Monthly Archives: April 2012

God understood her heart

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Since drinking my morning coffee last Thursday, I have not been able to get out of my mind Epaphras and how he prayed hard and earnestly for others. My prayer is that God will show me how to pray like Epaphras (Col. 4:12-13). Having finished the study of James and then Colossians, I went back this morning to where we left off in the Old Testament in February, bringing me to 1 Samuel. And just like God has a tendency to do, he brought my mind back to how I pray and the heart behind my prayers.

In the first chapter we read the wonderful story of Hannah, a woman who prayed to God and her prayers were answered. Hannah was barren and wanted to have a baby so she prayed to God hard and with earnest. Well, the exact description of her prayer is “out of great anguish and sorrow.” I’ve read this story so many times and have always been able to relate to Hannah’s heart because of my own struggle with infertility before I was healed. Today God showed me something different in Hannah’s story that I have never noticed.

Each year Elkanah would travel to Shiloh to worship and sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at the Tabernacle…On the days Elkanah presented his sacrifice, he would give portions of the meat to Peninnah and each of her children. And though he loved Hannah, he would give her only one choice portion because the Lord had given her no children…Each time, Hannah would be reduced to tears and would not even eat. “Why are you crying?” Elkanah would ask. “Why aren’t you eating? Why be down so downhearted just because you have no children? You have me – isn’t that better than having ten sons?”

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray…Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut.” – 1 Samuel 1:3-11

I always thought Hannah wanted a child so that she could have a child. Makes sense to me. But then she gives him back to the Lord and is again without a child – a part of the story that always confused me. Her intent was always to give the child back to God, not just in the way we do when we dedicate our children to the Lord but to literally give her child to the Church and again be without him. I believe today I understand Hannah for the first time.

Because Hannah had no children, she had less to give to God. She prayed for a child so that she could give the most incredible sacrifice a mother could ever give, her son. God saw Hannah’s heart, saw it was out of love for God that she asked for something God would see as priceless and beyond the value of any other sacrifice. God, who knew He would one day offer His own son as a sacrifice, understood the cost – God understood Hannah’s heart and answered her prayer.

What is God asking you to do today?

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As I finish up the book of Colossians today, I feel God has given me a message for someone else. Just as God gave Paul the words He wanted him to speak to the Church at Colosse, I believe someone reading needs to hear what God has added to my morning coffee.

“Be sure to carry out the ministry God gave you.” This is Paul’s advice to Archippus in Colossians 4:17. Today as I reread through the book of Colossians, I get the strong impression that someone is running from what God has called them to do, not out of willful disobedience but because they are convinced they missed their chance – that they have to settle for plan B because they did not accept God’s will when they were first called by Him.

Paul understood what it means to be called by God for a specific purpose. Paul said he was chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ (1:1), that he was appointed as God’s servant to proclaim the good news (1:23) and given the responsibility of serving His church by proclaiming the entire message of Christ (1:25). But Paul did not start his adulthood following God’s plan for his life. He was actively involved in the Jewish religion but had not surrendered to the Lordship of Christ and His plan for Paul’s life. God took great measures to get Paul’s attention on the road to Damascus, bringing him back to the true purpose of his life.

Paul had much to be ashamed of as he accepted God’s call on his life. He could have walked away saying, “I’m not worthy of this call” but instead he accepted what Jesus did on the cross for him and walked into the forgiven life, willing to be and do whatever God created him for. Paul reminds me a lot of my father, who was called as a teenager to preach God’s word yet resisted God’s plan for his life, completely walking away from both God and the Church. At the age of 34, he stopped running and accepted God’s call into full-time ministry. After 32 years as a pastor, he is now retired but continues to serve God in the Church knowing that his life is not his own, but that he has been chosen by God.

Paul reminds us that we, too, have been rescued from darkness (1:13). We were once far away from God but Christ died so we could be reconciled to Him and brought into the presence of God “holy and blameless,” without a single fault (1:21-22). The enemy tries to convince us we are not worthy of what God is calling us to do. But hear this today: You were dead because of your sins but God made you alive with Christ when he forgave ALL your sins. He canceled the record of the charges against you and took it away by nailing it to the cross (2:13-14).

God chose you and God is calling you. It’s time to stop running and “complete the work you have received in the Lord” (4:17). The fact that you ran from God’s call no longer matters. The past regrets are just that – past. It no longer matters how you have sinned, but Christ is all that matters and He lives in you (3:11). You died to this life and your real life is now hidden with Christ in God (3:3). And not only are you with Christ, Christ lives in you (1:27). His power is at work within you, giving you the strength to work hard for Him (1:27).

And so my prayer for you today echoes Paul’s desires for the Colossians. I pray that God will give you complete knowledge of his will, that you will have spiritual wisdom and understanding as you continue to follow Him. I pray you will represent Christ today clothed in love and accessorized with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness as an outflow of Christ living in you. I pray you will work willingly, making the most of every opportunity. I pray you will fully accept what God is asking you to do today with no resistance.

How should I pray today?

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Paul sure could have used email or facebook. He had so many people he was keeping in touch with, concerned about and preaching to. Of course, he had no idea centuries later he would still be teaching us. Without the postal service or social media, Paul had to rely on friends to deliver his letters and tell others about his ministry. The benefit of these letters was multiplied by the servants of Christ who hand delivered the letters.

Oh how God’s letters to us are multiplied by those He sends into our lives to carry His word into our presence as we enter His. There are many preachers, teachers, evangelists and authors who have helped me understand God’s word over the course of my life. As I read through the last section of Colossians this morning while thoroughly enjoying a hot cup of my morning coffee, I began thinking of all the people God has sent into my life for the very same reason Paul was sending friends into the lives of the Christians in Colosse.

Tychicus will send you a full report about how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper who serves with me in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose – to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you (4:7-8). My mind immediately goes to those God has called to the same ministry He has called me – those I learn from and am daily encouraged by as we partner together in the Lord’s work. They are faithful and helpful. They are “beloved brothers” whom I love like family! Let’s stop and thank God for the “Tychicus” in our lives.

I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will tell you everything that’s happening here (4:9). Have you ever had a friend who just “got you” – someone who understands you consistently, laughs with you when no one else gets it, and someone you could tell anything and they would still accept you? I cannot imagine my life without “Onesimus” and so I take time this morning to thank God for the friends who play this role in my life.

As you were instructed before, make Mark welcome if he comes your way (4:10b). There are some people God sends into our lives not only for our benefit but so we can reach out to them. God wants to use us in the lives of others today. Maybe the “Mark” in your life is unpredictable like this one who might show up in Colosse. Maybe the reason God sends someone into your life is not about you but about how God wants to work through you – which amazingly God uses to strengthen us and make us who He created us to be. So I guess we benefit after all! Let’s have our eyes wide open so we can see “Mark” for who he is, should he show up today.

This next one is my favorite and I wholeheartedly thank God for these people in my life! Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his greetings. He always prays EARNESTLY for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect, fully confident that you are following the whole will of God. I can assure you that he prays HARD for you and also for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis (4:12-13).

Let’s turn this around and look at who God is calling us to be in the lives of other people. Are you Tychicus, Onesimus or Epaphras? Who is God asking you to teach and encourage today? Who is God calling you to be a faithful and beloved friend to? Here’s the big one for me: Who am I praying for and how should I pray today? Can my prayers be defined as earnest? Do I pray hard for the requests others bring before me. What a great challenge for me today!

What should I pray today?

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As I studied Colossians 4:2-6 this morning, I was convicted by Paul’s prayer. There were several elements to how he was instructing the Church of Colosse to pray, one of which I don’t add to my prayer daily but would like to start.

Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart (4:2). Paul is instructing the believers to not only take time to pray but to DEVOTE themselves to prayer. That’s a much stronger word and I have to ask myself if I am truly devoted to prayer. Will it take top priority in my day? Then Paul adds to pray with a thankful heart. Oh how I love to thank God, to stop and consider all I have to be thankful for and praise Him for the many blessings He gives me every day. This is an element to my prayers that I not only NEED to add, I WANT to add. When I come to God with a thankful heart, it affects my attitude toward everything else.

The NLT Study Bible explains that “with an alert mind” is referring to the Greek verb used in the New Testament exhorting Christians to be watchful in light of Christ’s return. I have to admit that I rarely think of Christ’s return. I stay focused on today and prepared for tomorrow without considering the possibility of His second coming. But Paul is asking them to keep their mind alert to the possibility that Christ could return at any moment. The next verses explain why this is important.

Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone (4:3-6).

This puts new light on the last verse, which I added to my morning coffee yesterday. When we keep the reality of Christ’s return as context for our day, we see the non-Christians around us differently. An urgency to lead them back to God flavors our day. When we make it a habit to ask God every day for opportunities, we will be more likely to see the opportunities throughout our day. The literal translation of this is that God might open for us a door.

Dear Jesus, help me to see doors today that you have placed in my path and lead me through them. Give me the right words so that I might present your message as clearly as I should. Give me wisdom as I live among those who are not believers and help me to wisely make the most of every opportunity. May the words from my mouth be gracious and attractive so that I may always have the right response. Thank you in advance for the opportunities you are going to give me today. Amen.

Who are you wearing today?

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Well, it happened again today. Like clockwork, Brooke walked into my bedroom and asked the same question she asked yesterday – “What should I wear today?” But this question is more important today than it was yesterday because today is Brooke’s birthday. It’s an extra special birthday because she turns 11, which means she gets to start wearing makeup. With two older sisters, you can imagine how she has been anticipating this day for a long time.

As I drank my morning coffee, my thoughts also went back to yesterday’s question because Paul goes on to talk about our appearance on the inside. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone (Colossians 4:6). To be gracious in what we say requires an attitude of submission. We give up our right to say what we feel like saying in order to submit to the voice of the Holy Spirit prompting us to say what God would have us to say.

Submission to our Heavenly Master is what makes it possible to do what he has asked us to do:
– Submit to your husband as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord (3:18)
– Love your wife and never treat her harshly (3:19)
– Obey your parents for this pleases the Lord (3:20)
– Do not aggravate your children or they will become discouraged (3:21)
– Obey and serve your earthly masters out of reverent fear for the Lord rather than for people (3:22-23)
– When in authority, be just and fair with those who answer to you for you have a Master in heaven (4:1)

As our Master, God is calling all of us to submission. When we submit to those in authority over us, we are submitting to the authority of God, who is our real Master. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ (3:24).

So, as servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, let’s do as Paul commands in Colossians 3:17:
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

We represent Jesus. As HeidiLynne Williams added yesterday, it is not only about what we are wearing (love accessorized by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness) but WHO we are wearing. So tell us as you walk down the red carpet God has prepared for you, who are you wearing today?

What should I wear today?

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“What should I wear today?” This is the most frequently asked question during the hours of 6 to 8am at our house. Not only do I ask myself that question, the girls often ask for help with this very important decision. To find the answer, I have to ask what the purpose is in the question. Is the motivation comfort or based on the weather forecast or to accomplish a purpose or to simply “look cute”? This is an important question (at least for me it is) because how I am dressed affects the way I feel the rest of the day.

What is my purpose today? How does God want to use me and what does He want to accomplish through me? God has chosen me…today…for a reason…for a purpose…
So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. – Colossians 3:12-14 (The Message).

It’s a good thing I like to accessorize because the decision of what to wear today has already been made for me – LOVE. All the other qualities are simply accessories to the primary outfit, which makes all the other details of the ensemble work, or as Paul put it, “binds them all together in perfect unity” (3:14 NIV). If I purposely wear love today, it will affect the way I feel the entire day. If I start my day out clothed in the love of God, then everything else with be a natural outflow of my relationship with Him – compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness (3:12-13 NIV). It will affect the way I feel and it will affect what I do. What I do – this is really where the importance of my day lies.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Col. 3:15-17, NIV).

If what I am going to do today is going to bear the name of the Lord Jesus, it is going to require love – not love produced by my own human effort, but the love of Jesus which He promises to fill me with as I spend time with him…drinking my morning coffee.

Raised with Christ

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This week has been crazy for our family! After uprooting our girls 15 months ago and moving them from the only home they had ever known, their world was once again shaken at the news that we will be moving again. Their immediate focus was on everything they are going to lose, all they will be leaving behind – friends, schools, youth group, community, church, teams, etc. It has been a week of grieving what they have come to love and the plans they had made for their future.

A couple of weeks ago, I finished the book Necessary Endings by Dr. Henry Cloud with no expectation that we were about to face a big ending. The concepts in the book are based on the foundational idea that endings are a normal and necessary part of life. Jobs, friendships, people, places, projects, programs, interests – all serve a purpose for a season in our life and it is a natural for something that was once “the new” to eventually become “the old.”

Paul refers to necessary endings in Colossians 3 – we are ALIVE IN CHRIST because we DIED WITH CHRIST and then were RAISED WITH CHRIST to a new life (3:1). It is necessary for us to die to the old life in order for us to find our real life, which is hidden with Christ in God (3:3). Letting go of our old life could mean putting to death some old sinful habits (Paul has a whole list of examples in 3:5-9) or releasing control of our lives and the plans we had made in order to follow God’s plan.

This real life takes form as we get to know our Creator and become like him. We are renewed and given a new nature, but we must also let go of the old in order to fully experience the new. In this new life, Christ is all that matters – we must focus on him and his plan for our lives, putting aside our own plans and desires.

This is consistent with what we have been studying all week in Colossians.
And now, just as you have accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, you must continue to follow HIM. Let your roots grow down into HIM, and let your lives be built on HIM. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness (2:6-7).

As Paul said in Colossians 3:11b: “Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.” And there is no necessary ending to the fact that God will never change. Even when we are surrounded by changes in life or experiencing changes in our own hearts, He is consistent and He is faithful. We can trust Him through life’s necessary endings.

Died with Christ

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You have DIED WITH CHRIST, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world (Col 2:20a, NLT).

In 7th grade I memorized the entire book of Colossians in Bible quizzing. Since then, I have reread this letter to the Church in Colosse dozens of times. This morning the Holy Spirit prompted me to slow down and read it as if reading it for the first time. It often helps me to read it in a different translation so that my brain accepts it as new and fresh information. So, let’s consider as if for the first time that we have DIED WITH CHRIST and that, by his death, He has SET US FREE!

Knowing with whom we have died, Paul warns God’s holy people that there will be many “empty philosophies and high sounding nonsense that comes from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (2:8). Wow, no argument there! We are surrounded by a way of thinking that is slowly slipping its way into the Church. It is easy to avoid the crazier theories floating around but what about the ways of thinking that resemble what we have been taught but twist the truth, deceiving many? We need to be alert to the influence of the world when we begin to soften our stance on the things the Bible defines as sin.

Paul also says to beware of the tendency to serve a set of rules rather than walk into the relationship God plans for us, out of which holiness develops (2:16-19). When Christ is in us and we are walking in relationship with Him, the change in our life is a result of HIS righteousness, rather than a claim to our own self-righteousness. How easy it is to fall into this pride trap! Legalism requires a strong devotion to a set of rules and provides no help in conquering our evil desires (2:23, NLT) – it produces false humility and lacks value in restraining sensual indulgence (NIV). Or as The Message rewords it, it’s “just another way of showing off, making yourselves look important.”

Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right by obeying the law…
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:16, 20-21).

But Christ did die and we are ALIVE WITH CHRIST because we DIED WITH CHRIST. He has set us free from sin, free from all the world wants to enslave us with. The world would like to steal the riches we have found in Christ and rob us of our hope of glory, which is Christ in you (Col. 1:27). Let’s continue to LIVE IN HIM, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith and overflowing with thankfulness (2:6-7).

If you would like to do additional reading on this idea of dying with Christ so that we may live with Him, I would encourage you to read Romans 6. I know you’ve read it before, but pray that the Holy Spirit will make it fresh and new to you this morning, as if reading it for the first time

Alive with Christ

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You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. That is how The Message rewords the beginning of Colossians 2:9 and I love it!

Several times in my life I have been asked how I know Christ is alive or that He is real and the answer is in the experience of Christ. Once you have experienced Jesus, and as you remember what your life was like before you committed to Him, there’s no doubt of who He is and the difference He has made in your life. It is another hidden treasure as we get to know the mystery of Christ living within us (Col. 1:27, 2:3). In this personal relationship with Jesus, we experience fullness or as the NLT states it – So you also are complete through your union with Christ (2:10) – and that is enough evidence for me!

Let’s read on to the next few verses. This passage spoke to my heart in a powerful way this morning, perhaps because we are just coming out of our celebration of Easter.

When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision – the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you ALIVE WITH CHRIST, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:11-14 NLT).

Praise God! More evidence that Christ is real – the change of who we are. We are no longer the person we were before we were raised to new life in Him. We are forgiven, we have been buried with Christ through baptism, and we know what it is to trust God and be filled to overflowing with peace and thankfulness.

On Easter Sunday, I had the privilege of standing a few feet away as my daughter was baptized. The look on her face speaks to the FULLNESS of Christ. He is real. How do I know? The evidence is in my life and in the lives of God’s people all around us – lives changed and made complete through their union with Christ made possible by the cross.

When you were dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you ALIVE WITH CHRIST. He forgave us all our sin, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. – Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV).

Let your roots grow deep into Him…

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Last Sunday, we finished the Beth Moore Bible Study on the book of James – Mercy Triumphs. It was a sad day for those of us who had been enjoying digging deep into God’s word together – I don’t think any of us really wanted it to end. What added to that sorrow was Sunday morning’s announcement that the Lord was moving our family away from RCN, which meant this would be our last Bible Study together. We all agreed with my dear friend Amy as she said she did not want this to be one more Bible Study that she completes, puts on a shelf and then life goes back to normal. We all desire for this study to CHANGE us! If the book of James can be summed up in the two words LIVE IT, then that is what we want to do.

The next few verses of Colossians 2, which is where God has me this morning, give great counsel on what to do next – how to let the words of God change who we are and how we live our lives. Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT) – And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

When we remain in Him, rooted and established, daily spending time in God’s presence, we will grow. There will always be a next step and more understanding to be gained as we continue to follow Him, growing stronger each day. But this growth cannot take place apart from the source, which takes me back to three of my favorite passages of my Scripture: John 15:1-17, Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17:7-8.

Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who He is – when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples – John 15:4-8 (The Message).

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit – Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT).

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers – Psalm 1:2-3 (NIV).

Which leaves us with the last note of Colossians 2:7 – “overflow with thankfulness.” This morning my coffee cups overflows with thankfulness – I choose to be thankful for God’s provision, thankful for God’s faithfulness, thankful for opportunities, thankful for friends, thankful for His Church, and thankful for the close relationship I share with Him. God is so good and we have so much to be thankful for.