We ended our week on Friday studying how the word of God in its fullness is a mystery that was hidden for ages and generations and then made known in Christ. The glorious riches of this mystery – the buried treasure as we seek to know God’s word – is that Christ lives in us. After the weekend I have had, I woke up this morning eager to enter God’s presence and enjoy my morning coffee with the One who remains the same when it seems life is one change after another. I went back and read where I had ended on Friday:

It is in God’s presence that He makes known “the glorious riches of this mystery, which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory” (v.27 NIV). It is our union with Christ, our intimate walk that gives us hope – hope for us and for those watching us. So the secret of the mystery is to allow God to bring us into His presence and then remain there, allowing God to fill us so that He can work through us. It is in the “remaining” that we continue in our faith and produce a life that is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to Him in every way.

Colossians 2 continues with this same thought. “I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown that mystery!” – 2:2-3 (The Message)

This weekend our lives took a turn we were not anticipating and I have to admit I spent most of the last two days trying to get my head to stop spinning. I needed to have conversations with several people that required me to explain something that I simply cannot put into words. The only thing I am confident about at this point is that I gave my life to God a long time ago, surrendering to His sovereignty and committing that I am willing to go anywhere He wants me to go and do anything He wants me to do.

Understanding God’s plan is sometimes a mystery but it was encouraging to be reminded this morning that in seeking to understand the mystery there is treasure to be found – treasures of wisdom and knowledge, confidence and rest. I sure could use all four of those right now! But my prayer this morning is not so much for myself, but more for others.

Precious Father, you know how my heart is conflicted this morning. I am thankful that You are still God and that You are still in charge and worthy to be trusted. You have placed a large responsibility into the hands of our family and we are grateful for Your blessing as you enlarge the place of our tent (Isaiah 54:2).

So Lord, we enter Your presence with confidence that you will lavish these gifts of wisdom and understanding on all of us as we seek Your will for our lives, as we surrender to Your sovereignty and trust in Your provision. Amen.

As I mentioned Tuesday, we cannot earn our way into Heaven – the fruit of our lives needs to be a natural outflow of God’s presence in our lives so that He gets the glory. In the same way, holiness doesn’t have to be something we strive for or try harder to obtain, but instead a result of God’s work in our hearts. Every good and wonderful thing in our lives comes from God. It goes back to the source of our salvation, which is where our third statement from Scott’s sermon took us yesterday. :

Confession time! When I first heard this point on Sunday, I immediately thought, “Oh yes, in order to experience salvation I have to surrender my life to God.” And there’s nothing wrong with that thought except that once again I made it about me. It’s not all about me – something I have to often remind myself. The surrender Paul is talking about here begins with Christ’s surrender. Let’s look further at Colossians 1 but this time in The Message:

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels – everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment…
You yourselves are a case study of what he does. At one time you all had your backs turned to God, thinking rebellious thoughts of him, giving him trouble every chance you got. But now, by giving himself completely at the cross, actually dying for you, Christ brought you over to God’s side and put your lives together, whole and holy in his presence. You don’t walk away from a gift like that! You stay grounded and steady in that bond of trust, constantly tuned in to the Message, careful not to be distracted or diverted (1:15-17,21-23a).

Christ gave himself COMPLETELY at the cross – He surrendered so that we could be reconciled to God. This brings us to the fourth point:

4. There is no REDEMPTION without RECONCILIATION

Christ “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (1:14). Without this surrender, there would be no salvation, no forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ selfless act of sacrifice on the cross gives us the opportunity to be reconciled with our Creator – to the place where we started and can now find our purpose. By dying on the cross, Jesus brought us over to God’s side and put our lives together, making us whole and holy in his presence. What a gift!

And now let’s go back to making it about us, because we have a decision to make. Are we going to accept that gift? Are we going to surrender to our own plans and purpose, or accept the gift of redemption and allow God sovereignty in our lives? That means God gets to be in charge and we submit to His purpose for our lives – for our day.

Dear Jesus, thank you for loving me enough to surrender your life on the cross so that I could have an intimate walk with God – so that I could be reconciled to the One who created me and to His purposes. Thank you for bringing me from darkness into the light. I choose to start my day by submitting to your will, to your plan for my life. Please continue to do a work in my heart today. Help me to stay grounded and steady by trusting in You. Amen.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy – Colossians 1:14-18.

So Jesus is my Savior in whom I have redemption, He is my creator in whom I have purpose and He is the one thing in my life that holds everything together, that makes sense of all the pieces of my life. The question for me today as I drink my morning coffee is whether or not He is my King.

3. There is no SALVATION without SURRENDER

It is no secret to those who know me well that I like to be in charge. You would have to ask my parents if I was born that way but I remember this strong desire to be the one making the decisions even as a child. One of my most humbling experiences was when I was in the fifth or sixth grade. I must have been offering too many “suggestions” in the children’s choir at church because the Director turned to me and asked me if I wanted to run practice for her. Unaware of her frustrations, I accepted her invitation, which sent her running out of the room in tears. That’s when I understood what she really meant – poor Miss Lucy.

That desire for control that runs deep within me is something God can and does use in my life, but first I have to surrender to His control. Daily I have to submit to the supremacy of Christ and surrender Lordship to Him. I don’t get to be in charge of my life – He does. When He asked me to go back to work 2 ½ years before Brooke started Kindergarten, I had to surrender my plans to be a stay at home mom. When he asked us to move to Texas, I had to surrender my career plans and my future to Him.

It is in these moments of surrender that I find peace. I know I am in good hands when it is God making the decisions. If I truly want to save my life, I must lose it – I must surrender. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it- Luke 9:24.

Once again, I reread through the book of James to see what he would say about this concept of surrender. I was not disappointed but again reminded what it looks like to draw near to God: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you … Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up – James 4:7-8a, 10.

It is only in those moments of complete surrender that I truly experience salvation. God saves me from my sins and He saves me from myself. Ever felt that way?

So, how do you take your coffee? I had my morning coffee with lots of Jesus and I asked Him if I could skip over this second statement from Scott’s sermon, or if perhaps I could switch the order around a little or change his wording. You see I’m a little nervous about this next statement because it is often the one strong theological difference that divides most evangelical Christians. Many of my closest friends would disagree with this next statement. My prayer this morning is that we find where we agree on this point, rather than argue over where we disagree.

Yesterday we reviewed the first point of Scott’s sermon on Colossians chapter one – There is no faith without fruit. Today we move on to the more controversial statement yet in many ways a repetition of the first statement:

2. There is no INHERITANCE without HOLINESS

Let’s look at the same Scripture from Colossians but read on a little farther:
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (1:9-14).

I am so thankful that God did not save me and then leave me in the state that I was in. I remember when I went from being a little girl who loved Jesus enough to ask Him into her heart to a teenager who fully surrendered her heart to the Lordship of the Savior. I was so sick of myself by then – of my selfish tendencies, of my inconsistencies, and of my prideful strategies. I was ready to give up control and let God change me into the person He created me to be. His grace did not love me and then leave me the way He found me. God had a plan for my life and I have been a work in progress since that day.

I have to be careful here though. I cannot earn my way into Heaven, nor can I demand that God owes me Heaven regardless of how I live out my faith. It is the Father alone who “qualifies” or enables me to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. But the next statement gives me great hope – He has rescued me from the darkness in which He found me and His plan is not to leave me there. His plan is for me to truly experience redemption in which the forgiveness of my sins changes my life, taking me out of the darkness and bringing me into the light. He then begins a work in my life, filling me with wisdom and understanding. I begin to grow in my knowledge of Him being strengthened by HIS power and HIS might. I go from a sinner to a child of God in whom He has developed great endurance and patience, a life that goes beyond a faith that only believes to a faith that bears fruit.

For the last two months I have been enjoying my morning coffee with James so I went back to hear what he would have to say on this subject. The book of James is a call to holy living. I am going to close with a few of his words:

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him – 1:12.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins – 5:20.

Dear Jesus, thank you for the hope we find in your Word. You have saved us so that we may serve you and so today we surrender Lordship to you. Jesus, today I allow you to be King – you are in charge. Please make me into the child of God you want me to be. Amen.

Yesterday in Scott’s sermon, he pulled five statements out of the first chapter of Colossians. Each statement went so well with our recent study of the book of James by Beth Moore (Mercy Triumphs, 2011). I would like to spend this week looking at each one of the five points.

1. There is no FAITH without FRUIT

As we learned in the book of James, God wants our faith to be evident in the way we live out our lives – the way we persevere through hard times, the way we treat those around us, the way we study God’s word, the way we speak to others, and the way we submit to God – in our fruit.

James 2:14, 24 (The Message): “Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it?…Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?”

Let’s look at how these verses in James agree with Paul’s letter to the Christians at Colosse and then how they agree with Christ’s own words.

Colossians 1:9-11a
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience…

So how can we live a life worthy of our Savior and please Him in every way:
– Bear fruit in every good work
– Grow in the knowledge of God
– Be strengthened by Him so that we may have great endurance and patience

Well we are off to a good start then because we are spending time in His word, studying Scriptures and asking for wisdom and understanding so that we may know His will for our lives – so we may grow in the knowledge of God. And what happens when we ask God to fill us with wisdom?

James 1:5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

And what is the product of the life of those given wisdom?

James 3:13 – “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” James goes on to describe this wisdom in verse 17 – “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

When we spend time in God’s presence and in the study of His Word, we begin to grow in wisdom and we are strengthened in our faith. It is this wisdom from God that produces the deeds. The result of this relationship – this intimacy with God – is evidenced in our fruit as we remain in Him all day.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” – John 15:5.

For the last two years, I have written a daily devotional out of my quiet time with God. It has been an opportunity to simply share what God is showing me as I enter His presence each day and share my morning coffee with Him:) After two years, I am creating a new blog for those who would like to join me each morning for a cup of coffee with Jesus.