See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
For the longest time I really believed having more money would solve all my problems. That conviction drove me through college, it drove me to work crazy hours at my job, it drove my decisions to relocate my family multiple times. I was (I thought) on the road to being handsome, smart, and rich…
One day I was having a conversation with my boss – a guy who I believed had everything I wanted – the job, the house, the money. As we talked he said these words, “I am a financial prisoner of this company and this job. I am resigned to being a prisoner.”
His words shook me. I thought “How can you be so unhappy when you have so much?” Over the following months I began to notice how often Scripture warns about the empty and exhausting life of the person devoted to pursuing worldly things. Somewhere in that season I began to ask myself why I was so convinced there was joy and hope in the pursuit of something the Bible repeatedly teaches contains no hope. I had been taken captive and I was working really hard to build the cage I was going to live in, just like my boss.
I read this verse with new eyes:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
This verse begs a question you should learn to ask yourself continually about everything you believe, “Why do you believe that?” Why do you believe what you believe about church, about money, about marriage, about work, about sex, about how you speak, how you look? Is what you believe transformed (or being transformed) by gospel of Jesus or are you captive to the transient and fleshly wisdom of the culture? Are you letting what you see in the mirror and on the pages of magazines teach you more about yourself that what you see in the Bible? Do you sift the recommendations and opinions of your friends through the filter of God’s Word or does their influence have you captive?
It is a down and dirty every day, every thought kind of question, “Why do I believe that?”
In Christ there is freedom. Freedom from the grind of religious obligation and freedom from the prison chains forged by the relentless pursuit of things and comfort that over consume our time and our resources and leave us with full garages and empty souls. See to it that no one takes you captive!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Remember This
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
I got my picture taken by the red light camera last Sunday – on my way to church! I spilled a cup of hot oatmeal in my lap and while I was messing with it I wasn’t paying attention to the red light I blew past. Oh I stopped… I just stopped about thirty feet past where I was supposed to stop. “Poof…Smile…That’ll be 75 bucks.”
What a fiasco! A little bit of oatmeal spills out and messes up my pants, my car seat, and my wallet.
It’s surprising what a little bit of hot oatmeal can do to your commute, or a little bit of too hot pizza can do to the roof of your mouth, or a sip of too hot coffee can do to your tongue. Even more surprising is what your tongue can do to your life, your friends, your spouse, your neighbor. In the Bible, James says your tongue is like a little bit of fire that can set a whole forest ablaze!
You know it’s true. You know how to use your tongue as a weapon. You know how to use it to start fires and to fight fire with fire. You can flatter and flog with it and you can smooth talk and swear.
That is why Ephesians 4:29 has been a significant verse for me for years – because I know I sin continually with my tongue, and I don’t want to. I like this verse because it causes me to consider what I am supposed to be doing with my tongue and it gives me a path to confession and repentance when my mouth spills corrupting talk. This verse is sweet when I am silent, encouraging, and grace giving but sour as lemons when I sin. I like that.
Ephesians 4:29 gives you a simple set of purposes for the words you speak: encourage and give grace. It is a wonderful thing when you engage your obedience before you speak and ask yourself “Are the words in the pipeline between my brain and my pie hole about to encourage and give grace?” When not, repurpose or shut up.
My favorite part of this verse, and the most difficult, is the little phrase “as fits the occasion…” That means I’m supposed to actually notice and be considerate of all the people who will hear what I say. It means that I need to consider the situation of the other person and not just my own self-centeredness. It means I should remember that every word I speak communicates what I value, what’s on my agenda, even describes my relationship with God, and that’s the kicker.
Jesus said our words are just the fruit of our nature; he said our words are only rooted in the soil of our heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) When I hear my words I am too often confronted with my corrupted heart. The scorched earth my words can produce is no greater than the scorched earth from whence they come. I don’t want to be scorched earth. I want to be a grace giver. I want to be an encourager. I want to be Kingdom considerate of other people. I want to be the guy who has the heart to let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
I got my picture taken by the red light camera last Sunday – on my way to church! I spilled a cup of hot oatmeal in my lap and while I was messing with it I wasn’t paying attention to the red light I blew past. Oh I stopped… I just stopped about thirty feet past where I was supposed to stop. “Poof…Smile…That’ll be 75 bucks.”
What a fiasco! A little bit of oatmeal spills out and messes up my pants, my car seat, and my wallet.
It’s surprising what a little bit of hot oatmeal can do to your commute, or a little bit of too hot pizza can do to the roof of your mouth, or a sip of too hot coffee can do to your tongue. Even more surprising is what your tongue can do to your life, your friends, your spouse, your neighbor. In the Bible, James says your tongue is like a little bit of fire that can set a whole forest ablaze!
You know it’s true. You know how to use your tongue as a weapon. You know how to use it to start fires and to fight fire with fire. You can flatter and flog with it and you can smooth talk and swear.
That is why Ephesians 4:29 has been a significant verse for me for years – because I know I sin continually with my tongue, and I don’t want to. I like this verse because it causes me to consider what I am supposed to be doing with my tongue and it gives me a path to confession and repentance when my mouth spills corrupting talk. This verse is sweet when I am silent, encouraging, and grace giving but sour as lemons when I sin. I like that.
Ephesians 4:29 gives you a simple set of purposes for the words you speak: encourage and give grace. It is a wonderful thing when you engage your obedience before you speak and ask yourself “Are the words in the pipeline between my brain and my pie hole about to encourage and give grace?” When not, repurpose or shut up.
My favorite part of this verse, and the most difficult, is the little phrase “as fits the occasion…” That means I’m supposed to actually notice and be considerate of all the people who will hear what I say. It means that I need to consider the situation of the other person and not just my own self-centeredness. It means I should remember that every word I speak communicates what I value, what’s on my agenda, even describes my relationship with God, and that’s the kicker.
Jesus said our words are just the fruit of our nature; he said our words are only rooted in the soil of our heart. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) When I hear my words I am too often confronted with my corrupted heart. The scorched earth my words can produce is no greater than the scorched earth from whence they come. I don’t want to be scorched earth. I want to be a grace giver. I want to be an encourager. I want to be Kingdom considerate of other people. I want to be the guy who has the heart to let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Remember This
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
This is a good memory verse because we need to be continually reminded to confess our sin. It isn’t enough to live with the general understanding that we are all sinners. It isn’t enough to live with a private, passive awareness that I am personally a sinner. John says we must confess our sin - we must be specific, relentless, unrestrained in honesty about our unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
This verse begins with an unsettling word, if. If we confess Jesus is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. Don’t be confused, John is not saying that we are unforgiven for everything left unconfessed. The grace and mercy Jesus purchased for us on the cross exceeds our ability to describe how unrighteous we are – so John is not suggesting forgiveness is tit-for-tat, “I’ll wait until you admit it to bless you” kind of thing. He is not talking about that at all.
John is talking about the difference between a person who will confess their sinfulness and one who won’t. I believe most people who confess no sin are people who believe deep down they have none, they have defined sin in such a way as to see it all over the lives of others and either absent in themselves or at least minimal in themselves by comparison. That is why John says in this passage “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves…” He is addressing our willing blindness to our own sin and the accompanying belief that we are somehow good enough in other ways to compensate for it apart from the atoning blood of Jesus.
I could be wrong, but I think we refuse to confess sin because we choose to view our sin as unimportant and less destructive than the grave sins we can so readily see in the lives of other people. But when we think like that we do much harm to our souls. When we refuse to confess we live with an abiding tension in our hearts between the holiness of God we long to know and the repressed knowledge of our active and continual sinfulness that separates us from him. It is a miserable way to be a “Christian.”
John is offering us freedom in Christ from the soul destroying weight of abiding sin and the relentless effort of hiding and blaming and defending ourselves. What good news! You don’t have to not be a sinner; you only have to have the faith to admit you are a sinner. You only have to believe God loves you the way he really loves you so you go to him and tell him the truth knowing his love for you is unchanged by your failures.
When you do you will find your love for God will grow, your desire for his presence will grow, and instead of hiding and denying your sin you will seek it out and present it to God – and you will be cleansed, forgiven, loved. You will know that you are truly loved.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
This is a good memory verse because we need to be continually reminded to confess our sin. It isn’t enough to live with the general understanding that we are all sinners. It isn’t enough to live with a private, passive awareness that I am personally a sinner. John says we must confess our sin - we must be specific, relentless, unrestrained in honesty about our unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
This verse begins with an unsettling word, if. If we confess Jesus is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us. Don’t be confused, John is not saying that we are unforgiven for everything left unconfessed. The grace and mercy Jesus purchased for us on the cross exceeds our ability to describe how unrighteous we are – so John is not suggesting forgiveness is tit-for-tat, “I’ll wait until you admit it to bless you” kind of thing. He is not talking about that at all.
John is talking about the difference between a person who will confess their sinfulness and one who won’t. I believe most people who confess no sin are people who believe deep down they have none, they have defined sin in such a way as to see it all over the lives of others and either absent in themselves or at least minimal in themselves by comparison. That is why John says in this passage “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves…” He is addressing our willing blindness to our own sin and the accompanying belief that we are somehow good enough in other ways to compensate for it apart from the atoning blood of Jesus.
I could be wrong, but I think we refuse to confess sin because we choose to view our sin as unimportant and less destructive than the grave sins we can so readily see in the lives of other people. But when we think like that we do much harm to our souls. When we refuse to confess we live with an abiding tension in our hearts between the holiness of God we long to know and the repressed knowledge of our active and continual sinfulness that separates us from him. It is a miserable way to be a “Christian.”
John is offering us freedom in Christ from the soul destroying weight of abiding sin and the relentless effort of hiding and blaming and defending ourselves. What good news! You don’t have to not be a sinner; you only have to have the faith to admit you are a sinner. You only have to believe God loves you the way he really loves you so you go to him and tell him the truth knowing his love for you is unchanged by your failures.
When you do you will find your love for God will grow, your desire for his presence will grow, and instead of hiding and denying your sin you will seek it out and present it to God – and you will be cleansed, forgiven, loved. You will know that you are truly loved.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Remember This...
Remember this.
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 him 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 to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:15-20
When I first started following Jesus, some thirty plus years ago now, this is one of the first texts of Scripture I memorized. These verses are a succinct expression of the gospel. They teach us who Jesus is and they affirm that our whole faith rests on his identity and the blood of his cross. They gave me, and still give me, a rich sense of security. Every time I remember them they recall to me that my hope is in Jesus' power and blood and not, mercifully, in my own worthiness or merit.
All things are created by Jesus and for Jesus – Jesus is God eternal.
All things were reconciled to God through Jesus – Jesus is the Redeemer.
All things are reconciled to God by Jesus’ blood at the cross – Jesus is the Savior.
Here’s a new year’s challenge to you: Memorize this text. When you have it memorized e-mail me and tell me you have it down. I may find you and have you share it with the church (that would be awesome!) While you are memorizing soak up the hope and power of this great truth; let it sink into your heart and into your bones – let it change you.
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 him 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 to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:15-20
When I first started following Jesus, some thirty plus years ago now, this is one of the first texts of Scripture I memorized. These verses are a succinct expression of the gospel. They teach us who Jesus is and they affirm that our whole faith rests on his identity and the blood of his cross. They gave me, and still give me, a rich sense of security. Every time I remember them they recall to me that my hope is in Jesus' power and blood and not, mercifully, in my own worthiness or merit.
All things are created by Jesus and for Jesus – Jesus is God eternal.
All things were reconciled to God through Jesus – Jesus is the Redeemer.
All things are reconciled to God by Jesus’ blood at the cross – Jesus is the Savior.
Here’s a new year’s challenge to you: Memorize this text. When you have it memorized e-mail me and tell me you have it down. I may find you and have you share it with the church (that would be awesome!) While you are memorizing soak up the hope and power of this great truth; let it sink into your heart and into your bones – let it change you.
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