will become really really popular.” NO
  • “Hey Milani. You want that promotion, if you just sow some lies and discord, you can get it.” NO
  • “Hey there, did you see how wreckless that driver was going. You should roll your window down and give them a few words, that will teach them.” NO

These are tongue in cheek but I know you are aware of how out of bounds our flesh can take us.  It is there. Trying to convince us, go this way!  Do this.

But Paul says, “Kill it.  Put it to death.”

Here is the picture of temptation: Jesus says, “watch and pray that you may not enter temptation.”

Have you ever prayed that prayer?  Lord, do not let me be tempted today.

Peter takes it one step further, he says the devil, your enemy, prowls like a roaring lion.  How many of us would go to the Cincinnati Zoo or the Columbus Zoo if there was a warning that the lion was out of the cage?

No one would go.  Why? Because it is dangerous.  This is the image we need in our mind that for the believer we are to just avoid temptation. (Milani just turn away. Point your back to that which is trying to kill you.

Point 3) The best way to kill sin is to starve it.  When something is getting fed, when it is receiving a steady diet it will live.

Last week when I said I guard my heart, I meant it.  I was not bragging.  It was not false humility.  It is a statement of fact. 

I do not want to feed anything that my flesh may want.  Part of this is gaining the wisdom that the flesh will whisper subtly. Before long, if left unchecked and unguarded, it will be screaming.

The more mature you grow, the more the fleshly desires in your life will bother you. 

“The greatest lie of Satan is this, you can have both Jesus and an unchanged life.” Derek Melton.

You can’t kill sin without reading God’s word.  Find the time of day that works for you.  I don’t sleep much, I am up early.  My best time in early.  Not everyone is like me.  But dedicated the time of day that works for you and read everyday.

  1. Journal and write your thoughts on the passage. One regular practice of mine is this:

I get my journal and write the passage.  I read the passage and while reading it the words or phrases that stick out I write down.  For whatever reason they stick out, write them down. 

Then I write out a brief summary of what I just read.

Then I put heart, mind, soul, strength and write out how this applies to me.  In light of this text, how can I love the Lord with my heart, mind, soul and strength. Take time.  Slow down.  Do not go fast.  Allow God’s word to lead you.

  1. Pray over it.

You can’t kill sin unless you identify it.  Secret sin is the worst.  Maturity will reveal and open you to see your secret sin.  Immaturity will hide it from you.

This is a matter of the old self and new self.  I am so thankful for Jesus and the work of God that reveals these things.  Oh the mercy and patience of God as He works for us and in us and through us.

Let us pray.

Merciful Father, what a day we have had.  So thankful for Melani and her baptism.  Thank you For the family here at Donnels Creek.  Thank you for Your word.

We come before you asking for a deeper holiness.  Grow us in Christ.  May we hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Point to us the things in us that are to die and continue to provide to us the things that give life.

We pray these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Messiah, Amen

The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord lift up his countenance[c] upon you and give you peace.

Go in the peace that Jesus has offered himself for you and me.  May the peace of Christ be with you and on you.

[i] Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims On the Way, p. 661

Baggage Claim: Lord’s Day 36

Colossians 3:1-10

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 

Matthew 11:28-30

“28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Introduction:  

  • Ellie the Dog and her special shirt to cover her cut that would not scab.

We are as believers saved by Christ.  This means our sins have been forgiven as Jesus has suffered in our place.  This is called substitutionary atonement.  Jesus was our substitute.  He stood in our place and atoned, paid for our sin.

So, what now? 

I have spent last few months going through Colossians 1 and 2 and it addresses how and why Jesus was able to atone for our sin.  We have discussed how new birth comes about as an act of God upon the believer. 

As we opened Chapter 3, the discussion turned to how we are to put to death what is earthly in us.  And we will be addressing some of the more specifics on that today.

You recall the “use to” part of our lives.  We USE to be this, but now we are in Christ, and we are a new creation, we are to be putting to death this sin.

We talk a lot about sin in the church.  This thing that separates us from God.  We talk about what we bring to the table, and it always seems to be a negative. 

We come to church, or we were raised in church, and we hear about this sin in our lives.  We hear sermons and teaching about sin and forgiveness of sin in Christ and how we can live eternally in the good place.

We like this.  We have these things that we have done, said, thought and places we have gone.  We begin to feel this burden in our conscience and in our heart and we have this baggage. (illustration with suitcase full of things below)

  1. Oh yeah, I remember this. I should not have gone to this place
  2. That thing I should not have said
  3. I thought this was a good idea at the time, turns out, not so much
  4. I just wanted them/that person to accept/love me
  5. My heart was so full of anger and hate that I lashed out
  6. I felt justified because all that they/he/she did to me
  7. I am a red head, what did you expect?
  8. I am Irish, what did you expect?
  9. I am a man/boy with urges, what did you expect?
  10. My parents divorced, what did you expect?
  11. I knew it was wrong; I did it anyway.

Do you mean Jesus will take this away?  Jesus will take this upon himself?  Oh, thank you Jesus. 

We take that and receive that grace.  We are so thankful.  We continue to live and then we find in our bag that maybe we picked up some of those old things.  Maybe there are some items in there that are still there.

Next, you have someone like me that teaches sanctification.  That there is instant sanctification, that you are instantly set apart, instantly set aside for holy use.  There is also continuing, ongoing sanctification.  That we are to progressively be made holy. That we are to grow in holiness.  That we spend our lifetime putting to death our sin.

But this is the difficult part – it is like picking scab.  If I keep talking about our sin and how we need to grow, at what point will there be joy in our life as a believer.  At what point is the burden easy and light?

We look in this bag and there is a never-ending supply of baggage.  The content just keeps coming.

I am bringing this . . . again Lord, do you still love me?

I have not grown like I wanted. . . Lord, do you still love me?

I am doing better Lord, but I am still failing. . . do you still love me?

I hope I die on a good day. . . or I hope the Lord returns when I am having a good day.

We never get to a place where Jesus is seen as a light burden.  We are weary.  We are heavy laden.  Where is our rest?  How can we live out these words of Jesus?  How can we experience these words?

If this is you, then you are missing it here.  You are missing it completely.  The enemy is sowing doubt and lies in your mind. 

For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  (repeat) 

Did you hear this?  Do you hear this?  How have we died?

Textual Observation:

If we are raised with Christ (and we are) in what way have we died?  How were we dead?  If one is raised from, what are they raised?

Previously we began to dig into this language here that there are these textual words that say we are dead in one sense and alive in another sense.  That we are buried in one way and raised in another.

What does it mean?

When we are alive in Christ, we are ALIVE in Christ. I really want you to hear this.  Two weeks ago the sermon title was “The Happiest Funeral Ever.” I told you about Dr. Forbes, death just days away from 100.

That was a happy funeral.  But it was not the happiest ever.  You know what the happiest funeral is/was? The day you died and rose with Christ. 

Those who are raised with Christ, will never die. Not for one second.  Not for five minutes.  You will never die.  Two passages we will look at here.

The first is John 11.  In this text we have the death of Lazarus.  Jesus comes to the house where Mary and Martha are.  They are having a funeral.  Martha comes to Jesus v21, Lord if you had only been here, Lazarus would not have died. 

“Your brother will rise again,” Jesus says. To this Martha replies, “I know, I know he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 

Then there is this, John 11:25–26, Jesus is talking to Martha, the sister of the man who’s in the grave.

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.

Yes, we die. The text itself says, “though he die, yet shall he live.” But no, we don’t die, because it says in verse 26, “everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Lazarus’s body lay dead in the grave, but Lazarus was not dead. His body was dead. He was not dead. He had not died.

Now here’s the other verse. This one is even more important. Jesus says in John 5:24,

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life

Believers in Jesus who keep his word have passed already out of death into life. They now have what’s called eternal life. Eternal life cannot, by definition, stop for a second. It cannot stop. You never lose it. It is eternal. There’s not a five-minute pause in the hospital or anywhere.

Repeat after me . . Christ . . . is . . . .my . . . life!

(Now put to death what is earthly in you.) 

Put it to death because it is not you anymore.  You do not put it to death because you are trying to gain eternal life.  You do not put it to death to prove that you are worthy for God’s grace.  (Let me clue you in, you are not worthy of your next breath.   You are not worthy of your next heartbeat, and neither am I)

You are putting it to death because you are not that man anymore.   You are putting it to death because you are not that woman anymore.  You are putting it to death because you have a new love.  You are putting it to death because you have a new life.

Now is it more clear how Jesus is not a burden?  Is it clear how Jesus’ yoke is easy?  He is it.  He is pulling the weight. 

We are not picking scabs here.  When we get to verse 5 and it says, “Put to death what is earthly in you,” and then it begins to make a list. 

That list can look A LOT like the things that were in that suitcase.  It will look a lot like what I brought to the table.  It includes this list and even more.  Paul was just making some examples.

“Put to death what is earthly in you, sexual immorality.”

Well that is a big one. 

When I arrived here at Donnel’s Creek the decision had been made to not make any big changes for about six months.  During this time I would get to know you and you get to know me and I would get to know how things operate. I could observe what is working and what can be improved.

As the sixth month date was arriving I began to work on a strategy of growing this body.  There are TWO avenues that can be a HUGE source of growth and one of them is the youth program.

We have on this lower end of our body these kids that represent scores of more kids that could really be nurtured and matured.  Beth is has done, is doing and I am certain will continue to do a beautiful job with this program.

But I want to give you some insight into what the youth of Springfield, New Carlisle and everywhere in between are facing.

Adult content was something that in the recent past in which you wanted to consume, you had to go somewhere else and get.  Those days are over.

This, sexual immorality covers a lot of ground.  The word used there in the Biblical language is pornea.  It refers to a wide range of things like adultery, fornication, immorality, unfaithfulness, prostitution and in general, any sexual sin.

Paul is making an imperative here: “Put to death what is earthly in you.” Which MEANS that there are earthly things in them. 

As a church, as believers in Christ, we are growing in holiness and we are putting to death what is earthly in us.  If we are doing that as a church, as those from the outside come in, they will ALSO be doing this. 

What are some of the alluring things of the world that is attracting our children.  This is not as simple as counseling them to avoid the back seat on Friday and Saturday night.  Times have changed.

Heard of Only Fans? 

Only fans began in the twenty-teens for content creators.  That you can post videos on how to cook a specific dish.  You can start the conversation and invite behind a paywall and be taught. Content creators could be anything from mechanics to comedians.

In 2020 blew up with adult content and if one says Only Fans, the two are paired.  As of today, 90% of the content is adult.

I have consumed none of it.  I will make a pledge that I guard my heart very closely in this area.  I will not even look at a mannequin in a Vicotria’s Secret window.  It is not arrogance or pride, self-righteousness, it is not legalism, it is self-preservation.  I want to give nothing to the enemy.

So much so, that as I explain to you a Tic Tock channel called Bop House, I would not look at it long.  These are fully clothed girls, 13+ that is headed by a woman named Sophie Rain.

Sophie Rain claims to be a Christian.  She also claims to be a virgin.  She is an adult content creator on Only Fans. 

There are young women all over the country, (14, 15, 17 years old) whose goal is to make it to Bop House in LA.  Why? It super charges their career as an Only Fans model.  It guarantees success.

The girls, fully clothed, post videos on Tic Tock that on surface level just appear to be choreographed dances.  They are fully clothed but revealing at the same time.

This is attractive.  The promise to make tens of thousands of dollars each month and some others flaunting millions of dollars each month is attractive.

One such Bop House resident just recently turned 18.  After MUCH publicity, at 12:01 on her birthday she opened an Only Fans account and three hours had 1 million paying subscribers.  Do you not think that there are young women who will find this appealing?  That they can make major money selling themselves?

There are 1.4 million women on Only Fans.  1.2 million of them are between the ages of 18 to 24.  There are only 10 million total women in the USA between ages of 18 to 24.  That means that 1 out of every 10 (10%) have content on Only Fans. 

There are some models who have made millions.  One in ten girls Yet the average income for content creators is $180 per month.  Most are selling their soul for this.

Who is consuming it?  There are 82 million men in USA. 90% of the subscribers are married.  68% are white.  The overwhelming average consumer is white, married male. 

What is the attraction?  The allure. It is all a lie.  That is the definition of sin.  It is a lie.  It made big promises to Eve, but failed to deliver.  This is true in my life.  There was great hope in the promises sin has made and it has failed every time.

What do we do with this?

We want to grow as a church.  When I pray for this church I pray that we grow spiritually.  That we grow in knowledge.  That we grow knowing Jesus more, that it produces in us a reverent praise and a commitment to grow in our faith.

But I also pray that we grow in number.  As we grow in number, I want to fill these seats.  I am serious when I can see a day when we have another congregation.  It is possible with God.  We can have one in east Springfield.  We can have one in Beavercreek.  We can plant churches all over the region.

This means we will be bringing in people who are hurt by sin.  People who have been lied to by the enemy.  People who have scars.  People who need to put to death what is earthly in them.  People just like you and me.  People who need rest.

Jesus says, come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

There are people who need this.  We must be a people ready to provide it.

I want to repeat what I said earlier.  Paul is encouraging this people to put to death what is earthly in them.  This is a reality for them.  It is a reality for us and it is a reality for those who come to us. 

Two Places at the Same Time: MT episode 35

The movie Mrs. Doubtfire is comedy about a divorced man who was simply wanted to spend time with his children and help raise them.  Because had been denied access to his children, he then applied and was hired their nanny.  This meant he had to dress up as an elderly woman.  And it worked, until . . .

He was at a restaurant where his nanny persona and his actual father persona had to be there at the same time.  There was a very comedic rush to transform back and forth into each persona.

It would be so difficult if not impossible to be ONE person in two things at the same time. 

In the beginning of Colossians, we find this letter written to people who are two things at once.  It reads, “To the Saints and faithful in Christ at Colossae.” (1:2)

Those who are reading this letter are 1. Saints and faithful and 2. In Colossae.  The readers are in two places at the same time.  In Christ and In Colossae.

What is the implication of this for us?  We are also just like the people in Colossae.  As believers, we are in Christ and in Springfield.  Or in Christ and in Columbus.  Or in Christ and in Cincinnati.  You get the point right?

As believers we look to grow and mature in Christ while we also are where we live.  Being in Christ means we represent Him where we live.  This changes many things like how we talk, how we handle anger, how we present ourselves to others and even how we love.

Because we are IN two things at once.  We do this to live for His glory alone.

Have a great day.

A Peculiar People: MT episode 17

On Monday’s episode I closed our time together noting that while it is great Christ that was born into this world, it is more important Christ be born in you.  Let’s consider this thought further and from a different angle.

“Jesus, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous for good works.”  Titus 2:14

I picked this passage because it uses the word “peculiar.”  As Kenneth Weust says, “Christians are the peculiar people of God.”

This is a word sometimes we use for people who are odd or strange.  I have definitely met some people who claim Christ and are strange but that is not what is meant here. 

The word here in the original language is a compound of two words, “around” and another word “to be”.  Mentally, picture a circle with a dot in the middle.

As the circle is around the dot, so God is around His people.  He has the dot all to himself.  These people are His own unique possession. Peculiar!

There are days when my obedience and pursuit of God, on a scale of 1 to 10, I would put at a 7 or 8.  Then there are those days or seasons, where things just are not going well.  I might put it at a negative 5.

God is the constant.  In speaking about the believer’s security, Jesus says, “My Father, who has given me (the sheep) is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” John 10:28

Good seasons and bad, we are circled by the Father.  Keep that picture in your head and let it be and encouragement.  As a believer, we are God’s circled people. His possession.

So, the different angle is, this season, it is not only to have Jesus in us (Colossians 1:27) but also, us in Christ (Colossians 2:6).  What a beautiful gift!

S.D.G.