Part 1 of Living A Worth Life series. Listen here.
How can you hear the facts about Jesus and walk away indifferent? You either accept him or reject him. There is no middle ground. It’s important that we see Jesus as more than just an important or a good man, or even as a prophet. He was so much more!
In our look at Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he restores Jesus as the center of our spiritual walk. We are called to live a life worthy of him, as the Gospel tells us.
My blog posts are usually prompted by my pastor’s sermons each Sunday. I always feel challenged to dig a little deeper. I always take notes, but I won’t claim that I get everything written down. I do hope to get the main thoughts and can compare them to what I find in the Bible. We are challenged to never take our pastor’s word, but to study God’s Word and see for ourselves the truth.
Our scripture this week is found in Colossians 1:1-14. Paul with his student, Timothy, is writing to the church at Colosse. He writes from a place of humility about faith, hope, and love. It is written to God’s holy people, addressing everyone, and the faithful, a representation of those who have remained faithful and not strayed away from the messages preached to them by Paul and Timothy.
When believers compromise Christ by adding their own faults or sins, accompanied by a life that doesn’t exactly live out what we claim, we find pride, hate, and violence. The world is full of it. Much claimed in God’s name. This makes me so sad, but there is hope, because there are many who still teach the ways of Jesus. That’s what must shine through to those who don’t know him yet.
- Is Jesus really the center of everything?
- Are the claims of Jesus arrogant?
It’s hard to follow all of the laws of Moses and live up to all that is expected of Christians. But, I’ve got news for you, none of us are perfect. We are not God and we won’t always get it right. The important thing is that we keep trying. We are given grace for a reason.
We make excuses for behaviors and actions that are sinful and go against what Jesus stands for. But instead of attacking those who may be a little, or a lot, off target, we need to show some grace, too.
Paul didn’t make an effort to tear down the faults in their beliefs, he simply gave them the truth of Jesus so they would understand better.
We need to really examine Jesus’ life and understand him better. When we’ve really done that fully, we will know when we’re hearing something that is not true. We can only do this when we’ve taken the time to build a relationship with him
- Have faith because of what you’ve already seen Him do in your life
- Have hope in His promises for your future
- Love unconditionally, like He loves
Giving thanks and prayer are nonnegotiable starting points in the faith. I know it may be hard to get in the habit of that, but it so important in your walk with Jesus. Make it the priority of your day. Spend 5 minutes with him every morning. Read a scripture and say a prayer. Surely you can carve 5 minutes out of your day for your Creator. Set an alarm to remind you each morning and soon it will just become habit.
Have a thankful heart and be in relationship. Those are the core competencies of being a Christian.
Paul built up those in Colosse. He didn’t condemn, he pointed out what they were doing right.
- Faith – “because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus…
- Love – 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…
Col. 1:4-5
Notice that they had love for all the saints (what? Not for those outside the church? We are called to a supernatural love, not just a feeling.) We are to love with the care for others. Hope is the catalyst to grow our love of others. Look at what we have to look forward. To.
Ultimately God wins. Our hope is focused on the future, not in the latest news story. We can be vulnerable to the claims of those we feel have their finger on the pulse of the world. Those with more experience, say politicians, for instance.
We are prone to wander.
We get swayed by what we hear in the news, but remember, we know how it all ends. Yes, expect things to get worse, but the victory belongs to Jesus!
If you haven’t dug into the Gospel, you’re trying to build your own kingdom. The Gospel is universal. Trust it and trust the Lord.
HE’S GOT THIS!!!
We have a prodigal God who loves us extravagantly, abundantly!!!
WALK IN A WORTHY MANNER
Blessings to you and yours…
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 