Colossians 1:7 & 8
"You learned it from Epaphras..." "It" in this context refers to the gospel. These two verses speak about Epaphras, who is considered at length at this website: http://thebible.net/modules.php?name=Read&itemid=8&cat=5
I won't go any more into these verses since this covers it pretty well.
Colossians 1:9
"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."
This verse sheds a little more light onto what we saw in verse 3. Verse 3 showed us that Paul prayed for the Church. Verse 9 goes into more detail about how he prays:
- "Since the day we heard about you..." This implies an immediacy to Paul's prayers for the Colossian church. He didn't make a note of them on his prayer list and prayed for them when he got around to it. His prayers were immediate.
- "...we have not stopped praying for you..." Paul's prayers were persistent. Just as Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:17, "pray without ceasing", here we see evidence of that. Praying without ceasing is not simple repetition (Matthew 6:7); rather it is an open stream of communication between yourself and God. You bring EVERYTHING to Him, and He speaks back to you. Prayer is not just us talking TO God, it's talking WITH God. It is enormously difficult to constantly maintain a state of prayer where we can really stay in tune with God when we're at work, at home, running errands, etc. Paul would not ask us to do this if it were not possible. I think one of the keys is simply to draw near to Him.
- "...asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will..." Paul's prayers were specific; they spoke to a need. He knew what the Colossians would need to continue to grow. When we come to God with a request for a person or a situation, we must be able to speak to the specific need that we see. As we draw closer to Him and acquire His insight, we will be more able to speak directly to those needs.
"...to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
To know God's will we have to be actively participating with Him, drawing nearer to Him, to really understand what He has planned for us. I believe some people will live life as they want, not in submission or obedience, with the thought that "as soon as God tells me what to do, I'll go for Him." If we're not staying in tune with Him, we are going to mis out on what He has called us to. We have to be listening intently to hear.
I'm tired. Bed time.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Colossians 1:3-6
Colossians 1:3-6
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.
A few things stand out to me here.
"We always thank God..when we pray for you..."
Paul exhibited a consistent pattern of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), staying in supplication for fellow believers. This is challenging to me because many times when I pray I'm focused on myself or those immediately connected to me. Paul prayed for believers all over the world; he prayed for the entire church. I don't know what exactly he prayed for when he prayed for them. That might be something I find elsewhere. Praying for the church would be a very good habit to get into. We can see the in-fighting that occurs within the church among demoninations, churches, Christians, etc. - none of which is becoming to followers of Christ. If we pray for each other we are exhibiting love and concern for one another. If we have love and concern for one another, we have unity. As Jesus said, "By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35). I guess that ultimately this becomes a lesson that we NEED to love one another to be the people Jesus called us to be. Love is not something that comes naturally of our carnal selves. Love comes from a relationship with the Father. Relationship is achieved through prayer to the Father. This reminds me of 2 Peter 1:3: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God gives us what we need to have love for one another through Him, and only through Him. This shows how dependent we must be on God for the success of our Christian walk; it is accomplished through relationship with Him.
"...because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus..."
Paul said he is thankful for their faith. I've never thought of thanking God for another person's faith. I think in our human minds we get accustomed to the whole story of sacrifice and forgiveness and become desensitized/numb to it. We have to be constantly reminded of how great it is that we have this gift; that we, as sinful men who have shunned God, can simply take what He has freely offered, and become His sons and daughters that He loves. To keep the wonder alive, we have to stay focused on Jesus: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2).
"...and of the love you have for all the saints..."
The Colossian church was doing it right. They had love for each other. So much love that Paul had HEARD of it from other people. When was the last time we heard this about ANY body of believers?? In today's society we are overly self-centered. We follow this lifestyle of self-dependence rather than interdependence on each other. This causes us to strive to get ours first, and if there's nothing leftover, too bad. This goes in direct contradition to Phillipians 2:3 & 4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." There is no way that the Colossians could have been self-centered (as we are in our society) and still have gained this reputation of loving each other. What kind of change can we bring about in ourselves and in our churches to gain this kind of reputation and fulfill what Jesus said in John 13:35?
"...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven..."
This goes back to earlier where we see a sort of fulfillment of 2 Peter 1:3. Our love for one another springs from a relationship with Jesus. We HAVE to have this RELATIONSHIP.
Colossians 1:6
"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."
If the previous focus was on prayer, the focus here is on the gospel, i.e., the Word of God. The gospel was bearing fruit and growing because people were living it. It wasn't something they passively read or studied then continued in their normal life. It was something that when they heard or read it, it kicked off a deeper yearning for more. It triggered something in their spirit that caused them to realize that they needed God. They started living the gospel, they made it integral to their lives, and it brought about massive change in their hearts, minds, and actions. It was transformational (Romans 12:2). I think another piece of what brought about such a powerful transformation in their lives is they saw how people like Paul were living it, how the Word shined through in their lives. They realized that they needed it in their lives by seeing it active in others. How is the Word active in our lives? Is it integral? How are we living it?
Another thing I noticed at this point was that the KJV says "knew" instead of "understood." Of course if we look back at Genesis, we see that Adam "knew" his wife. In essense, this is indicative of a very intimate familiarity. After some studying, I found that "knew/understood" in this verse is interpreted from the Greek word "ἐπιγινώσκω" - "epiginōskō". It means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly, to know accurately, know well". The word epiginosko is rooted in "γινώσκω" - "ginōskō", which is more suggestive of the intimate sense of understanding or knowing. So what we can draw from all of this is that the Colossians were intimately familiar with "God's grace in all its truth", i.e., the gospel, which is the Word. We know that the Word was something that was central to their lives and was something of utmost importance to them; they loved it.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.
A few things stand out to me here.
"We always thank God..when we pray for you..."
Paul exhibited a consistent pattern of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), staying in supplication for fellow believers. This is challenging to me because many times when I pray I'm focused on myself or those immediately connected to me. Paul prayed for believers all over the world; he prayed for the entire church. I don't know what exactly he prayed for when he prayed for them. That might be something I find elsewhere. Praying for the church would be a very good habit to get into. We can see the in-fighting that occurs within the church among demoninations, churches, Christians, etc. - none of which is becoming to followers of Christ. If we pray for each other we are exhibiting love and concern for one another. If we have love and concern for one another, we have unity. As Jesus said, "By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35). I guess that ultimately this becomes a lesson that we NEED to love one another to be the people Jesus called us to be. Love is not something that comes naturally of our carnal selves. Love comes from a relationship with the Father. Relationship is achieved through prayer to the Father. This reminds me of 2 Peter 1:3: "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." God gives us what we need to have love for one another through Him, and only through Him. This shows how dependent we must be on God for the success of our Christian walk; it is accomplished through relationship with Him.
"...because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus..."
Paul said he is thankful for their faith. I've never thought of thanking God for another person's faith. I think in our human minds we get accustomed to the whole story of sacrifice and forgiveness and become desensitized/numb to it. We have to be constantly reminded of how great it is that we have this gift; that we, as sinful men who have shunned God, can simply take what He has freely offered, and become His sons and daughters that He loves. To keep the wonder alive, we have to stay focused on Jesus: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2).
"...and of the love you have for all the saints..."
The Colossian church was doing it right. They had love for each other. So much love that Paul had HEARD of it from other people. When was the last time we heard this about ANY body of believers?? In today's society we are overly self-centered. We follow this lifestyle of self-dependence rather than interdependence on each other. This causes us to strive to get ours first, and if there's nothing leftover, too bad. This goes in direct contradition to Phillipians 2:3 & 4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." There is no way that the Colossians could have been self-centered (as we are in our society) and still have gained this reputation of loving each other. What kind of change can we bring about in ourselves and in our churches to gain this kind of reputation and fulfill what Jesus said in John 13:35?
"...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven..."
This goes back to earlier where we see a sort of fulfillment of 2 Peter 1:3. Our love for one another springs from a relationship with Jesus. We HAVE to have this RELATIONSHIP.
Colossians 1:6
"All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."
If the previous focus was on prayer, the focus here is on the gospel, i.e., the Word of God. The gospel was bearing fruit and growing because people were living it. It wasn't something they passively read or studied then continued in their normal life. It was something that when they heard or read it, it kicked off a deeper yearning for more. It triggered something in their spirit that caused them to realize that they needed God. They started living the gospel, they made it integral to their lives, and it brought about massive change in their hearts, minds, and actions. It was transformational (Romans 12:2). I think another piece of what brought about such a powerful transformation in their lives is they saw how people like Paul were living it, how the Word shined through in their lives. They realized that they needed it in their lives by seeing it active in others. How is the Word active in our lives? Is it integral? How are we living it?
Another thing I noticed at this point was that the KJV says "knew" instead of "understood." Of course if we look back at Genesis, we see that Adam "knew" his wife. In essense, this is indicative of a very intimate familiarity. After some studying, I found that "knew/understood" in this verse is interpreted from the Greek word "ἐπιγινώσκω" - "epiginōskō". It means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly, to know accurately, know well". The word epiginosko is rooted in "γινώσκω" - "ginōskō", which is more suggestive of the intimate sense of understanding or knowing. So what we can draw from all of this is that the Colossians were intimately familiar with "God's grace in all its truth", i.e., the gospel, which is the Word. We know that the Word was something that was central to their lives and was something of utmost importance to them; they loved it.
Monday, July 12, 2010
John 13:8
"Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."
The context of the portion of the verse above is Jesus's response to Peter when Peter had initially attempted to dissuade Jesus from washing his feet. I think there's a bigger meaning to this little response, though.
To me this points to the total surrender that is required to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus. We can acknowledge his Lordship mentally, but what are we actually doing about it? Is our life reflecting the fact that we are not our own, that we were bought with a price (I Cor. 6:19 - 20)? What evidence in our life shows that we have denied ourselves, taken up our cross, and are following him (Mark 8:34, 35)?
The other thing this makes me think of is the transformational process that takes place when we truly make Him our Lord. Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of our mind. Titus 3:5 says the Holy Spirit washes us and renews us. How is this transformation evident in our lives? Is our daily prayer for him to change us, to create in us a new heart (Psalm 51:10)?
Keep in mind the intent of this is to check myself. If these reflections can help convict someone else and change a life, then awesome.
The context of the portion of the verse above is Jesus's response to Peter when Peter had initially attempted to dissuade Jesus from washing his feet. I think there's a bigger meaning to this little response, though.
To me this points to the total surrender that is required to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus. We can acknowledge his Lordship mentally, but what are we actually doing about it? Is our life reflecting the fact that we are not our own, that we were bought with a price (I Cor. 6:19 - 20)? What evidence in our life shows that we have denied ourselves, taken up our cross, and are following him (Mark 8:34, 35)?
The other thing this makes me think of is the transformational process that takes place when we truly make Him our Lord. Romans 12:2 says to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed through the renewing of our mind. Titus 3:5 says the Holy Spirit washes us and renews us. How is this transformation evident in our lives? Is our daily prayer for him to change us, to create in us a new heart (Psalm 51:10)?
Keep in mind the intent of this is to check myself. If these reflections can help convict someone else and change a life, then awesome.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Another visit...
It's 1 am. I have to leave for Arkansas tomorrow morning, hopefully before lunch. I've been here since July 3. This is probably the longest time I've spent at home since I moved to Arkansas 4 years ago.
I honestly don't want to leave. Being here is like heaven to me, here in the house that I grew up in with my parents, brother, grandparents, friends, family, etc. Essentially, my roots. Nearly every good memory in the first 22 years of my life took place here. When I'm here I feel such a deeper connection to those memories, the people, everything. Every time I have to leave it's as if all of those roots are being ripped up, like my heart is being torn out of my chest. As I sit here, memory after memory passes through my mind, and each one brings a new wave of sobs.
There's no way this is the way it's supposed to be. I know God didn't intend for us to leave our families hundreds of miles away so we can provide for ourselves. Adam and Eve screwed it up with sin, but us humans weren't content to leave it at that. We have progressed deeper and deeper into depravity, selfishness and greed, sacrificing our families to the point that now it's normal and expected that a child leave his/her parents way behind as they progress in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I have a great life in Arkansas. I just don't have any solid roots there like I have here, and sometimes that gets really difficult for me.
I honestly don't want to leave. Being here is like heaven to me, here in the house that I grew up in with my parents, brother, grandparents, friends, family, etc. Essentially, my roots. Nearly every good memory in the first 22 years of my life took place here. When I'm here I feel such a deeper connection to those memories, the people, everything. Every time I have to leave it's as if all of those roots are being ripped up, like my heart is being torn out of my chest. As I sit here, memory after memory passes through my mind, and each one brings a new wave of sobs.
There's no way this is the way it's supposed to be. I know God didn't intend for us to leave our families hundreds of miles away so we can provide for ourselves. Adam and Eve screwed it up with sin, but us humans weren't content to leave it at that. We have progressed deeper and deeper into depravity, selfishness and greed, sacrificing our families to the point that now it's normal and expected that a child leave his/her parents way behind as they progress in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I have a great life in Arkansas. I just don't have any solid roots there like I have here, and sometimes that gets really difficult for me.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Salsa recipe
After studying the salsa at Maria's and a few practice rounds, I think I've come up with a pretty darn good salsa recipe. I put in the ingredients kind of by feel, so I don't have any measurements here...just use common cooking sense and it will be good :)
The salsa takes all of the following:
Stewed tomatoes (Great Value stewed tomatoes from Walmart work great)
Onion
Garlic
Cilantro
Celery
Bell Pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Pickled Jalepenos
Vinegar
Salt
Lime
Strain the stewed tomatoes the best you can - the less liquid you have in them, the better. Mince up your onion, garlic, cilantro, celery, and bell pepper as fine as you can. The total of your bell pepper, celery, and garlic should be less than the total of your onion. Bell pepper and celery are mainly for color and texture, so keep that in mind - don't want to over-do it or you might get weird flavors. You want a light sprinking of salt, cumin, and paprika. It's easy to over-do the salt. Put in just a dash of vinegar to get a little extra tang. It's easy to over-do the lime too. You might want to go with the juice of about 1/3 of a lime for every two cans of tomatoes. Get all of the ingredients listed above together in a blender, then blend it slowly. Don't do it too long because you don't want a salsa smoothie. At this point I put the salsa in a pan to simmer for a while to help soften up the onion, bell pepper, and celery and get the flavors to mix, but this part may not be necessary.
Once you're done with all of this, if you're feeling adventurous you could throw in some corn and/or beans to add to the mix.
Put it in the refrigerator for a while to cool down, then you're ready for chips and salsa.
The salsa takes all of the following:
Stewed tomatoes (Great Value stewed tomatoes from Walmart work great)
Onion
Garlic
Cilantro
Celery
Bell Pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Pickled Jalepenos
Vinegar
Salt
Lime
Strain the stewed tomatoes the best you can - the less liquid you have in them, the better. Mince up your onion, garlic, cilantro, celery, and bell pepper as fine as you can. The total of your bell pepper, celery, and garlic should be less than the total of your onion. Bell pepper and celery are mainly for color and texture, so keep that in mind - don't want to over-do it or you might get weird flavors. You want a light sprinking of salt, cumin, and paprika. It's easy to over-do the salt. Put in just a dash of vinegar to get a little extra tang. It's easy to over-do the lime too. You might want to go with the juice of about 1/3 of a lime for every two cans of tomatoes. Get all of the ingredients listed above together in a blender, then blend it slowly. Don't do it too long because you don't want a salsa smoothie. At this point I put the salsa in a pan to simmer for a while to help soften up the onion, bell pepper, and celery and get the flavors to mix, but this part may not be necessary.
Once you're done with all of this, if you're feeling adventurous you could throw in some corn and/or beans to add to the mix.
Put it in the refrigerator for a while to cool down, then you're ready for chips and salsa.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
This is what I am afraid of and I want to stay as far away as possible from.
North American religion is basically a consumer religion. Americans see God as a product that will help them to live well, or to live better. Having seen that, they do what consumers do, shop for the best deal. Pastors, hardly realizing what we are doing, start making deals, packaging the God-product so that people will be attracted to it and then presenting it in ways that will beat out the competition. Religion has never been so taken up with public relations, image building, salesmanship, marketing techniques, and the competitive spirit. . . I found that gathering a religious crowd was pretty easy, provided I didn't get too involved with God. . . . Religious consumers are like all other consumers, easily attracted by packaging and bargains. But I also knew that to follow this route I would have to abandon the very thing that gave the life of a pastor its worth: a passion for God.
- Eugene Peterson
- Eugene Peterson
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