Complete Forgiveness, God Moments, and Passages from Colossians

I'd like to encourage you to have a attitude of taking something away from this message that you can apply to your life, to have a better and more plentiful life out there in the real world. And as we live better, we have more to give to others and to our God in the world at large.

I'd like to pull some key quotes out of the book of Colossians that really jumped off the page for me. I ordered a copy of "The Message" Bible after reading a book about Jesus that I received from my sister for Christmas. The Message translations really seemed to jump off the page for me when I initially read it. So I've been using The Message for a lot of quotes that really come through in contemporary language.

I was sitting in one of the regular groups I attend, and it just seemed like I was being directed over and over, back to Colossians. I'd like to take you through some of the verses that really jumped out at me in the The Message translation of Colossians. But first lets ask God to join us.

Heavenly Father,

Please be with us here as we get into your word and go through some of the truth in your Bible. Please open up our minds to your truth and your love. Please guide us to the unique understanding you want us to have in these words. Help us to help ourselves and help others through this new understanding. Thank you Father, thank you so much for loving and caring for us. We praise you Father, and thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for us. In Jesus name we ask this, Amen.

Colossians 1: 5-8 The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn’t diminish or weaken over time. It’s the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you.

Col 1: 13-14 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

Col 1:22,23 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. There is no other Message—just this one. Every creature under heaven gets this same Message. I, Paul, am a messenger of this Message.

Col 2:6-7 6-7 My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Col 2:8-10 8-10 Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. They spread their ideas through the empty traditions of human beings and the empty superstitions of spirit beings. But that’s not the way of Christ. Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. 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. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Col 3 1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Col 3 3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

Col 3 5-14

5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

9-11 Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

12-14 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.

I want everyone to remember that we only have control over ourselves and what we do. We can't control other people, places or things. So if you've got family members or friends still struggling with the idea of God and Christ, try to recall how you were before you realized the truth. There was no one who could force you to understand what you understand now. Remember that when you get frustrated with their progress. No one could force it on you. God had to come to you in a unique way that you understood based on your experiences.

And we have a God who can and does do that. He loves us so much that he'll come to us on terms we can understand. And then it's just an explosion of understanding. And we get those wow moments. When there aren't any words to explain how powerful the connection with God is. It's our job to build off those "Wow" God moments, and to build a foundation from that truth.

If we have the wow moment, and just... Head back into things of the flesh, then we're gonna stay where we're at. God can and does connect with us when we earnestly seek him, and then he starts working in our lives. Our part of the work, is foot work. God works the miracle. He guides us to see and understand the things we're suppose to, but there is foot work we have to do to keep that journey going.

We start to include God in our lives more and more. We pray to him in the morning and at night. We talk to him in our heads as we go about the day. We go to church events. We get baptized. We attend weekly Bible studies. We read the Bible. We read inspirational and self help books, as long as they're sound when referenced to the Bible. We attend support and 12 step groups to work on our problems, if we have issues with eating or emotions, or drugs or alcohol, or cigarettes or sex.

So we're talking about not trying to control everything. I went into that by talking about when we worry about family and friends who haven't turned to God yet, BUT, that is also a principle that we need to apply within.

And a lot of us aren't too keen on working on ourselves. It's hard and its scary! But my friends, its worth it. Stop thinking your past sins are unforgivable!

Remember what it says in 1st John 2: 1-2 I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.

So the issue of our sin is solved my friends. No matter what sins you've committed! And I know you think some are really bad! I tried to commit suicide when I was younger. And I was so scared God wouldn't forgive that sin. And then I asked a priest. And he told me what I'll tell you now: All sins are equally forgiven by the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ.

And I don't care what your sin is. God doesn't condemn you because you aborted a child. God doesn't condemn you because you raped someone. God doesn't condemn you because you smoked cigarettes. God doesn't condemn you because you killed someone drunk driving. God doesn't condemn you because you drank too much. God doesn't condemn you because you set someone up to take a fall. God doesn't condemn you for any of those sins once you have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and begun to try to live as he did! There no punishment for you. God doesn't want you to feel guilty about those past sins. God doesn't fold his arms and look down on you judgmentally. Scripture says, he doesn't even remember once you've asked for forgiveness for them. So if you've got something on your heart, that you did, that you think is so bad God can't forgive you... I want you to get on your knees tonight, and ask God through Jesus Christ to forgive that sin.. Tell God you were wrong, and you're sorry, and repent and then.. It's gone.

1 john 2:12 I remind you, my dear children: Your sins are forgiven in Jesus’ name.

1 john 2:6 Anyone who claims to be intimate with God ought to live the same kind of life Jesus lived.

Persevereing in Faith and Recalling Answered Prayers

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I hope this day finds you with a spirit of peace in your guarantee of eternal life.  You may know these things for certain when you are in Christ.  May you find yourself daily in a walk with God, rather than a walk with fleshly desire.  May you find yourself growing as a Christian! 

We all have a common goal here.  And we're all citizens of Earth, becoming citizens of heaven. 

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. -Philippians 3:20 NLT

This world is full of distractions, but as you proceed forward in a growing well of faith and trust in the Father you will find yourself less and less affected by these distractions.  They appeal to our flesh, but in Christ our fleshly desires lose their power. 

Please remember that any problem you have, that you can't seem to defeat on your own power is a problem that needs to be laid before the Father.  If something won't seem to get out of your head... if something won't go away... if the emotions of something happening are too powerful, please go for before your heavenly Father.  Declare your dependence on his love and support.  Declare your powerlessness over whats troubling you, and ask him to remove, repair or replace the trouble.  Our God is a loving God, and he will listen!

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. - 1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV

Remember we're in a struggle of life and death on this Earth.  We can expect suffering and trials.  We know that we can expect the things that happened to Jesus to happen to us, just as they happened to the disciples after Jesus rose from the cross.  

Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,  if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be that person? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. - 1 John 3:14-18

The world will hate us because we expose the truth and make it plain.  The wicked don't like the light shined on their deeds because all their evil is revealed.  Remember that!  

We may be assured of our eternal life when we begin to see our love for others increasing.  This was Jesus command to us.  We are to love each other as ourselves, and as he loves us.  

We are told to lay down our lives for fellow man.  We are told to share our material possessions with those in need.  

Most of us know these things, but are we practicing these things?  Does our faith stop at words or does it follow us in our daily lives?  

It's really not as complicated as we make it out to be.  There are ways to make it complicated, but it's fairly simple.  We place our trust, and we extend trust to our heavenly Father.  

I don't see the Father.  -- But I can offer my trust up that he is there, and everywhere

I don't feel his love -- But I can offer my trust to the Father, that he does in fact love me

I don't see the end of this trial -- But I can offer my trust to the Father, that it's end is close.

I don't see eternal life -- But I can offer my faith that I have it and it is coming.

These are not easy things to do.  But let's think about it.  I tend to have faith that my mother loves me.  But how do I know that?  Can I see that love?  No... I just accept that she loves me.  I trust that she loves me.  Will Monday come again?  Well... I don't see Monday.  But it's there, and I accept and trust that its coming soon.  And boom, it's Monday, and I'm not surprised by it.

How do we go about offering trust and faith in our lives? 

We tend to give it freely based on promises or assurances.  A lot of the time we don't know for sure if that faith and trust will be corrected placed.  Many times in romantic relationships this faith and trust can end up turning into hurt and resentments.  

But our Father is not human.  Our Father cannot lie.  We see great truth in the Bible, and great promises of love and eternal life.  Further on, as we mature as Christians we start to see little glimmers of God's presence.  Sometimes in a sunset, or the stars, or the perfectly timed words from a friend or song.  We start to remember the prayers we've made in the past, and then we look and see how they were answered in a perfect way and in perfect timing.

That can be places and ways that build that trust in God.  We know that God measures our righteousness not on our works, but on the level that we trust and wait on him.  So if we can find ways to build up that faith, until it's a total trust, then we'll be well on the way as Christians.

Let me encourage you to start to take notice of those little things God does for you throughout the day.  Start to look back over your prayers in the past years and recall how God has answered them.  Make a gratitude list.  Write down a list of ways God has been worthy of your trust in the past.  This process of faith is a long journey.  So let's persevere together!

Thanks

Justin

A Poem to my Father

I was thinking Father,
That this dream is like a nightmare
A wilderness of endless green trees
Reminders of what was meant to be
Tall sky scrapers, street lights and urban fortifications
Monuments to humanity, and it's vain attempts to survive with you
A planet gone wrong, hurdling toward destruction
One thing holding it up, that's you Father
Dead souls, with empty eyes then glowing bright
As the Titanic sinks around them
Diving off in trust that the cold waters won't touch them
Rising up into the night sky
Saved from destruction

I was thinking Father,
That you're always with me
Especially when I can't feel it completely
A creation you made, but then why aren't you more present to me?
I can imagine you with me
Through a glass, dimly
But it's not making sense to me
Reality of the moment is so imposing
You're out there aren't you?
There you are, I can see you
Through the words of your explanation
In the tree branches
In the net of stars hung over the fallen landscape
There to remind humanity
There's more to this puzzle
More to this corrupt planet of misery

I was thinking Father,
That you always have what I need
You've always got what I crave
You reach out
But make me do the walking
You humble my heart brutally
But give me peace later on
You speak to me in wisps of forgotten song lyrics
You speak to me through the computer
And car radio, you proclaim just enough for me to notice
But not enough to see

You demand intense loyalty
And demand that I trust what you do
That I trust completely in you
You forge faith in my corrupt heart and soul
To push me into your gift of eternal life
Hanging there before me, stubborn
Too foolish to simply receive it
You right my mind, drop it on me like a ton of bricks
And rise my spirit from the sinful dead ashes. 

Being God's Children

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I hope this wonderful spring day finds you in peace with God's plan for your life.  We know that all things work out for good in the lives of those who serve God and do his good works.  This is a great blessing, and a sacred blessing.  We are the children of the heavenly Father.  But our bodies are still flesh and prone to desires of the flesh.  

Let's take a look at a few verses from Chapter 8 of Romans:

Romans 8:12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

I really like how it starts here.  You have NO OBLIGATION to do what your sinful nature urges.  That's really interesting, because don't we often feel obliged to the sins we commit?  Like there's some excuse that makes it ok, or that there's some pressing reason to go about that sin.  Well we learn from Romans Chapter 8 that we have no obligation to entertain those thoughts.  We have no requirement on us, but to serve our heavenly Father.    It says that if we live by our sin's dictates we will die.  It's important to remember that, but it's equally easy to forget.  

The rest of these two paragraphs talks about calling God "Father" and that if we are the children of the Father that we must also share in the suffering that Christ went through.  

These are very important things to remember!

It's very easy to go about the day and get entirely caught up in the routine, driving, talking, cleaning, working, and so on...  That's natural.  If that's happening to you, it's not something strange.  It's something we all go through in this busy world.  

We know we aught to be accessing the holy spirit which was given to us by Christ.  The holy spirit informs us all throughout the day on how exactly we must act.  It comforts us and guides us.  But how many times in a day do we fall out of it, and forget?  Often, right!?  

That's not something we should be surprised at, or something we should beat ourselves up about.  Don't let that inner voice become an accuser!  It's ok to let that voice convict you into action against sin and staying in the spirit.  But try to switch it off if it starts to overwhelm you, and starts accusing or going over past wrongs.  This can often be negative spirits, or the sinful nature itself negatively influencing us.  

God does NOT want us constantly putting ourselves on the whipping post for sins of the past.  We know when we honestly confess our sins to the Father in prayer, and repent, that they are forgiven.  A good technique for clearing out those self voices I found in a book by Neil Anderson called "The Bondage Breaker."  Very quickly one should answer the negative self talk with a simple statement:  "That is not of God."  

Often we can end up beating ourselves up over stupid things of the past and present, and in our mind we justify that it's a good thing because we need to receive that punishment.  We do NOT need to receive that.  Jesus didn't save us and make us perfect before the eyes of God so we could hold onto the past and punish ourselves for past wrongs!

So when that voice of negativity and accusation shows up, answer it in your mind with "That is not of God the Father."  Reinforce that statement in your mind with scripture, that you are testing your thoughts against what scripture says.  So that voice is commanded to be silent, by the power of scriptural truth!

And recall, as we were talking about earlier that we can often fall out of the full influence of the spirit.  As we go about our days, constantly be praying for this or praying for that inside your own mind.  God is not limited to only receiving prayers that are spoken aloud, or prayers that are done on your knees. (Though it is wise to go before the Father humbly on the knees when you can)  Your Father is always listening to you, and caring for you throughout the day.  If he is always with us, why not constantly try to maintain that dialogue with him?

This helps to keep me Christ centered during the day.  There are a million-and-one distractions, but I can always center myself and ask the Father to re-center me with his Holy Spirit.  Isn't that great?  We have someone all around us, who is walking with us and caring for us during the day.

We aught to always know that we are ok.  And more than ok, we are truly blessed and saved.  Eternal life is OURS!  That's powerful, and a reason to smile throughout the many days of our lives.  This life is passing my brothers and sisters.  This is not how the planet God created was to be.  This is a tangent planet, a planet doomed to destruction.  But we have our way off, and we are already seated there with Jesus the Christ.  We await patiently the coming of the right Earth.  The Father will remake it, as he intended it to be.  And we will live in a holy city where we will live in constant intimate contact with the Father! 

Wow, I mean, wow... How blessed are we today?  Remember that blessing.  Constantly tell yourself: I'm a child of God.  Brag on the Father's greatness, and brag on the greatness and love of Christ Jesus our savior!  Live in that positive mindset, because my friends we are truly blessed children of the creator of the universe.  That's really something very special.  Why don't we go to the Father in prayer:  

Father,
We thank you that you called us to be your chosen children,
And Father, 
We always will try to live as the Christ did, though we fall short,
We know that you love us dearly, and care for us with incredible power,
 We offer you our service on this Earth, to bring others to your love,
We know that we can do nothing without your power,
Let us constantly receive your love and power throughout our busy lives,
And receive that blessing, so that we may do all your good works,
Until the day you take us to the right and true city, 
To live with you in all peace and joy,
Thank you Father, In Christ's name,
 Amen