Held Together In Him

In a world of troubles, confusion and uncertainty, I am so thankful that God has graciously preserved His word for us! Oh, what would we do without it? Its pages repeatedly tell us and then tell us again of His faithfulness, His grace, His sovereignty and of all His wondrous attributes. I would like to consider the words given to us from Colossians 1:13-18. It is here that we find the Apostle Paul writing, as he begins by speaking of God the Father, "For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything."  In only five verses of scripture we are blessed to see glimpses into the following truths: 

Unable to rescue ourselves from the domain of darkness, God has recused us.  

Upon rescuing us, God then transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. 

In His beloved Son we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This redemption, the forgiveness of sin is only found in our Lord Jesus.

The One we have redemption in is also our creator and the creator of all things, the things in the heavens and the things on earth. The visible things we can see and the invisible things that we don't. He is creator and sovereign over all thrones, dominions, rulers and authorities. 

All things have been created through Him and for Him. 

He, as creator, is before all things!

He is the head of the body, the church.

He is both the beginning and the firstborn from the dead.

He will come to have first place in everything.

Of course, we could spend much time on any one of the above referenced truths and we would come to find hope and assurance in each one. As you may have noticed, I purposely left one off of the list and it is that one that I would like to leave you with today. "In Him all things hold together"! What a great reminder for the present time. There are times when it may seem as if your world, or even the entire world, is falling apart with troubles everywhere and anticipation of further troubles ever present. But we are blessed with the ability, by God's grace and through faith, to know and trust that in Christ all things hold together. And all things will continue to hold together in Him until our creator redeemer determines otherwise. By God's grace, let us be people of faith, believing God in all that He has revealed to us in His word. May we live among those who are distressed as people of great hope and assurance in our Creator Redeemer. May we be a witness of the One who said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  May He come to have first place in your life and mine. Never forget this Lord's day, or any other, the matters of first importance. That Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. That He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures!  And remember the promise and reminder found in Hebrews 10:37, "For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay."

Trusting the Potter

God has graciously provided us with many illustrations, oftentimes with simplicity, to teach us great spiritual truths. I have spent much time this week considering that of the Potter and the clay. The relationship between the Potter and the clay is first referenced in the Book of Isaiah, chapter 29. There we read, "You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?" Later, in  Isaiah, chapter 45, the prophet makes reference to this "potter" as one's "Maker", writing, “Woe to  the one  who quarrels with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the  potter , ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making  say , ‘He has no hands’?"  And near the end of the Book, Isaiah refers to the "Lord" and "Father" as the "potter", writing in chapter 64, " But now, O  Lord , You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our  potter ;  And  all of us are the work of Your hand."

Jeremiah also writes of the Lord in the role of the "potter'', writing in chapter 18, "Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the. wheel But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel."

In addition to speaking of the Lord as the "potter", both Isaiah and Jeremiah speak of the inherent right and authority of the potter over the clay. Although we are not inanimate objects like actual clay, the principle is nonetheless true and one that we should find peace in and not strive or struggle against. There will be times that we are tempted to speak to the Potter, forgetting who we are and who He is, but He remains the Potter and we the clay. And as the Potter, He retains His inherent right over the clay.

 

As you might guess, my favorite reference to God as the potter is made by the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 9. In verses 20-22, clearly aware of the words written by Isaiah and Jeremiah and their truths, Paul wrote, "On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?" Of course, this follows the discussion in the passage revolving around the choices and decisions of God and man's tendency to question whether or not there is justice in them. We often struggle with statements like those recorded in Romans 9 where the apostle reminds the readers of God's words to Moses, when He had said, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." We are so prone to feel that God's mercy and compassion must somehow be bestowed on an individual who has somehow earned them and not simply because He has determined to exercise His sovereign will to do so.   

Although I have long had great appreciation for the truths spoken of in Romans 9, especially verses 6-33, it was only a few days ago that I recalled (by God's grace) the apostle's sorrow and grieving heart that we see in the chapter's beginning. In the first three verses Paul had shared his heart, writing, " I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh". The passage provides us a glimpse into the heart of the apostle as he shares his grief regarding those "separated from Christ", specifically, his "brethren" and "kinsmen according to the flesh". His desire for the Israelites to know that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God" was great. He even speaks of his apparent willingness to exchange his position in Christ with theirs if such a thing were possible. Not that his sorrow and grief vanished as he wrote, but God clearly directs the apostle to both personally dwell on and write of the sovereignty of God as a means to rightly deal with the "great sorrow and unceasing grief" in his heart. At the end of the day, Paul would find his peace in the only place peace can be found, trusting the Potter with the clay. As we experience sorrow and grief for those who do not know the Savior, may we also find peace as we endeavor to trust the Potter while serving Him! 

Being Thankful For What You Know

I would encourage you to take the time to thank God for His word of truth and the blessing that it is to know what you know! To know the truth that the Apostle Peter was gifted to know and proclaim to Jesus those many years ago; "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." To know the many other truths of our faith that you can recall to your mind during times like these. To know the various promises that God has made to the believer in Christ, that can give you hope, joy and a rejoicing heart despite life's circumstances. And be thankful and pray for those who have endeavored to teach and hold to Biblical truth! Their faithfulness to do so matters much to the body of Christ. As the Apostle Peter referenced in 2 Peter 1:15, it assists in our ability "to call these things to mind". I will end by simply saying what we each already know, God is good.

The Abiding Three

Often referred to as "the love chapter", 1st Corinthians 13 speaks to the excellence of love and of its necessity and value in the life of the believer. The chapter also speaks of the things that "will be done away" or that will "cease". In 1 Corinthians 13:13 the Apostle Paul wrote, "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." That love is the greatest of the three is not the purpose for my writing, as it is indisputable because the word of God declares it so. But it is my hope that we would consider and remember that faith, hope and love still abide! And for that, we should be grateful every day. We should praise God, that because of Him, faith, hope and love abide still. I'm okay when I consider the things that God says will be done away with or the things that will cease, but it is a troublesome thought when I consider what it would be like without faith, hope and love. It was by faith that I received Him and it is by faith that I live in Him, understanding that it is a life of faith that is pleasing to God. It is our hope in God that brings rejoicing, peace and encouragement to our hearts and steadfastness to our minds. It is the anchor of our soul and something we can take hold of and hold on to. We understand that God is love and that His only begotten Son was given because of it. Love is a constant and everyday reminder of God Himself as He loves us daily and calls us to love others. And all that we do is to be done in love and He makes such a life possible.   

When I was reading this verse (1st Corinthians 13:13) I noticed that it took approximately 8 seconds for me to read it like I would if I were reading it out loud to others. Of course, as soon as I had that thought, I also thought of how an 8 second ride is required for a professional bull rider to have his ride scored. An 8 second ride is cheered by the fans and celebrated by the rider and his team. If you are following my thought pattern, you guessed it, my next thought was that there are times when it seems that we hang on to a great truth of scripture for about the 8 seconds it took us to read it. Riding a powerful and dangerous bull for 8 seconds, while holding on with one hand and knowing that the bull could maim or kill you if/when you are thrown off is no small feat. But 8 seconds of holding on to truth will not do it for you and I. 

So today I just wanted to remind us of the things that God has graciously caused to abide still; faith, hope and love. And I want to encourage us to see the importance of holding on to these three abiding things each and every day. They are too vital for us to let go of after we have read and learned of them. We cannot let them be just verses that we quote and not truths that affect our daily lives as we grow in them and hold on to them. As the Apostle Paul admonished the Colossian believers, we too must "let the word of Christ richly dwell" within us. Our life in Christ, referred to as a "race that is set before us" in Hebrews 12, is one that we are called to run with endurance and is far from any "8 second" matter. We are called to hold fast, stand firm and cling to the important truths of our faith. And we must not attempt to use just "one hand" in this endeavor, but utilize all of the gifts of grace that God has provided for us. His precious abiding word, the gift of prayer, fellowship with other believers, the Lord's table, the proclamation of the gospel message, believing that He "has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness". 

I would encourage you to thank God today that faith, hope and love still abide! And let us ask Him to help us grow in each of them. And pray that He might work in our hearts and minds and cause us to "let the word of Christ richly dwell" within us! May we look to and rely on Him for the endurance required in this race we are running!  

Rejoice in the Lord Always

I have been away from my blog for quite some time. These are certainly unusual times for all of us, as unprecedented steps are being taken to address the concerns associated with the COVID-19/Coronavirus that is impacting the world we live in. On more recent Sundays at my home church, during our Sunday School time, we have been looking at the words we find in the fourth chapter of the Book of Philippians. God's word is always relevant, no matter what the day or the circumstances of the time in which one may live. However, there are times when certain portions of God's word appear to be especially relevant and this certainly seems to be one of those times. With the daily counting of people dying from and/or contracting the coronavirus, to the concerns and the steps being taken to prevent its spread, we are all experiencing a way of life that is much different than anything we have seen before. There is a lot of fear, much uncertainty and many anxious thoughts. And there is very little rejoicing in our world today.       

I would like to draw your attention to Philippians 4:4. Here we read the well known admonition for the believer to "rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice". The admonition for us to "rejoice in the Lord always" appears independent of our circumstances and our feelings. In fact, there are times in a believers life that the Lord may be the only thing they can rejoice in. We can all rejoice "in the Lord", as there is never a lack of reason for rejoicing in Him! Who He is, what He has done and what He has yet promised never changes alongside everything else in our world that might do so if it hasn't already. The writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews 13:8, tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever". In James 1:17, James describes our Lord as "the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow." As we see the things going on in our world today, may we be reminded of, and rest in, this great truth of our unchanging God. The promises of God that you knew of last year or even last month remain steadfast and sure this day. 

May believers purpose together to rejoice in the Lord always! Please continue to pray for God's church, the Body of Christ, in this very unique time. And pray for others as the Apostle Paul admonished in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, "First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."

Merry Christmas

I have not posted anything in quite some time and this will be of few words. But I felt compelled to praise God this glorious Christmas day for His "indescribable gift". As a multitude of heavenly hosts once proclaimed in unison, may we each, with grateful hearts, declare "Glory to God in the highest"! Praise God and the glory of His grace for the privilege to know that which makes Christmas "merry", the truth concerning Jesus.

Today's Bible reading is the 1st chapter of the Book of Galatians. You can find it here at Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=NASB&search=Galatians%201

Before his conversion, by his own admission, the Apostle Paul "used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it". But he came to learn that he had been set apart, even from his mother's womb, and that when God "was pleased to reveal His Son" in him, by grace He did so in order that Paul might preach "the faith which he once tried to destroy" . He had received this gospel message of Christ, the gospel of grace, not from men, but "through a revelation of Jesus Christ". So sure was Paul of the gospel message, he wrote the following in this first chapter to the Galatian believers: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed." The apostle then repeats himself and says, "As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed." Paul had already stated that "a different gospel" was in deed no gospel at all. But as had been the case with the Galatian's, Paul knew the tendency within man to pervert the true gospel message. He was so assured by the Spirit of that which had been "once for all handed down to the saints", that he purposely included himself in his warning. I am convinced that he wanted them to know, that even if he were to return one day preaching a different gospel than that which they had received, different than the gospel message Paul had preached to them, that he was not to be believed and that he too would then be counted among those who should "be accursed". Praise God for the surety of the gospel of grace, the gospel of Christ!