Radically Different

Colossians 3:1-3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Yesterday started the first day back to Sunday School for this fall at my church.  This year I am co-teaching the Jr High.  Our study this semester will be using a book called Radically Different.  We are studying Colossians 3:1-4:1. 

As we start into Colossians, we are told to take the old sinful beings that we are and to get rid of it.  We are to take off what we have been.  As we continue through the chapter, we will learn about how we are to put on new with Christ.

As we read in the beginning, this applies to those of us that have been raised with Christ.  We have set our hearts on things above, not on earthly things.  To me, this tells me that I need to raise my expectations of how I should be seen by the world.  The world accepts anything that feels good at the time but as Christians, we must set our focus on Heaven.

What will you do today to raise your expectations of yourself beyond what the world expects?

Like-Minded

“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for

one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, by courteous.”

     1 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)

“For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because

the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.”

    Philemon 7 (NKJV)

Yesterday after a long, challenging day of work, I went for a walk around the nearby lake hoping some fresh air would refresh my spirit.  God knew exactly what I needed. 

I felt led to walk on the sunny side of the lake (where I usually never walk). As I passed up a woman ahead of me, she spoke to me, and we started walking and talking together.  After just a couple minutes, we realized that we are both born-again believers.  It was so encouraging to meet someone of like-minded faith, especially since I’d been feeling so out of sync with the world and culture.  True, we may be in the minority these days, but as brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, we can and should “be of one mind,” and have compassion for one another.  It’s not always an instant connection like I experienced yesterday, but if we are in Christ, we should have love for each other.

Karen had just received some devastating news about a dear friend, and we were able to comfort and encourage one another.  And our hearts were refreshed by our time in fellowship.  We thanked God for bringing us together and exchanged numbers with plans to meet again.

We are so blessed to be part of God’s family when we trust in Christ.  And He is so faithful in caring for His children in big and little ways.  Let's show our appreciation for all He has done by being tenderhearted and courteous to one another, by rejoicing in the fellowship we have in the body of Christ.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Perfection

I am naturally a perfectionist. Because of that, I tend to wait for the perfect day or time or environment to do certain big projects. I don’t want to start something until I know I have all the time and resources to complete it and complete it perfectly.

Solomon saw a problem with this. If we always wait for that perfect day or time, certain things may never get done.

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6     

⁴ Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵ As you do not know the path of the wind,
    or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
    the Maker of all things.

⁶ Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

It’s better to do what we can today with what we have (of course, while seeking and following God’s wisdom and direction). 

One of my desired home projects for the summer was to go through all the kids’ toys, throw out broken ones, donate no longer used ones, and reorganize everything. Well, it’s the end of the summer and I never had that “perfect” day to tackle it all! This past weekend, though, I started tackling the books and then Joe had an idea for the toys. It seemed overwhelming and I didn’t think we had time to finish (at least not to my standards). However, with all four of us working together, we made huge headway! It isn’t totally complete or up to my standard of perfection, but it’s way more organized than it was. We can now easily chip away at the rest.

Where else do you and I need to forgo waiting for that perfect day or time and get started on something God’s laid on our heart? We can break it down into smaller chunks, and tackle them one day or week at a time, the agile way. 😊 

Alice

Be Still

Psalm 46:10a

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.

This morning, as I sent my son off to his first day of first grade, I felt that I kept telling my heart to be still.  My son has been in daycare since he was 10 weeks old.  He started pre-school at 3 and so when I sent him off to Kindergarten, it really didn’t seem to bug me.  This morning though, I must admit that I kind of felt like he was so much more grown up as he got on the bus. 

While I kept needing to remind my heart to be still this morning, God also tells us to be still.  Be still, and know that he is God.  He is out refuge and strength.  He is with us.  He will be exalted.

Today, as many of us send our kids back to school, or face something else in our lives, be still.  Know that the Lord is your refuge and strength.  Turn to him doing these times.

God's Great Love

“Behold what manner of love the Father

has bestowed on us, that we should be

called children of God!”

     1 John 3:1 (NKJV)

“For I am persuaded that neither death

nor life, nor angels nor principalities

nor powers, nor things present nor

things to come, nor height nor depth,

nor any other created thing, shall be

able to separate us from the love of

God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

     Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)

Trust is the bedrock of faith.  But in order to trust God, we need to be convinced—really believe deep down in our hearts and know without doubting—that He loves us and wants the best for us. The greatest demonstration of His love is at Calvary.  Jesus Christ loved us so much that while we were yet sinners and enemies of God, He died for us so that we might be called children of God. 

We also learn of God’s love from His word.  The Bible is God’s love letter to us.  It is filled from cover to cover with truth about God’s love, and how He’s proven it over and over to His people.  That’s why we need to feed on Scripture every day. 

Does your faith seem weak?  Are you struggling to trust God in some difficult circumstances?  Are you holding back from stepping out in faith?  If so, you may need a greater understanding of or a fresh reminder of God’s love for you.

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  Having an assurance of God's great love will help you trust, obey and submit to Him in all things.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Talk

Talk is cheap. People can say or promise all kinds of things. It’s easy to talk big and another thing to follow through. Also, people can look good on paper, sound great in an interview, but be a big flop on the job.

Ecclesiastes 10:12-14 Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious,
    but fools are consumed by their own lips.
¹³ At the beginning their words are folly;
    at the end they are wicked madness—
¹⁴     and fools multiply words.

No one knows what is coming—
    who can tell someone else what will happen after them?

¹⁵ The toil of fools wearies them;
    they do not know the way to town.

In an outside organization, I’ve worked with someone that is a very pleasant conversationalist, has great ideas, but is now starting to sound repetitive (multiplying words, as verse 14 states). He brings up the same issues and ideas, but talks in circles about them. We, on various advisory committees, have recommended or provided assistance to help with some of the issues/ideas. However, he either doesn’t try them or doesn’t follow through to complete what was started. So, we end up talking about the same things at the next meeting, wearying us all.

Ecclesiastes 10:18       Through laziness, the rafters sag;
    because of idle hands, the house leaks.

What about you and me? Are our words folly or wearisome?

Are we busy talking rather than working?

Maybe it depends on the project, whether it’s at work, or home or church. Where do you and I need to make sure our work matches our talk?

Alice

No law

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

Imagine not having to be restricted by a law.  Having freedom to do something without limit.  So often we are restricted by the law however here in Galatians, we are told there is no law against the fruit of the spirit.  We have to be careful though because this could easily be taken out of context.  We could pick just one of these, such as self-control and say something like, there is no law against anything I do as long as I display self-control.  This would be false.  However, when we live within the guidelines of the Bible, we can do some things if we show self-control.  I few weeks ago I talked about drinking and how this has become the norm in the world today.  While I still believe we must be extremely careful to make sure that we don’t cause our brother to stumble, does the Bible say that you can’t drink at all?  No.  We are told we need to display self-control. 

Too often, the fruits of the Spirit are areas that we do not display enough.  Think about how the world would be different if only we spread more of these fruits instead of the hatred, hurt and malice that is often spread.  As Christians we are called to be the change.  We can change the world, one person at a time. 

How will you start spreading the fruits of the Spirit today?  For me, I need to start on this in my own home.  I need to show more gentleness with my son. I encourage each of you to look at where you can spread more fruit of the Spirit. 

Psalm 5

Psalm 5 (NKJV)

1 Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my meditation.

2 Give heed to the voice of my cry, My King and my God, For to You I will pray.

3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.

5 The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity.

6 You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7 But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; Their inward part is destruction; Their throat is an open tomb; They flatter with their tongue.

10 Pronounce them guilty, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels; Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, For they have rebelled against You.

11 But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

12 For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

God does not take pleasure in wickedness or evil, and He can’t accept sin in His presence because He is holy.  Yet God has graciously provided a way for sinners to be able to stand in His sight, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. But God will judge those who rebel and reject His Son; they will be pronounced guilty one day.

By contrast, those who love His name and trust in Christ will be saved. We can rejoice because God blesses the righteous (those who are in a right standing with Him).  We can be joyful because He surrounds us with His favor as a shield.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Immortality

I would guess most people like to think they are going to live forever (or at least a very long time). We don’t like to think or talk about or prepare for death, but it’s inevitable. Solomon didn’t like it either and realized all his wisdom, power and wealth couldn’t prevent it or predict it.  

Ecclesiastes 9:1-2a and 12    So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. ² All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.

¹² Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

As fish are caught in a cruel net,
    or birds are taken in a snare,
so people are trapped by evil times
    that fall unexpectedly upon them.

All people face death and no one knows exactly when. Our destiny is in God’s hands and His timing. We can spend lots of money to look younger or feel younger, but it won’t change the outcome. This life is temporary, whether it’s a few years or a century. Instead of chasing after immortality, let’s chase after that which is eternal.

II Corinthians 4:16-18     ¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Where are you and I focusing more on something temporal than eternal? What verses help you focus on what’s of eternal value?

Alice

Treasures

Matthew 6:19-21

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

My son and the cousins his age are headed up to my parent’s this week.  My mom has plans to take the kids on a Pirate Cruise (https://www.munisingpiratecruises.com/).  Yesterday my son started asking questions about it.  Would they get treasure?  Would there be real cannons?

This got me thinking about all the treasures we tend to store up here on earth.  Maybe it’s money, maybe it’s something different.  No matter what it is, the material things of this earth are only temporary.  If you pour all of your time and energy into something here on earth, that is where your heart is also. 

We are told that instead we should be storing up treasures in heaven.  What are treasures in heaven?  Investing in people, rather than things (Luke 12:32-22, Luke 14:13-14), faithfully enduring persecution (Matt. 5:11-12, 2 Cor. 4:16-18, 2 Tim. 4:8), loving your enemies (Matt. 5:43-48), praying in secret (Matt. 6:5-6), serving the Lord and his people (Matt. 10:41-42, 1 Cor. 3:9, Heb. 6:10).

There are just a few examples.  When it comes to the greatest treasure we can have, it will be seeing God face-to-face.

Are you investing in earthly or heavenly treasures today?