Clothe Yourself With Good Things

Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Colossians 3:14

"As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Col 3:12 NRSV

We are not to be doormats. We are to stand firmly on the truth, which is the Word of God. Jesus, and in the end his disciples, did not back down from the truth. They stood firmly on God's Word and on His promises.

But, neither are we to be bullies asserting our rights over the rights of others. Paul encourages the Colossians to treat one another with compassion and kindness. We are to try to have empathy for others; to, as the saying goes: "walk a mile in the shoes of others." We are to listen to all sides with humility; humbling ourselves so that we do not put our needs over the needs of others, and with empathy so that we can act with compassion and kindness to those who are suffering.

May God reconcile us to Himself and to one another, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

God's Peace - Pr. J

Armor of God

"Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  Eph 6:11-12 NRSV

 

Sometimes we forget that the battle is not against each other; but, against the spiritual forces that attack every one of us. We forget and when we forget we forget to pray even for our enemies that they might change (repent) and receive the peace of the Lord so that we all might live in peace; so that we all might live in the joy of His presence.

 

Yes, the evil one does manifest himself in humankind and we do find ourselves in conflicts and wars. To protect those who cannot protect themselves there are times that we must engage in physical warfare. But, even in those times the spiritual warfare must be paramount. We can never forget to wear the armor that the Lord has provided us. We are to at all times and in places wear the belt of truth, a breastplate of righteousness, shoes to help us go out and proclaim the gospel of peace, the shield of faith so that the evil one's arrows will be thwarted, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). Even as we venture forth wearing this armor we should always and in all places remember to pray. (Eph 6:14-18) Pray in the Spirit that we do the Lord's will and not our own. Pray that God is with us; that, the battle might be won and that the devil have no power over us or any whom God loves. 

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Corinthians 5 Representing Jesus

1 Corinthians 5 NIV
So much for the commonly accepted notion that we are not to judge one another.

Today we find Paul exhorting the Christians in Corinth to expel the immoral from among them. He is not saying that they are to be judging the world; those who do not know Christ. He is saying that we are to confront those whose are sexually immoral; and the greedy and swindlers; the idolaters; slanderers; and drunkards and yet claim to be a brother or sister in Christ. We are to remind them, as Paul has, that this is unacceptable for one who claims to be a Christian. Paul tells us that we are to expel that person from among us.

No, the Christian should definitely not be judging the world's morality; not when our own house is such a mess. Sadly, the morality of the world crept into the church from the very beginning and is still there. It appears totally acceptable to live with various lovers and have children by various fathers none of whom were actually married to the woman. It is acceptable to prefer false idols; whether they are money, substances that make you drunk or high, or any of the multitudes of things we seek for self-pleasure over worshipping and serving the one true God. It's just the way it is. But, that is not the way it is suppose to be - not for the one who claims to follow Jesus. It is the beginning of a new year. It is not too late to resolve to change how we live and represent Jesus.

When I worked at the Juvenile Correction Facility I could tell which gangs which youth belonged to; which gang they "represented," just by observing them a little. It didn't take much. The tattoos, the clothes they wore; even how they tied their shoes were dead give-a-ways  as to who they were "representing." But, even more telling than what they wore were the actions that betrayed who they were loyal to. Who are we loyal to? Can the world tell or do we look and sound and act just like any other non-believer to them? To young readers and the old who insist on misrepresenting Christ; instead of gang signs try making the sign of the cross.

May God help us all to remember that it is Jesus whom we are to "represent."

God's Peace - Pr. J