Outward symbols of Worship

Colossians 2:16-17

Having grown-up in Corpus Christ, Texas on the poor side of the tracks, we were taught manners, like taking your hat off when entering a business or church, to always say yes-ma’am and yes- sir to anyone older, but when it came to etiquette, like how to act in a formal setting, we missed that teaching.  You might say the Rice clan was not endanger of being embarrassed at a formal gathering, because most of us who lived on Liberty Drive would not be on the guest list.  

Our family went to church with others who shared our values and social standing and in those small Baptist churches you were in no danger of being embarrassed at the church picnic on etiquette, only the fast and the bold got the white meat of the chicken.  With that background I maybe a little short on knowledge in the area of formalism.

In the verses listed above the apostle Paul is warning the church against formalism and mysticism.  Because I had little exposure to anything close to formalism, I follow the advice of my friend Tommy Martin and looked up the word.  Formalism can be defined as “a strong or excessive emphasis on outward appearance of form instead of content or meaning.”   

It seems as if humans have always like to be religious, and religion can put on a great show, in fact religious people want to draw attentions to their actions.  The prophet Isaiah had this to say about religious folks, “The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” (Isaiah 29:13)  There is great danger in wanting others to see your good works, but in your heart being distant from God.

Paul was telling the people in Christ at Colossae not to get hung-up with these outward symbols of worship but to focus on setting Christ apart in your heart.  Colossians 2:17 states, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Once again I know you understand the word substance, but if it belongs to Christ, then we must have a clear understanding of the word.  Substance is a particular kind of matter or material.  It is also defined as the unchanging essence of something.  If you have a New King James and go to Hebrews 11:1, it states that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It is going to require faith to believe God formed the universe, look at Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”  My prayer is that each of us will take time each day to be still and look at the creation, and understand that only God can let us see the unseen, and the amazement of all that we pass by each day. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Not a game to lose

Colossians 2:15

The games change with age, most men my age are not playing football, they now play golf or tennis and many just watch the grandkids play all kinds of games, some like soccer with little understanding of the rules.  In our day we liked to triumph over our opponents, whether it was organized ball or football down at the big park, victory was always sweet.  In life it seems as if we always have an adversary, for me it has been how to keep the rock squirrels from eating my tomatoes.  It took time and money, but for the moment I have triumphed over them.  But many of our dear friends are in battles for life itself, and yet we do understand that all of us have that battle to face. 

We read in verse 14, that Jesus cancels the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, by being nailed to a cross for us.  But it is verse 15 that jumps off the page “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” In Ephesians chapter six we are told that our battles are not with people, it often seems as if they are, but it’s the devil, rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers, it is the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places that put the evil thoughts into our minds.  That is whom Jesus triumphed over on the cross. 

I hope you don’t mind, but lets go back to death, was that part of God’s plan for the first couple?  Remember the account in Genesis 3 where the serpent ask Eve why she was not eating that great fruit in the center of the garden, and her reply was, “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”  (Genesis 3-4)  We know that the serpent’s reply was “You will not surely die.” 
So now death is on the table, the devil tells the woman, no way will that fruit hurt you, in fact, it will make you like God, knowing good from evil.  It is important to understand the death was not just physical, it was spiritual death, it was living independent from the will of God, that is called sin, and sin brings about death.  Death has got our attention, it is terminal, and Jesus Christ was sent by His Father as the only antidote to stop death.

Most of us do not see physical death as our enemy, it’s just a truth you’re going to die a physical death.  We do not look at death as something to triumph over, but that is not how Jesus looks at death.  1 Corinthians 15: 24-27, Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.  For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.  The last enemy to be destroyed is death.  For he “has put everything under his feet.”  Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.”  Do not be deceived, all battles ended at the cross; Jesus won and it’s finished, and we who are in Christ have the victory!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Christian's often referred to as dirty Rotten Sinners

Colossians 2:12-14

Often, I have heard this statement from some well-meaning pastor or teacher;  “you are just a dirty rotten sinner saved by grace.”  When something is rotten it is extremely unpleasant to be around.  You often hear someone say, that person is spoiled rotten, and what he or she means is they have an unacceptable standard of living.  Is that really what has happen to a person who enters into a personal relationship with the Creator, Jesus Christ?  So the question is are we saints that sometimes sin, or are we who have entered into a relationship with Christ, nasty decaying compost?

I must tell you that every time someone makes that statement, my spirit screams; wrong, that’s not what God calls me, He calls me son, He has proclaimed me a new creation in Christ.  In verse 12, He states that the same power that raised Christ has also raised us and we are told that we are now seated with Christ in heaven.  Do I understand all of that, no way, but by faith in God who cannot lie, I totally believe it to be so.  Stop for a moment and ponder these verses 13-14, “And you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

Once all of us were under the control of sin, but by an act of love, God paid our debt by the blood of His only Son Jesus the Christ.  By the faith He gave us to believe, God also gave us grace to enter into Him and He to enter into us, and that is the most intimate relationship a human can have.  But God, at the moment you by faith ask Him to forgive your sins, and do what you had no ability to do, the canceling of the record of debt that stood against you; you entered into Christ, and you died to the control of sin.  You are a saint who sometimes by choice sins, and the Holy Spirit of God will confront you about that sin and it should break your heart. 

A person who has not passed from death (the control of sin) to life (the freedom to not sin) has little or no remorse for the sin in their life, that is unless they get caught.  But they are not sorry for the sin, but only what must be paid to make restitution.  Jesus Christ has already made restitution by His blood shed on the cross.

Yes, we are saints who sin we are the light of the world.  If you have any doubt about what God calls you go to 1Peter 2:9-10, and nowhere in Scripture does God refer to his Children as nasty, decaying compost or dirty rotten sinners.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Circumcision & Flesh

Colossians 2:11-12

I bet you have not given much thought to circumcision of late, it’s sure not on my little pea picking mind.  But verse eleven gives this insight “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ.” 

It is helpful for me to look up words so that what I think I understand is correct.  In the above verse we need to clarify two words, circumcision and flesh, it is a given that Christ is the in him used above.  So let us begin with the word “Circumcision”, this was the covenant between God and his chosen people: “You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised.  Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised.  So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant.” (Genesis 17:11-13)

Now the circumcision talked about above was made with human hands, so that is not the circumcision that Colossians is making reference to; God is talking about something that happens to a persons spirit at the very moment they enter into Christ by faith.  But what does it mean “by putting off the body of flesh?”  First, let’s deal with what is not being referred to, in no way is Scripture referring to the removing of the foreskin in this verse.  Nor is it making reference to biological tissues, which consists of skin, fat, skeletal muscles.

So what is being referred to as flesh in Colossians 2:12?  It is important to note that when flesh is used in the New Testament most of the time it is not about skin, it is about living independent of God.  Each of us, before entering into a relationship with Christ, learned how to get our needs met, and after we interred into Christ the battle is, will we depend on our flesh, or on Christ.  We should not be foolish in this area, our culture and the world system we live in tells us to look out for number one. 

In Romans 7:18, we have this account of the apostle Paul, sharing that he also is effected by this battle with his flesh.  “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”  What a message to all of us over achievers, Paul is trying in his ability to serve God, and that is called flesh.  We must always be on guard, our flesh can minister to the poor, it can help old people across the street, it will do many good things, but it wants the credit, and no lasting good dwells in the flesh.

If we replace the word “Jew” for Christian in Romans 2:28-29, it might help us grasp this message. “For no one is a (Christian) who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.  But a (Christian) is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.  His praise is not from man but from God.

From the Back Porch

Bob Rice

Is your life plugged into the Power source?

Colossians 2:9-10

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”  It would be somewhat strange to find a follower of Christ, a person who believes Jesus was born of a virgin, who’s Father was God, and who was sent to redeem them from the penalty of sin, not believing “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” 

Most believers in Christ are in full agreement with the truth listed above, they believe; “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.” (Colossians 1:15-16)  Yes, to believe any less would be foolish!

What about the last part of those verses, how are you doing with, “and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”  What does that mean, to be filled?  The dictionary gives this definition of the word fill, “put someone or something into (a space or container) so that it is completely or almost completely full.”  Is Colossians 2:10, telling us we are full of Christ Jesus?  Is it based on our performance or our relationship?

Often analogy helps me understand a truth, so this is my attempt using an electric car and the Holy Spirit.  A new electric car was delivered to my home, and I was told by the person who delivered it and I received instructions from the manufacturer that it had been tested before leaving the factory and was in perfect working order, it would only require that I plug it into an electric outlet for twelve hours before it would receive power to perform.  I acknowledge that fact to the person who delivered the car and also replied to the manufacturer that I knew it would require me plugging it into an electric outlet, so it could perform in the manner of it’s design.  I was so proud of that car, it had a special place in the garage, but it never had any power to do what it was designed to do.  You see I would tell and show my electric car to others, but it was waiting for me to follow the instructions of the manufacturer.  It was waiting to be plugged in!  My dear friend Pete Peterson, told how his life at church was like a unplugged vacuum cleaner, he was into all the duties of the church, but he had never plugged into Christ, his life was all what Pete could do, till Christ became his source of power.

Listen and act on what Jesus is telling you in John 14:15-21, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.  You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he is who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Many of us Christians are like the electric car; we are in the garage, only needing to follow the Manufacturers instructions.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Enslaved, not us, are you sure?

 

Colossians 2:8

How can anyone in the American Church grasp the message of verse eight?  Most of us have never been enslaved, or have we?  We have the history of many great nations who were taken captive not by enemies from other nations, but from the enemies within.

Rome is a great example of a culture often compared to ours that was taken captive by philosophies that led to moral degradation.  It did not happen quickly, it was a slow process and it came from the leaders and filtered down into the populist.   It began with the breakdown of the family, the lust for something new, and degraded into a homosexual life style.

What do we know about the early church at Rome?  The apostle Paul shares the following in Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.”  These Roman Christians were the real thing, how do we know that, faith always comes to the forefront in times of suffering, hardships, and various trials.  It is in this opening letter to the church at Rome that Paul states; “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

The church at Rome was a light in the middle of a culture of corruption, a culture that had no moral compass and the apostle Paul begins in verse 18, to describe a people who forget God’s basic laws.  Paul states that God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.  God has put His truth into their hearts and minds, but they have chosen to go the way of Sodom and Gomorrah and they are without excuse.  Paul tells us that in such a culture leaders and people claim to be wise, but God has allowed their thinking to become futile, and their foolish hearts to love darkness and sin.  So God let them have the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

“Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)

As I read Romans 1, it was as if I was reading about our Nation, the United States of America.  Is that not a very clear picture of the Congress of the United States; is it not a picture of our culture?  How did it happen, I believe it happened for the reason stated above.  Sin is not a word we use in 2010, it goes by other names; like liberalism, and Progressives, but its core value is to ignore the ways of God and do whatever your foolish heart desires.  It has it’s roots in self and the by products are every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  And if you just listen, you will see that they care nothing for truth, they are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil.

So what must Christians do: “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:6)  And one last thought, many of these Christians who lived by faith were used as human torches.  Rome did not survive and the United States may not either, but the Kingdom of God is still with us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The year of Nostalgia

 

Colossians 2:6

In my lifetime it seems that this year has been the year of nostalgia.  On the Internet people are talking about how great life was in the fifties, many are saying they wished they could return to the simple life of their childhood.  I must testify it was an easier life, and for those who had families it seems that they spent more time together.  But I must tell you that waking up with the sheets wet from your on sweat, is one thing I have no desire to return to.  It is enjoyable to think back to times in your past and recall many things, but given the choice, most of us would not return because we have grown accustomed to the technology of our time.

As a Christian, should we go back in our minds to recall how we were introduced to Christ?  Should we return to the events, which led up to our first meeting, and all the people God used to arrange it?  It might be of interest to understand that if you were consciously looking for Christ, or if the encounter seemed to come without any effort, or desire on your part.  How this may not be what many call Salvation, I’m talking about going back to your first encounter with Christ.  How did you act, did His presence make you want to follow Him or did you hear another voice that said not today, there is time for that later.

For me, later became 27 years, and reflecting back on those years, they were built around self, what I could get, and many bad habits and broken promises, and I became very fearful of the future.  You might ask, did I go hunting for Christ at this stage of my life and the answer is no, He came after me.  He sent my barber who had cut my hair for many years, and was what I considered a real man who seemed to be successful in all the areas I wasn’t.  I had noticed a change in him, but was not prepared for his invitation to a Bible study on that Wednesday.  I did not know that my barber, Bob had encountered Christ, and Christ in my barber was going to call me into an eternal relationship.

In Colossians 2:6, we read; “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”  Six months later after attending that Bible study and telling myself that I needed to get a new barber,  most Wednesdays I was sitting with those men in a Bible study.  One night in a motel in Victoria, Texas I read Romans 10:9 and I by the faith that God gave me acted on that faith, and once more I encountered Christ, but this time I bowed my knee and my heart to this great King of Kings, and entered into a relationship with Christ.

How did I receive Christ, and what did I bring to the party?  I did not bring one thing, but I exchanged fear for peace, hate for love, and Christ began to send others to show me how to abide in him.  I am still, at times, foolishly trying to live this Christian life in my own ability, only to once more be reminded by Christ that He alone has the ability to live the Christian life, it is His life lived in and through me.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Not being deluded by a plausible argument

Colossians 2: 4

Not being deluded by a plausible argument, what is that all about?  Plausible can be defined as: having a persuasive manner in speech or writing, often combined with an intention to deceive.”  We should have been very familiar with that word, it’s called deception, and it is encountered most days of our life.  Has a smooth talking politician ever lied to you?   Often, it sounds too good to be true, an example “Change you can live with” and “I will unify.”  What about the guys selling cars or the door-to-door sales person, or your child trying to do or go where they know you will not approve?  But the apostle Paul is not warning about those subjects, he is forewarning us about preachers, teachers, and others like college professors, who, after you put faith in Christ will distort the truth.  Their goal is to steal your hope, your joy, and to rob you of the peace and assurance that in Christ, you have all that is needed to live life on planet earth.

The Bible is full of “Watch-outs” but often we ignore them, is it because we are so smart in our spiritual lives or is it just being lazy?  In Romans 16:17-18, the apostle Paul is giving final instruction to the church at Rome; “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.  For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.”

The following is what the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth; “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.  For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)  Paul goes on in verses 13-15, with this insight, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.  Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

Paul is not the only voice of warning about being deluded by a plausible argument, this is what the apostle John said: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.  Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.  Watch yourselves, so that you nay not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. (2 John 7)  John tells that the key is to abide in the teaching of God’s word.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A great Mystery

 

Colossians 2:1-3

Do you enjoy reading a good mystery?  I can get lost in a book that draws me into the unknown; who did it, or how does it end?  But what about the mystery of God, can we really grasp or understand the God who is unseen?  Paul the apostle tells us that if we take hold of Christ Jesus, we have understanding of all the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  He also tells us that our hearts will be encouraged and knitted together with others who have attained this understanding in love. 

The mystery of God is something fallen man has longed to comprehend, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve.  Great prophets like Jeremiah have ask God questions that many of us have thought about, for example, “You are always righteous, O Lord, when I bring a case before you.  Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? (Jeremiah 12:1)  Surely Nicodemus is not the only one who has asked this question of God; “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”  (John 3:4)  This was the reply of Jesus, “Do not marvel that I say to you, ‘you must be born again.  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8)  How many have asked God this question; “Why me?” why do I have to suffer, why must I have cancer, why did my child die, and many other questions about suffering.  This is some of the revelation to that mystery; “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”  (Hebrews 12:11)  Jan and I have seen the outcome of a dear friend who had cancer and after she was cured, she told us and others that what seemed so terrible at the time, brought her very close to God and her young daughter told her that cancer changed their family for the better.

But the mystery of God has been made clear to all who will receive it; this is the mystery that was hidden from other generations.  “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The If's

Colossians 1:29

Since I left 3M Company, my mind has been focused on now I can do what I desire.  But as I am writing this I must admit that I never gave much thought to landscaping, spending time in the yard, or doing housework, but all of the above have become a major part of my time.  Often, I get tired from moving dirt or rocks, we have an abundance of rocks, and my thoughts go to; if I was younger, if I had the means to hire this job out, if someone would come to my aid and give me a hand.  However, I have been blessed to have neighbors who have been tremendous help and encouragement!

Then I think about the Christian life, it seems that so few carry the load for the many.  It seems as if only a few give to support the ministry, only a few will work with the children, and only a few will visit the sick, and when it comes to sharing the good news of redemption in Christ Jesus, the numbers are so small in comparisons to the Sunday worship crowd.  And in most Baptist churches you find some very tired people who just wish someone would come to their aid and give them a hand.

I have great news for all who have wrestled with the “Ifs.”  We have someone, who has been there at each step, but you and I have been too busy focused on the job at hand to notice.  The apostle Paul knew that his calling was beyond his human abilities, that he needed someone else; he needed strength and power that was beyond him. 

In fact I’m sure that Paul was not a Baptist, because he never thought he could accomplish this task of being an apostle to the Gentiles.  Verse 29, gives us the understanding of Paul’s thinking; “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.”   Paul understood that his job was to obey orders, to abide in the Spirit, and to allow Jesus to do it all for him.  Paul toiled and struggled, but he understood that Christ in him was the source of his power and strength.

Have we forgotten what the apostle told us earlier in this chapter; “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:11,12)  A soldier in the Christian army will have many hardships, but the Spirit of God will give him the ability to endure and the patience to see the hand of God working.  Where others get frustrated, the Spirit of God will give you joy in the middle of your worst storm, and you will find yourself giving thanks when others are in despair.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Is the Bridge out?

Colossians 1:28

Not that long ago I was on my way to a movie and it was late at night and it had been an unbelievable rain that day.   As I approached the creek that runs under the bridge on farm road 311, a light was shining up and down, it was a lone man in the rain and he was warning all that came that way that the bridge was out.  The road was well traveled, and this kind man who by his act of kindness had saved my life and many others, ask if I would take his place, he had to leave.  In a moment of gratitude with no regards for my safety, or the movies or the rain, I said that I would.  At first, many cars came and each was saved by my actions, but it was getting late and no one would take my place, I was cold, I was wet, I was hungry and I was all alone, and no one had come for over an hour.

I listened to a voice that said you have done enough, and nobody that you save cares to be of service to you.  But I heard another voice and it said, you must stay the course, the road is very dark, and many are still coming this way.   What should I do, one voice tells me of the danger, the waters are rising and the winds and the rain are much stronger than when I began.  The other is telling me that I am the only hope for any poor soul that comes down that road; I must stay, for many will perish if I leave.  And this thought came into my mine, this is why I put you on this road, this is why I put into your mind the movie.  Do I have a choice?

That was fiction, but is that not the story of every Christian?  Have we not been placed in our neighborhood, in our work place, and in our family to proclaim, to warn everyone and teach anyone who will listen, that without entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, your bridge is out.

Jesus said this; “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)  I did not say that, Jesus said that, and please believe him, your goodness will not get you into the Father’s presence, church membership will not work, having parents that were believers will not work, only bowing your knee to the King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s and His name is Christ Jesus.  The bridge to God the Father is out without Christ.  By the faith that you have, stop and agree with Jesus that He is the only way to His Father, and ask him to forgive you for trying to get on a road to God with out His bridge.  Agree with Him and in your heart ask Him to come into your life, and put you on His road to the Father.  I was on that road without a bridge and in a hotel room in Victoria, Texas, many years ago, I opened the Bible to Romans 10:9-10, I agreed with God that Jesus was my only bridge to the Father, and now it matters not what others do, He lights my path, He restores my soul, He is my Father and my God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A very special day at our home

 

Colossians 1:27

August 27 is a very special day at our home, because on that day some forty-five years ago Jan and I entered into covenant relationship.  We became roomies, and our goal was to become one. The Black preacher said this about becoming one, in that truth lie some good news and some bad.  It is not that we are not going to become one, but which one.  Let me just say that after a year or two it became apparent that we only had one choice.

The apostle Paul is referring to a mystery, “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  That might just take your breath away; Jesus the one Paul referred earlier as, the invisible God, the first born of all creation.  He goes on to say that he created all things, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible.  That He is before all things and in him, all things hold together.  When you by faith received what God himself gave you, acted on that faith, and asks Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord, and then Jesus enters into you.

Something amazing happens at that moment, at that very moment you were freed from condemnation, sin was paid for, and you were a new creation in Christ.  The old man the Bible talks about die to you, and Christ became your life.  Those all happened the moment you received Christ, and yet it may take you years to come to some understanding of those truths. 

In John 14:18-20, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.  Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me.  Because I live, you also will live.  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”   In John 17:22-23, is often called the “High Priestly Prayer” “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me.”  Yes, my dear sister and brother in Christ, Jesus came to indwell us, the apostle Paul states in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

God living inside of me, but so often, my thoughts and even my actions do not reflect that to be true, what is wrong with me?  If we jump ahead in our reading to Colossians 2:20, we find the answer, “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules.”  It gets real simple at this point, I choose my desires, I choose to live independent of God’s authority, or I choose to not believe what God has stated in His written word; the Bible.  I buy into church programs fostered in the minds of men, instead of abiding in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  In Galatians 3:3, Paul asked this question; “Are you so foolish?  Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Rejoyce in my Suffering

Colossians 1:24-26

Often, while reading the Scriptures I come to a statement that dazzles my simple mind.  Verse 24 is one such statement; “Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s affliction for the sake of his body, that is the church,” that’s not a misprint that is what the apostle Paul is writing to the church at Colossae.

My first thoughts are that Paul is in dire need of a psychiatrist, but then I encounter more of the same from others like the apostle Peter and the other apostles.  In the book of Acts chapter five and verses 40 and 41, we find the religious guys wanted to kill them and if it had not been for God using a teacher of the law name Gamaliel, who the people held in honor, they would have killed them.  Why would good religious folks do such things, because the name of Jesus and His love for them was a threat to their religion?  Things have not changed that much, the Muslim and others like the Chinese are still doing this today.  So look at Peter and the apostle’s response in verse 41, “The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”  I hope you understand that they did not call them bad names, they beat them and they went away rejoicing.

Could it be that you entered into a Covenant relationship without reading the requirements?  Christ Jesus has spoken on this area of suffering, and this is some of what He has said: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12)

Jesus said that these things would happen, persecution (Matthew 5:11), hatred (Matthew 10:22), loss of life (Matthew 10:39), renunciation of worldly treasures (Matthew 19:29), suffering (Acts 9:16), loss of reputation (1 Corinthians 4:10), and even death (2 Corinthians 4:11).  Most Christians want to take this out of the Covenant, many of us who go by the name of Christian are no threat to Satan or the false religious world system, in fact most of our neighbors would be surprise that we go by that name.

What do most Christians in the American church call suffering; the pastor did not speak to me, it took ten minutes to get our of the church parking lot, the air condition was too cold or too hot, they did not have coffee, the music was too loud, the service went too long, we call suffering the depriving of self, but God calls that flesh, and flesh is at war with the Spirit of God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob

Your Goodness

Colossians 1:21-23

I am a salesperson, and most of my life was spent developing the art of selling.  I’ve read many a self help books, some you may have read, “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie, “Ziglar on Selling” by Zig Ziglar, Becoming a Person of Influence” by John Maxwell and Jim Dornan, “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, and that is just the short list.  All of these are good reading, all of them will pump you up and if applied many of them will help you.  As I was giving the short list, this thought came into my mind, the world system is telling us we are good but we are not great, to be great will require something more of you.  And we may not tell anyone, in fact we may not even admit it to ourselves, but we all want someone to think we are great.  If you do not believe me, watch Pro-football and see the number of times a grown man looks at the camera after making a touch down and this comes from his mouth; “Hi mom”.

Just because you ask Jesus Christ into your life has not changed the desire or need to be seen as important or to strive for greatness.  I’ve come up with this theory, that most Christians have little or no understanding of whom they are.  It comes from either ignorance or unbelief, and maybe both.  Have you heard someone proclaim this testimony; I grew-up in church, I was a good person, I never did anything bad, I was not like (Bob Rice), you could add the name of any poser such as I, or the guy who did drugs, or beat his wife, or was a drunk.  You were good, but have you stopped to ask this question; whose scale is being used to do the measurement?

Could this be the reason that our Churches are without power, we have too many good people trying to earn greatness in the kingdom of God.  We have, you might say, “put our latter on the wrong wall”, we are not in agreement with God.   Jesus tells us of such a person, we call him a rich young man, and one day he came to Jesus and knelt before him and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?  No one is good except God alone.  You know the commandments; ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  And he said to him, “Teacher all these I have kept from my youth.”  (I’ve always been good)  And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”   (Mark 10:17-22)

Did you see action of our Lord, He loved him and being God knew that the young man had idols that were more important to him than having a relationship with Jesus.  This young rich man was much like many in the church; he wanted God to meet his terms.  We are told he went away disheartened and sorrowful, because he had great possessions.

This is what the Bible states in Colossians 1:21-23, “And you, (yes you) who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if in deed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”  Please, do not let your goodness keep you from having a personal relationship with Jesus, as did this rich young man.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice