Colossians 1:1-21

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Only 75 more verses to go!

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father,

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing-as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learn it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

As so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worth of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through and for him. And 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, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross.

And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians

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I need to maintain consistency in memorizing. I can do this!


Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father,

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you-as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing-as it also does among you, just as you have learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased praying for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

Citizenship in Heaven

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I just finished doing my nighttime Bible reading. I have been reading the book of Jeremiah for the nights and completed 1, 2, and 3 John this morning. From my Old Testament readings, it is crazy to see how much suffering the Prophet Jeremiah had to endure. He kept prophesying that Babylon was going to come. His message was primarily of Judgment, and the people did not take it well. The false prophets were prophesying peace when God speaking through Jeremiah was prophesying Judgement. King Zedekiah got his eyes gouged out, his sons slaughtered before Him, and kingdom taken because He did not listen to the Prophet Jeremiah. However, even in Judgement, God protected Jeremiah because He trusted in his promises.


I'm trying to memorize the book of Colossians. I just need motivation to do this. I have a little bit, but I am growing:

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ Jesus at Colosse,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father,

We always thank God, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.

As I was finishing reading this Epistle, it reminded me of my citizenship in Heaven. Paul says:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

This passage reminded me that a Christian must be dead to earthly desires and alive through heavenly desires. We have been transferred to a new Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. I should be seeking the things above, and remind myself of the heavenly kingdom. I must remember that my citizenship is ultimately in heaven, with the Lord Jesus Christ.

There Is Something Gone Seriously Wrong

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I am ashamed of myself because of my selfishness and my need for comfort. I cannot help thinking that a million people are homeless right now, thousands are orphaned, kids are sold into sex-trafficking and slavery, murderers running wild because there is no food; absolute chaos is going on in Haiti right now. John said that one of the enemies of the Christian is the world. The World entices us and lures us to sleep. I see this reality happening right now. I am worried about my school debt, personal comfort, and future when 200,000 people have just perished. Is there not something wrong with me? I read my Bible and Jesus said that those who deny themselves are his. Those who "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness" will be blessed. My heart is once again heavy because I see how the world is making us sleep to the disasters and the reality of suffering right now. People are more concerned about a friday night party, relationship, personal comfort, education, family, friends, and many other things that distract us from the Kingdom. God said that knowing Him means showing mercy to the oppressed, clothing the poor, feeding the hungry, defending the alien, and breaking the yoke of wickedness (Isaiah 58). This is what true religion looks like. To be honest, I think I have let many things distract me from God, i.e. future comfort, education, even the church itself. In my heart of hearts, I know what we are doing right now is NOT REAL CHRISTIANITY. This is not it, it's not consistent with what the Bible teaches. Somehow, we have managed to twist the Scriptures in a way to make our lives seek comfort and pleasure rather embrace the world of Calvary. My heart is feeling like I need to go to Haiti right now, I don't know why, but the desire is there. It's going to take a long time to rebuild there. I don't know if God is changing my heart for the Philippines mission trip, and is redirecting my heart to Haiti. Lord, please guide me. Forgive me Father for being enticed by the world and the pleasures of this world. Open my eyes to see reality as you would see it. In Jesus name, Amen

Haiti

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Jeremiah 22:15-16

Did not your father eat and drink
and r do justice and righteousness?
s Then it was well with him.
16 t He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
s then it was well.
Is not this u to know me?
declares the Lord.

My heart has been very heavy lately because of the recent events going on in Haiti. It is seems so unreal that piles of dead bodies are stacked on the side of the road, children now orphaned because their parents were crushed under buildings, the stench of dead bodies filling the city, injured people, and looters looting dead bodies for gain. Right now, I sit comfortably in my bed in America, and I wonder what does this have to do with me? Well in this passage of Scripture I have been meditating, knowing God means judging the cause of the poor and needy. And right now, Haiti is poor and needy. If I claim to know God, and my heart does not follow God's heart, then my profession of faith is a lie. I am so selfish still and think of my own ways. But when I think of Christ, how he came to save the physically and spiritually poor and needy; it reminds me that our savior acted with action. I don't know what to do, but my heart is heavy. Then again, having a having heart without action is as good as dead as saying "I believe in Jesus" without any accompanied action. I need to repent. I was so passionate about school last year because I came for the right reasons, to know God. However, it is easy to get stuck into the idolatry of education, even Seminary. School should be viewed in my eyes as Holy, a place of training in Righteousness, not a place just to earn a degree to make my life well. I can only imagine how far Philosophy can go if I was in Haiti right now with millions of hurting people. How far would philosophical arguments go when they need love and physical care? I don't want to waste my life. I want to know my calling. If I am really a citizen of Heaven bought with the blood of Jesus, my heart should beat like his. I should join with those who suffer rather than embrace the superficialities of pleasure and comfort. God, please, show me the way I should go. Is this what it means to know YOU? To defend the orphan, to help the oppress, to love the poor, to show mercy, to do justice? This is not was being exemplified right now. Grant me repentance and help me walk in the way I should go.

Hebrews

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I just finished doing my night time devotion. Everything in the Old Testament from the Temple to the sacrifices pointed to Jesus. The author of Hebrews makes the parallel that the true Holy of Holies is Heaven itself. Only a high priest could enter once a year, and this was a shadow of the heavenly reality of Christ entering. The problem with the Levitical Priesthood is that it was always imperfect because they were sinners and they sacrificed with the blood of goats and bulls. Then comes along Jesus, entering the true Holy of Holies: Heaven itself. He leaves Heaven, takes on a human body, offers his perfect blood that cleanses our filth, and returns to Heaven. Now we are brought back to God. We are cleansed of our evil consciences because He came! Now he lives to be our Great High Priest. I can exalt God now because He lives! The Lord is for us, because Christ came for us, and Lives for us! This is a glorious truth. Lord, help me not forget your precious words! This still blows my mind away!

The Call to Deny Oneself

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Luke 14:25-27
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 n “If anyone comes to me and o does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, p yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 q Whoever does not r bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.

I read this passage this morning and it reminded me of how radical discipleship must be. It is a call to put Jesus Christ above every human relationship. Christ must be central in all my human interactions. I was also reminded that the Coming of the King will be like in the days of Noah: Everyone was eating, drinking, and marrying; while the flood came and destroyed all the people of the earth. Christ, the exalted resurrected Son of God, must be preeminent in all my doing. What has been distracting me? School, Finances, and the Cares of this world choke the Word so that it makes it unfruitful. Open my eyes to see your Reality. Open my eyes to see that "the Lord is near."

Rebuked by a Non-Christian

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If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have a prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, b so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 c If I give away all I have, and d if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 e Love is patient and f kind; love g does not envy or boast; it h is not arrogant 5 or rude. It i does not insist on its own way; it j is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it k does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but l rejoices with the truth. 7 m Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, e endures all things.

8 Love never ends.

Love for my family is the biggest hindrance and inconsistency in my Christian life. My family is screwed up and so many times I just want to hide it. I try to run away from it and suppress the reality of the brokenness. My brother says he'll never believe in my Christ because I do not live the life. He says I'm a "closet Christian." As much as I wanted to fight against it, his words do ring true. How can I teach about love, when I do not love my own father and brother? How can I teach about patience if I am not patient with my family? Paul even goes on to say that "If I give up all possessions, and have not love....I gain nothing." This is really profound. Because I am willing to give everything I have for my screwed up family, but in the name of justice and not love. God, would you do a work in me to teach me to love the unlovable. Remind me of how much you loved me when I hated you and rejected you. Remind me of how you forgive those who crucified you. Remind me of your love.

Augustine On Free Choice of the Will

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I am so thankful that my classes requires me to read some of the greatest minds of history: Augustine. This is one of the intellectual giants of Christian history. In On Free Choice of the Will, the beginning of the book starts off with a basic question: Is God the cause of evil? Augustine begins by showing that humans are the cause of evil. The reason why evil entered the world because it was a defect, or irrational, or inordinate desire that malfunctioned. Humans chose temporal goods rather than the eternal good. They chose to be enslaved by the temporal rather than mastering the temporal by submitting to the eternal law of God. I am amazed at how Augustine wanted to answer these questions with absolute piety. He writes that we should seek to answer these questions with "God's help and prayer." Amazing! An excellent theologian is one who seeks God's helps and prays!


PAY ATTENTION DUMMY!

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Isaiah 48:18-19


a Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
b Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
c your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”

It is so easy to be distracted from the Lord. So many things try to grab our attention when only one thing matters: God. The cares of this world scream to get me away from paying attention to God's commandment and delighting in him. God, help me seek you.

God's encouragement to me

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Isaiah 40:28-31


Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall wall and not faint.

It is funny how God mysteriously works through His providence. This passage of scripture really spoked to me because of my recent discouragements. I have been so emotionally and spiritually tired lately through serving and studying. My youthful pride tells me that I can accomplish anything, but this year has shown that even youths shall faint and be weary. The cure to my weakness is to look to the one who does not grow faint or weary. The promise of God will renew me to serve Him. God I need you to restore me. Thank you for Your Word that speaks to me at times when I need it.