I struggle. I struggle with reading about all those people who have gone before me, and who, by my estimation, had bigger and bolder faith. I know comparison is often not good. I read about how some forms of comparison are bad. I can intellectually agree with those assessments. However, I realize the distance between my brain and my heart is much more than 12 to 18 inches. I, therefore, write this bit with trepidation.
Read MoreWords matter. Word meaning drifts. Beyond drifting, there is distortion. The meaning of some words can change so much over time that folks abandon using them the way they were originally intended. Can you think of any words that fit the above description? Often, when I am writing these reflections, I pause at the opening words I am going to use. My goal is to be helpful. To invite you to think about God’s Word in a way that draws you deeper in your relationship with God through Jesus. I also know we all have history, and that one little word can set a person down a path that is not helpful…
Read MoreMost of us, as we work our way through life, have hopes, dreams, and desires. Try a few of these on for size: a family, a good job, and health. Or perhaps you desire more than a good job—you are looking for a career, or maybe even more. Regarding health, maybe you desire to be accomplished at a hobby or sport which demands a great mind and/or body. What’s your biggest dream? Your ultimate aim? Colossians invites us to consider having as our Ultimate Aim, Jesus: knowing him and making him known.
Read MoreOne of the most memorable weddings I attended was when the Pastor turned to the bride during his sermon and said, “You need to submit to your husband.” There was an audible gasp from those attending. In our culture today, phrases which read “wives submit, and slaves obey” evoke an immediate repulsion. These kinds of verses have indeed been misused and misapplied to excuse ungodly behavior. And that’s often why many dismiss the Bible as old-fashioned at best, and, at worst, repressive. Yet as a person who claims to be a follower of Jesus, I feel compelled to not dismiss His Word. I also don’t want to twist these words into something more palatable. Let me unpack what I mean.
Read MoreWhen it comes to this section of Scripture, I remember an event with my wife. Let’s call that event “Dueling Verses”. We were discussing the parallel verses in Ephesians. I said to my soon-to-be bride, “Well, I think the Bible says you need to submit.” To which she replied, “I do, and you need to love me the way Jesus loved the church, and even died for it.” Then she added, “Oh by the way, you also need to deliver me “wrinkle-free” (see Ephesians 5:27). I don’t duel anymore with her—she always wins! Seriously, though, how do we understand this section from Colossians?
Read MoreEver met an expert? Someone who has truly mastered their area? Maybe you are such a person. Here is what I want to suggest from the masters who have mentored me—they always have the goal in sight AND they have a handful of fundamentals that they turn to over and over again. It is not like they have 100 different tools/fundamentals. No, they have maybe 5 to 10 that they can apply over 100 different ways. They have great muscle memory. And Mastering takes time. I would simply point out: you and I need to become experts at following Jesus, and it is not natural, it is spiritual—God is involved! So, what does that look like?
Read MoreI wrestled in high school. While making-weight each match seemed to be a 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week obsession, I liked it. And practice—we practiced a lot. We spent hours doing repetitive wrestling moves: over and over, to develop muscle memory of the fundamental skills. Because in the match, my body needed, in a split-second, to react. Why all this talk of wrestling? Well, I have been wrestling with Colossians, especially chapter 3. Wrestling not just as I write this blog post, but in life. Let me be transparent…
Read MoreA new golf pro and his family moved to town. He invited me to play a round of golf with him. I was nervous about it. He was a pro and I was a hacker. He mentioned that with all the moving, he had not swung a club in a while. You could have fooled me. I mentioned this observation to him, and he talked about muscle memory. Muscle memory is not a memory stored in your muscles, but your brain. Your brain memorizes the sequence, the procedure, that your body goes through to bring about any number of outcomes: a golf swing, a piece of music on an instrument, and more. Why bring it up? Because there is this tension as we follow Jesus. We keep sinning. Yes, when we turn to Jesus he forgives our sins; he wipes them away. That means he has paid your debt. The cost and consequences of that sin, before God, have been dealt with. Amen! But what’s next?
Read MoreI have several good friends who describe themselves as “friends of Bill W”. You may know what that means. It means they follow the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps. I have tremendous respect for them. I have learned so much about following Jesus from them. They are people who understand life is a spiritual process—and they understand the need to put things in their life to death. Listen to the words in this letter: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…” and “But now you must put them all away…”
Read MoreYou all never see the raw starting point of each blog entry. Can I just tell you I have a great editor? She has two large tasks: help me not commit heresy, and sort out my grammar. It is easy to slip into heresy, but that is for another day. Today I want to tell you about my spiritual gift of creating new uses for commas, mixing past-present-future tenses, confusing masculine-feminine… the list goes on. My so-called excuse is that I am a math/science person. That is a poor excuse. Bad grammar at best confounds, and at worse confuses. If the goal is communication—compelling and clear communication—then correct composition is key. Why am I bringing this up? Yesterday we read that you and I had died. Today, us dead people are told to put to death certain things in our lives. Is there a grammatical issue with past and present tense?
Read MoreI am guessing that most of us would not like to be labeled as living with our heads in the clouds. It does not sound like a compliment. On the other hand, I think we would embrace the idea of living for a vision—a larger goal—especially when that aim is noble. The one—head in the clouds—can mean you are somehow disconnected from the real world, possibly out of touch. The other—living for a vision—implies quite the opposite. Consider the opening of the passage we read today. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.” Have you ever met a follower of Jesus who has their mind set on things above?
Read MoreI am writing this post as I am reading Colossians. I am about to move from chapter 2 into chapter 3, which starts with the words “If then you have been raised with Christ...” and then offers all sorts of instructions. Before we tackle them, some questions might be asked: should do those things? Why? Am I really confident in Jesus? Am I confident that following him is really the best path?
Read MoreGoogle the words “be confident” and the results are plentiful. We want to be confident. Instinctively we know that confidence helps us move forward. I have jokingly said that my motto is “frequently wrong—never in doubt.” Full disclosure requires I tell you I borrowed this from a coworker, but I am confident it applies to me! (Perhaps I confuse over-confidence for confidence.) Why ask about confidence? Because today’s reading says, not once, but twice, “Let no one...” —let no one what? Take away from you your standing with God.
Read MoreWhat is it you are really good at? Seriously. Think about what you do well, and hold that answer in your mind. Why? Because I want you to consider the following. That thing you do well—do you have a specific approach, or formula, or theory about it? Do you have a set of fundamentals that you use over and over again? Let me offer one example. I snow-skied for many years—from age 5. The fundamentals of snow skiing do not change, whether you are a beginner or expert. The difference between the beginner and the expert is the ability to apply those fundamentals consistently, and repeatedly, in varying situations. Paul, in this part of the letter to the Colossians, gives us the fundamentals—and he does it by poking at the people who are undermining the fundamentals of following Jesus.
Read More“Just the facts, Ma’am.” An often-used line by TV character Joe Friday on the show Dragnet. Or how about, “Get to the point!” An oft-used expression in conference rooms across the world, as mind-numbing presentations drag on. Perhaps you might feel that way in Paul’s short letter to the Colossians. Yet, like any letter, this one has a few themes—you might even say, a main point! And today, in these few verses, we get to it—a point Paul communicates that he has been laboring for over and over…
Read MoreThere you are, trundling along, and you hit a speed bump—maybe you even smacked right into a wall—thump! Ever happen to you? Happen this month? Maybe this week? Maybe today? I am talking about when an area of your life is working, and lining up with how you think about that area of your life. Then it happens. It feels like it just does not fit; like you have just hit a wall. Why bring this up? Because if I am honest with you, there are days when I read the Bible and I hit a speed bump. We read today, “I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions…”
Read MoreWhat is your boss like? Really like? The research is solid. People quit their jobs, most of the time, because of their boss. There are times when people like their jobs and supervisors and are genuinely called to something bigger. However, the quality and character of the boss, the boss’s willingness to sacrifice for you, is the key factor in determining if you stay or leave. For many today, we want a boss we can look up to. This short little letter we are reading, in part, reminds us of the character and quality of our Lord, our Boss.
Read MoreHave you ever started something, and as you began it made sense, but then you got stuck? I think of those picture mazes, with countless dead-ends. Sometimes it helps to start at the end and work backwards. Why bring this up? Because at times I get stuck midway through parts of this letter. Just as in his greeting, he is weaving in God and Jesus. Jesus and God are in his thinking, his praying, and his writing.
Read MoreI expect most of us do not receive many personal letters these days. True for you? My daily mail is made up of flyers, bills, and catalogs. It was not always that way. Arrival of the daily mail used to create anticipation—perhaps we would receive news from a friend, or even a birthday card!
Read MoreWe started this journey awhile back: April 16, some 165 days ago. When you spend over 5 months working at something, it pays to reflect. When we began, I wrote: “And sometimes it's messy. But we need to learn our story. Not facts, but rather our family story. Because at the heart of that story is our God. Reading Genesis, we will come face to face with evil and good; hatred and love; and law and grace. What we will find is not just the story of humanity, but of how our God loves us.” As I reflect a few things stand out. They have to do with God’s family, God’s purpose, God’s method, and more…
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