September 24, 2023 IF INDEED
Colossians 1:21-23 “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”
(Just a quick comment before we get to the subject of this blog. The verse above makes the statement that at one point, we were all hostile in mind and engaged in evil deeds. If you were saved at a young age, you may say that you were not hostile or doing evil deeds. However, any life apart from God being our Savior, is ungodly or sinful by nature and is in need of redemption-no matter how ‘good’ one may be.) It is God who is all powerful and all knowing and His purposes are always fulfilled. YET, we have a part to play; we must work with Him as He works in us. God could just ‘snap His finger’ and we would be perfect in this life; or He could have made us like robots. But, that is not what He chose to do. It is difficult to conceive, but God has a masterful plan and purpose in what He does and in what He is presently doing, and the amazing thing is that He gives us the power of choice. At the same time, however, because His Spirit is always drawing us to God, we can never be prideful about the fact that we are working with God. It is God’s plan and purpose to present us to Himself ‘holy and blameless and beyond reproach.’ That is a major plan-and that is where we are headed. Here’s the deal; we can embrace that awesome plan of God for our lives and enjoy the journey, OR we can resist His work in us and pursue our own way-even if we choose that route, in the end we will stand before Him holy and blameless-but it will be as through fire. In other words, in this life, we will suffer the consequences of not working with Him. It’s a good question to ask of ourselves: how seriously do we take the gospel-the word of God? I fear that we at times, perhaps unconsciously, take the gospel as optional. The good news is that we can choose to continue in the faith and to be established and to be steadfast in the gospel-not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Continuing in the faith is something we do daily, no matter the circumstances. For sure there are times when we do not feel very spiritual and there are times when it seems that life is not what it should be; but it is in those times we must continue to live by faith in God and continue walking in His ways. God calls us to be firmly established and steadfast in the hope of the gospel. The gospel-faith in God-is an anchor that holds no matter the intensity of the storm.
Colossians 2:6-7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
Blessings, Buddy
Colossians 1:21-23 “And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”
(Just a quick comment before we get to the subject of this blog. The verse above makes the statement that at one point, we were all hostile in mind and engaged in evil deeds. If you were saved at a young age, you may say that you were not hostile or doing evil deeds. However, any life apart from God being our Savior, is ungodly or sinful by nature and is in need of redemption-no matter how ‘good’ one may be.) It is God who is all powerful and all knowing and His purposes are always fulfilled. YET, we have a part to play; we must work with Him as He works in us. God could just ‘snap His finger’ and we would be perfect in this life; or He could have made us like robots. But, that is not what He chose to do. It is difficult to conceive, but God has a masterful plan and purpose in what He does and in what He is presently doing, and the amazing thing is that He gives us the power of choice. At the same time, however, because His Spirit is always drawing us to God, we can never be prideful about the fact that we are working with God. It is God’s plan and purpose to present us to Himself ‘holy and blameless and beyond reproach.’ That is a major plan-and that is where we are headed. Here’s the deal; we can embrace that awesome plan of God for our lives and enjoy the journey, OR we can resist His work in us and pursue our own way-even if we choose that route, in the end we will stand before Him holy and blameless-but it will be as through fire. In other words, in this life, we will suffer the consequences of not working with Him. It’s a good question to ask of ourselves: how seriously do we take the gospel-the word of God? I fear that we at times, perhaps unconsciously, take the gospel as optional. The good news is that we can choose to continue in the faith and to be established and to be steadfast in the gospel-not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Continuing in the faith is something we do daily, no matter the circumstances. For sure there are times when we do not feel very spiritual and there are times when it seems that life is not what it should be; but it is in those times we must continue to live by faith in God and continue walking in His ways. God calls us to be firmly established and steadfast in the hope of the gospel. The gospel-faith in God-is an anchor that holds no matter the intensity of the storm.
Colossians 2:6-7 “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
Blessings, Buddy
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