Let your speech always be gracious

Colossians 4:6

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Like most instructions in Scripture, the one above is a great example of my failure to put it into my life style.  First, we must come to the understanding that it is not a suggestion or request it is successful living.  We may not understand what seasoned with salt is referring to, but we should understand the direction to be gracious in our speech.  My dear friend Carroll Ray Jr., who practiced and applied this verse in his life, always reminded me that most of us have preacher filters.  What is a preacher filter, it’s simple, that’s the preachers job to say those things, that’s what preachers do, so they are easily dismissed from our minds.

It came to mind that it might be helpful to understand the term seasoned with salt: Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible

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”It is a covenant of salt - That is, an incorruptible, everlasting covenant. As salt was added to different kinds of viands, not only to give them a relish, but to preserve them from putrefaction and decay, it became the emblem of incorruptibility and permanence.”

In Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”  If you have a problem with what Jesus is saying you might want to refer to Barnes’ notes on the Bible, or Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, both give great insight into the type of salt Jesus was making reference to.  It is my belief that you or I, by not letting the Holy Spirit guide us into the truth of instruction like Colossians 4:5, lose our ability to bring glory to our Father in heaven.  Jesus followed this with we are the light of the world, but if we hide our light, of what value are we in the kingdom of God.

It requires more that self-will it requires setting our minds on this instruction.  It will require us to ask the Holy Spirit to give us victory over our flesh, and it’s desire to be heard or in my case to come across as funny or as if I knew something that I am totally ignorant about.  That’s the kind of flesh I showed up on planet earth with, and it is a daily battle to stop and listen to this instruction about how to be light in a world of darkness.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Best use of Time

Colossians 4:5

“Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, make the best use of the time.”

In one verse we have three main points; wise conduct, outsiders, and time.  It reminds me of the many times mother would give me instructions as a child before I went to town by myself.  It went something like this; “Bobby, make sure you are on your best behavior, you only have a quarter plus your bus fare, so spend it wisely, and be polite, but do not talk with strangers, and whatever you do watch the time, so that you do not miss the 5:30 bus.”  We had that conversation many times.

In the Scripture above who is being referred to as outsiders?  An outsider is any person who was not a follower of Christ.  And what are we being admonished to do, “conduct ourselves in a wise way, is that a practice of the church in 2010?  We are given clear instruction in Scripture on applying this standard of living, one such passage is 1 Peter 3:8-9, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”  Peter had no misgivings on the statement above he knew that in his own life it required setting his mind on his conduct to outsiders.

I bet you are in agreement with the apostles on being wise in your conduct toward outsiders, but we seem not to set our minds on doing this before we begin our day, and the next thing that happens is we are repaying evil with evil or insult with insult.  What if we chose to bless them, agreeing with God about our calling.  And then the question about the best use of time must be addressed; but how can we best use the time God has given us?

God has not called us to be a doormat for the world, but a light that is used to expose the darkness.  But we should never forget that once we also walked in darkness.  Ephesians chapter five gives clear instruction on how to walk in this world and the use of our time.  Each of us would be wise to read chapter five often and take to heart verses 15-17, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”  How I need to set my mind on Colossians 4:5, “Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, make the best use of the time.”  For that is what the church has been called to do.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A record of thoughts

 

Colossians 4:3

As I read verse three, I thought what could I add to that, or what more could be said to enhance the message of the apostle?  This thought came to mind, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)  I understood that thought as soon as it entered my mind, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men” because in human terms, I’m the last one that should be sharing my thoughts in written form.  I was not a good student, I often write as I talk and that brings shame to the English language, and yet I am driven to share the thoughts that come into my mind as I search the Scriptures.

I believe my motive is the same as Paul’s; that a door may be opened to the world at large, and to my grandsons, my friends, my family, my associates, and my neighbors, to declare the mystery of Christ.  I have kept journals for years on what I believe God has said to me and then one day, this thought came into my mind; leave a record of your thoughts on Genesis for your grandsons.  So I began writing on May 14, 2009, with a thought in my mind that I would leave a record of what I’ve discovered about letting Christ live life in me, and my living life in Christ. 

This is the first two paragraphs that I wrote on Genesis 1:1&2:  Beginnings, the point in time or space at which something starts; have you ever given thought to the many beginnings you’ve lived through?  If you could go back to your birth and count them, they would blow your mind on the number of beginnings that have happened?  As a baby, you began on milk and the first big change was solid food, well not all that solid, but it was change.  Then think of all the ending of relationships and the beginning of others.  Life on planet earth is all about beginnings, and so as we look at the book of beginnings, take a few minutes to look back on the ones you can recall in your life.

Have you ever given thought to the first verse of Genesis?  That verse with ten words will establish what you believe about God.  You and I had a beginning, God the Creator did not have a beginning and He has no end, He is eternal.  This is what Genesis 1:1, says; “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Back in November 2009, Rod Cadenhead asked if I had ever thought of blogging, and I told him that thought had never occurred to me.  In a few days Rod had set-up my blog and I am here to report that it has been a smacking success.  Most days, at least one person visits the site.  It would have helped my ego if Rod had not shared the analytics feature with me.  Will you pray that I will be open to the Spirit of God, and not my emotions, that God will open a door for us to the world?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Prayer life that is self-controlled and alert

Colossians 4:2

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Most people I know have a special day or event that is very important to them; Thanksgiving is that day for me.  All of the other holidays seem to focus on a person other than God, even Christmas, but Thanksgiving is a day to look–up and acknowledge the gifts and blessings that have been yours over the past year. 

Is the apostle Paul admonishing us to give thanks all the time, not just on special days of the year?   And to be watchful in our praying, what is that all about?  We are to be steadfast in our prayer life, to be unwavering in purpose, to be persistent in our prayer life, but what are we to be watchful about?  We live in such an uncertain time, many of the prophecies about our Lord’s return have taken place, and that should be something we are steadfast about in our prayers and as we share with one another. 

Should we not also pray for one another and for ourselves that we do not fall to temptation and sin?  Look at Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Prayer is not just a quick moment when we call out to our God; prayer is very close to guerrilla warfare.  Like guerrilla warfare, the enemy uses ambushes, and a good example is, “Sure you should pray for them, but I’ll do it later when you have more time.”  Or he sabotages your mind with thoughts of what needs to be done at that moment, and the person or things have left your thinking.  When we engage in prayer, we are taking on the rulers, the authorities, and the cosmic powers over this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We should always remember that our Father is more than able to do all that we ask of Him, and that we are easily taken captive by the schemes of the devil.  That is why we are told in 1 Corinthians 10:12, “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.”  And in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Employers & Employees

Colossians 4:1

“Masters, (Employers) treat your slaves (Employees) justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

God has not been silent when it comes to employers, they are to give prompt payment of wages, (Deuteronomy 24:15) they are to be considerate of their employees, (Job 31:13) and to refrain from threats, (Ephesians 6:9) and to be just in their dealing with the employees under their care, (Colossians 4:1) and it seems this applies to all employers not just Christians.

As a teenager I worked at a company that was in the food business, it’s owner was a Christian, they had many employees and the man I worked for, my manager, was also a card carrying Christian, a good man who taught us how to treat our customers with dignity and respect.  I believe this company followed all of the above requirements with one small exception, they or my manager, not sure of who made the decision to stop paying us our wages at 9:00 p.m., yet often worked us without pay till 10:30 or 11:00.

Our manager told us that cleaning the store was something that could not happen till the all customers had left the building, and by the way we always had customers come through the doors at 8:59 p.m. and shop till they got tired.  I can tell you as a person who was a good Baptist at that time, the produce gained weight when the customer was that inconsiderate. 

So we worked for free often for more than two hours, and it was clear to all that we were being cheated out of our wages.  That was wrong back in those days, and we the employees also began to do wrong things.  In that we complained to our manager that it was wrong to make us work without pay, he would give us the day old bread and some pastry items that were out of date to take home to our mothers.  It was not long till some bright kid, not me, came up with a new compensation plan, it was called add a pack of lucky cigarettes in your bag, just what we needed.  Never forget the wages of sin is death.

When an employer breaks any of the above requirements he opens the door for two things, and both are bad: First, his employees will come up with ways to make things right in their own eyes, never a good thing, and second God will not let a Christian business man do these things long term, it will cost him in many ways. 

Let me be very clear that the actions of others and myself were totally wrong, and by our actions we became thieves, not something to be proud of.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A workplace believer

Colossians 3:22-25

If you are a workplace believer then these verses in chapter three should jump off the page at you.  What is your goal in your workplace, is it to earn as much money as possible and to achieve the top position in your company?  Is there anything wrong with those goals?  Not one thing, unless those goals are not in the will of God for you; if those goals drive you to put your job before your wife and family, and over seeking first the kingdom of God, those are less than adequate goals.

A very wise man once told me to ask my manager to share his short and long term goals with me, and once I knew those goals, to do everything in my ability to help him attain his goals.  By asking that question and then by changing your focus to serve your manager, I believe you fulfill verses 22-24.  Though often in the workplace you may feel like a slave, unlike a slave (Paul is addressing Christians who were slaves) you have the freedom to quit and go elsewhere.  “Slaves, “employees” obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Questions a workplace believer must ask; who am I serving, why am I here, what are the goals or opportunities that will allow me to be a beacon of light in the middle of this workplace of unbelievers.  It should be stated, that it matters not whether your boss is a Christian, these truths still apply no matter if he is a good boss or bad, you are called to be a transmitter that continuously broadcasts a signal of redemption found in Christ Jesus.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Fathers

Colossians 3:21

“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

I became a dad at age 27, and was ready for the task, wrong, I did not have a clue about being a dad.  My model was more of an absentee dad, when he was home; he often was sleeping because he worked shift-work.  He had a second job in sales to pay off mother’s medical bills, and when he was home and with the family he was more like the authority figure than a dad.  Now before you think I would exchange him for your dad, guess again, he was a man who loved God, and did the best with what knowledge he had on being a dad. 

My model was dad, and at 27 it was not the model I wanted for my little girl.  But like dad I needed help!  If you are reading this, and are a young dad, let me encourage you to find a “Men’s Fraternity” group and sign up, it will give you the insight and information on how to change the pattern that you grew-up under, and how to be a dad who does not exasperate your children, but has patience and love. 

As a dad you were called to nurture your child!  As dad, to those young eyes of your child, they long for your time, your acceptance or approval, and your actions and words can instill fear or hope.  We have a good word from Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” 

Often, we dads forget that our child is just like us, they have a personality that is being developed and it is dad’s job to be an “as you go dad.”  What do I mean by “as you go dad,” he does the following; “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:7)  What is being referred to: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) 

Dads you made know a lot about God, but to be an “as you go dad” you must know God, you must love the Lord your God with your total person; mind will and emotions.  If you find you only have information about God, but a desire to have a personal relationship with Him, begin reading the gospel of John and ask our Father in heaven to show you how to know Him.  If you’re a dad like I was who just had a lot of the past messing with your mind, ask the Lord to put men around you that are doing a better job of being a dad, and please find a “Men’s Fraternity,” it is more than just a rally or a Bible study, Men's Fraternity provides men with an encouraging process that teaches them how to live life, how to attain authentic manhood.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A lack of Obedience in our Time

Colossians 3:20

“Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

Obedience is doing what you are told, the moment you are told, and anything else is rebellion.  Should that truth be taught at a very early age to our children?  Should it be taught that doing it with a right heart attitude is a must, that doing it with a wrong attitude puts you in the camp with the older brother in the story of the prodigal son?

We have all been to a store where the mother tells her child or children no, and we see and hear the child throw a fit, and it seems as if it will never end.  Often, the mother gives in and at that point we understand who is in charge of the house.  What has happened does not mean the child is bad, but what you have observed is a parent who has not trained the child by being consistent with them. 

If we look down the road, to what a generation of this kind of parenting leads to, we just might see America in 2010; no respect for authority, me first attitude, I want what you have, but I do not want to work for it.  What has happened to children?  Not one thing, they are still children, doing what children do.  The question that should be asked is what has happened to parents?

While driving to Colorado, Jan and I listened to an interview with two young men, who at the age of sixteen began to ask questions about our culture, and what should be their role in that culture?  The twins were sixteen and like many that age, did not have any plans for the summer, so their dad gave the twins an assignment.  He gave them a stack of books, all very adult types, the first was titled “The World is Flat” by Thomas Freeman, and this led to these boys doing a blog that thousands read, and they wrote a book,  “ Do Hard Things a teenage rebellion against low expectations,” by Alex and Bret Harris. 

These young men’s story captivated us as we made that long drive; one of the things they discovered was that the first time the word teenager came into print was in 1941.  Prior to the use of that word, a child went from being a child to adulthood, taking responsibility for their future.  I looked this up, “It is an Americanism; the earliest known published use of the word was in 1941 in Popular Science Monthly, but Auden used the word shortly thereafter (in 1947) so it was probably used in the U.S. much earlier, perhaps the 30s. There is no documentation earlier than about 1941.”

What the Harris brothers found is that thousands of teenagers were in agreement with them; that our culture was making us fall behind other nations, because other cultures were not wasting the teenage years with game boys, video games, and cell phones, but they were preparing for a future. 

Did we begin a new path in 1941, a path of making sure our children had fun and lots of stuff, but little or no responsibility?  How has it worked out?  What can we do about it?  I believe the answer can be found in “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice my blog; http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

A home that is a light to all

 

Colossians 3:18

Often, we have seen the child who when told to sit down by an authority figure, takes this attitude, I may be sitting on the outside, but on the inside I’m standing.   The problem with that attitude is that it is prevalent in our society, in our homes, and in our churches.  So when we come to a Scripture that teaches submission, how do you think it will be received?  What is the act of submission; is it not a willingness to yield or surrender to somebody? 

I believe most of us submit to authority most days without giving thought to it, we call it obedience; we keep the laws that man has placed over us in order to live in harmony with one another.  Laws that we submit to are stop at the stop sign or light, yield to the on coming traffic, make sure your child is at school, do not smoke in this area, do not litter, put your trash can out on Friday, and the list goes on and on.  Yes, most of us submit to authority without giving it any thought, we are a society of law keepers, we have learned that these laws are not to harm us but to provide a better life for all.

The above being true, why is there so much resistance to Colossians 3:18, “Wives, submit to you husbands, as is fitting to the Lord.”  So much has been said on this subject, and often it has been twisted by a perverse gospel.  But the gospel of Colossians 3:18 is not a perverse gospel.  Evil men or insecure men have not looked past verse 18 to ask the Lord to teach them, how to obey and submit to verse 19.  Verse 19, “Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.”  You show me a man who obeys that teaching, who submits to Christ’s authority oven him, and I will show you a wife who is not fearful of verse 18. 

Yes, I understand that we live in a society or culture whose roles are up side down, but we are not the first to do such, in 760 BC the prophet Isaiah recorded this, “Youths oppress my people, women rule over them.  O my people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.”(Isaiah 3:12)  And in verse 16, “The Lord says, “The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, …” But that is mild compared to what God has to say through Amos at an earlier time in 787 BC.  Amos is a herdsman and dresser of sycamore-fig trees, not the man you or I might have used to speak to nations, but then God is not like us, His ways are much higher.  Before I tell you what God said out of the mouth of Amos about the women of that time, remember that it is God who designed the order of all things.  “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!” (Amos 4:1)  Role reversal does not seem to please God, His design is perfect, and when the husband is in submission to God’s word in verse 19, and the wife is in submission to God’s word in verse18, we see a home that is a light to all who observe.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

my blog; http://fromourbackporch.blogspot.com/

The Whatever's

Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

A word we must deal with this morning on the Back Porch is whatever: a grammatical word used to refer to everything of a particular type, without limitation.  Wow, and Jesus told us give thanks to God the Father in word or deeds in whatever, in everything. 

Let’s begin when your wife tells you that you’re about to become a dad for the first time.  That was easy for most of us, but what if your boss has just told you, that very day that you’re fired from your job?  What if the neighbor’s kid has, that same day, broken your very large window with a baseball?  And what if, we all have had days like that, they have some great moments, and some that seem to have moments with no bottom to them.  Are we to handle all of these in both words and deeds by giving thanks to God the Father?   You and I both know the answer, but it is not the answer our flesh is looking for in the middle of those emotional moments.  Do we not have some rights; does God not understand that bad things happen to good people?

Long before you and I were formed, our Father, our Creator, our God knew that we would ask that question, and He also knew that Adam would willingly reject Him and that sin would come to all men through Adam’s spirit of rebellion.  So because of His great love for us He sent His Son, His only Son, the Lord Jesus to buy us out of sin.  You want to see a bad day, John’s gospel records this account in Chapter 1, verses 9-11,  “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”  It is impossible to put yourself in the place of the Lord, for His ways or higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  But just imagine for a moment that some act on your part had saved members of your family, and not only did it save them from death, it also provided for all of their needs. And one day you show-up and they not only do not recognize you, but they would not let you into the house you had provided for them.  On a scale of 1 to 10 how are you doing in the emotional department, we know what Jesus did, in all things; in words and deed, He gave things to His Father.  And that is what this verse is requiring from us.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A poor Substitute

Colossians 3:15-17

This morning, as is my routine, I began my day asking God to lead me in a way that pleases Him and brings honor to His Son.  I like to begin my time with Him in “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers, before I begin to record my thoughts on the Scripture I am reading.  Because I use my computer to do this, often I will check my messages, 90 percent of the time they are full of stuff that take my mind away from the things of God, this morning was no exception.  As I read, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing palms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thanksgiving in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:15-17)

We have a choice, Internet, full of stuff that upset you, full of things that take your mind from Christ, and even funny stuff that may feed your flesh, but has no value to you or anyone else.  Or we can “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,” And this morning I opened my mind to the Internet before I  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another” and I must say it was a poor substitute.  Not only do we have a choice, we were called to let the peace of Christ rule in our heart.  If we begin the day with anything but letting the peace that only Christ can send rule in our hearts, then we are void to letting the word of Christ dwell in our hearts.  It is a show stopper for the fellowship God desires with us, it limits our ability to teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and it sure does not guide us to worship, or to have gratitude in our hearts.

This freedom you and I have in Christ amazes me, in 1 Thessalonians 2:12, “we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”  And let me leave you this morning with this thought from 2 Timothy 1:9,10, “who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began and which now has been manifested though the appearing our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Wow!  Look at 1 Peter 3:8-12

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Put on Love

Colossians 3:12-14

This morning after reading these verses this thought came into my mind; Bob, are you just a reader of the word of God, or do you take serious what God says?  I’m not sure that I have been up long enough this morning to ponder such thoughts.  This is what I read; “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive.” (Colossians 3:12-13)  Before we address whether I am a reader of the word of God, or do I obey it’s teaching, let us look at the way God sees you and me.

I’m not sure why so many Christians have problems believing that God feels this way about them, in the above verses He calls us chosen ones, holy and beloved, it could be that we have a false concept or belief when it comes to our relationship with God.  Do we believe that God’s great love for us is dependent on our performance; you will not find that in Scripture.  Like any of us with children, our desire is to be obey; our Father in heaven desires obedience, and to have fellowship with us, but His great love for us is not based on our performance. 

For years I could not grasp what God said about me could be truth, and I believe there in lies a substantial problem, being totally accepted and acceptable by God, not because of your actions but because of His.  I have come to understand that once I see from heavens view, my hearts desire is take serious what God has said.

So the question ask of me this morning was; “Bob, how are you doing with ‘bearing with one another?”  Reflecting on that question, I was quick to say “I drop that ball often.  Lord, you know how I’m made, and then this thought came into my mind, Yes, Bob you are made in My Image, and because of your relationship with My Son, I have given you the mind of Christ.  “Lord, I’m doing better, I’ve learned to live in fellowship with my wife and daughter, and Lord, most of our neighbors on my street, and small children are not a problem, just their parents, and even old people, unless they are going 30 in a 60 mile an hour zone.”  Lord, you are flooding my mind with so many areas of my life that I am not willing to bear with others, and that is rebellion on my part.  Thank you for loving me so much Father that you would bring this area of my life up, that you would show me that I need to run to You, to let You teach me these basic truths of Your Word.

And verse 14 reads, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”  So when love controls my heart, and it seems as if God has given me the ability to put it on, it will bind everything together in perfect harmony.  To live in harmony with both God and all others, now that is what He has called us to, the chosen ones, the ones God calls holy; holy because of what Christ has done, not because of any act on your part.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Take off & Put on

Colossians 3:7-11

One of the greatest blessings is having a child; one of the most unpleasant is to have one that acts just like you!  If you have been there, it requires little explanation and if not then count yourself blessed.  You see all the things in them that irritate you, often they are personality traits that you are blind to in yourself or may have grown past, but you know they will bring curses not blessings to that child.   Your hope is that this child will not repeat your mistakes, and that you can guide them through the minefield of life.

That is what the Holy Spirit is telling us in these verses listed above.  One of the things that can render us incapable is to refuse as new creation in Christ, to take off the things of our unique kind of flesh, and put on the new you that relies on the Spirit of Christ.  If you are ignorant of your unique type of flesh, ask you mother, dad or your wife to give you some help, but do this only if you are serious about taking off the old and putting on the new you.  That exercise will not be fun, but it will be of profit to the one who then asks the Holy Spirit to guide them into knowledge of how to walk in this world. 

If you read verse eight and cannot identify with any of these things Paul is telling us to take off, you have really grown to maturity or your not being honest.  Verse eight, “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”  Look at verse 9 and 10, “Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”  If you attend a small group you will find many Christians who lie to one another, are you shocked, well you should not be because I bet you have made yourself look better or told a lie in your small group.  Anytime we leave the impression that we have conquered one of these things or the many others we are told in Scripture to take off, and yet both God and we know it is not true, we have lied to one another.  As one who has taught the Scriptures, the danger is to come across as if you have victory in all the areas you are teaching, only Jesus Christ has done that.

Please do not read that I am saying we Christians cannot be over comers, for God would never have told us to take off and put on if it was something unattainable.  But it will require more than self-will it will take you being renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ.  When I look at myself, I find a man who has not died to many of the things I am told in verse eight to take off.  Verses 12-17 will give us, the chosen ones of God, a vision and the fruits that await us as we put on Christ. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Fear is knocking at my Door

Colossians 3:6

Often, very often of late I ask myself what is wrong; fear is knocking at my door.  Now, before you whose faith is much stronger and your walk with the Lord is much deeper, tell me that to fear is sin and that it is contrary to faith, let me be quick to agree with you; fear is a tool of the enemy of our soul and it causes great harm in the kingdom of God.  A good example would be the Jews coming out of Egypt, and not trusting God to protect and provide for them even after the Red Sea was parted and the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night protected them.  Are we the American Church that much different from those Jews leaving Egypt?  By their actions we can surmise that only a few of them believed that God would do it all for them.

Here is a list of things that come into my mind to be fearful about; the deflation of the dollar, the ignorance of the voter in America, the government of the United States, the loss of freedom, and that is the short list.  But is that what we should fear?  As a child I was more secure when dad was at home, he was big and strong, he was our provider and protector, but as I got older and left home I was not under that protection, in fact I took a new position, the role of husband and dad.  And soon very soon it became clear that the job was beyond my scope, I needed a Father who could do it all for me.  Over the years I have learned to seek my Father in heaven, I’ve found Him to be faithful; I am still learning to trust Him, to seek His face and not just His hand.  So with that said, what should I fear?

I fear what Isaiah the prophet said, “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)  If you go back and read Colossians 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”  Now verse six, “On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”  Is it not clear, that the wrath of God is coming, because the church is putting on a good outward show, but the heart of the church often seems far from God?  Yes, it has many programs that sound good, many that are designed to draw people to the building, but for what reason?  Verse five is addressed not to the lost world it is addressed to the Church of the living God.

Judah was not that much different than America, they had followed the wisdom of this world, and God’s hand was very much against them.  But God, in His mercy and love sent an eight year old king named Josiah, and this is what Scripture says of him: “And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”  (2 Kings 22:2)  It seemed that these chosen people of God had gone so far from God that His written word had been lost to them.  Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the Law in the house of the Lord and he gave it to his secretary and after reading it he took it to the king.  When the young king heard the words of the book he tore his clothes, an act of confession and humility before God, and gave this order: “Go inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all of Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” (2 Kings 22:13)

But that is not the case with the American church is it, no we read the book, but by our actions, our hearts are far from the Lord.  Yes, I fear a lukewarm Church that God is going to spit out of His mouth, or in our modern language we would say, withdraw His hand.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Emotional Holds

 

Colossians 3:5

Have you ever been dependent on something and that thing had an emotional hold on your life?  It matters not how many times some well meaning person tells you to stop being dependant it’s just not going to happen without a battle taking place.  For some it may be tobacco, or alcohol, or drugs, or an abusive husband who physically harms his family, or it could be the worst of the worst of addictions, a closet thumb sucker.  Mr. Thumb was my best friend as a child, but no matter how mother tried to break up our friendship, I was determined to keep the relationship going.  Like so many dependencies, my thumb and I had to do our thing in private, it would not have been acceptable at school or with the guys playing ball at the park, so I, like many who are addicted, kept Mr. Thumb in the closet until we broke-up this year, folks, I’m messing with you, it happened at about the age of nine.

I’m 68 years old and it is still not comfortable telling the two of you who read my blog, that I was a thumb sucker till the age of nine.  But it seemed the best way to explain Colossians 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”  It is important to note that all the things listed above are the control of our flesh, and all of these things are warring with our spirit.  As a Christian you may be like I was with “Mr. Thumb” we had a hate, love relationship, he was a comfort in the closet, but I hated the hold he had on my life.  Many a Christian is living that life, and it is lived out of fellowship, with a Father who loves you, and He keeps telling you that He will guide you out of that closet with it’s fears.  It may be helpful to stop and tell your Father that you let an idol come into your life, and that you understand that He will not let His child put anything above Him.

As you read verse five did you see that from God’s view all these sins listed above are idolatry?  In the book of Isaiah 42:8, “I am the Lord; that is my name!  I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.”  I hope you did not think I was making light of the many addictions that take Christians captive, but they all have one thing in common, they all put something other than God as the source of dependency.   The battle with our flesh will not quit, but God is able.  At this time you maybe free from the control of your flesh; watch out!  “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”  (1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

A Christian is

Colossians 3:3-4

I wonder how many of you who are reading this would understand if I told you that Christians are dead people walking.  In fact, if you meet a person who claims the name of Christ and tells you that they have never died, they are either ignorant or not in Christ.  But the normal Christian, the Sunday morning only person, the one who has a Bible on the coffee table, but opens it only at church, they have little understanding of this death the apostle Paul is referring to.   “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Is our problem ignorance of whose we are, or have many who claim the name of Christ never been crucified with Christ?  Now if you are totally confused, we must begin at the beginning, Adam was made perfect, he had a pure heart before God, and he had a live spirit with God, in fact he walked with God.  That was before sin entered into Adam and the very moment sin entered into Adam he died spiritually.  If you and I looked at Adam with a natural eye he looked very much alive, but Adam knew what it was like in the garden with God before sin, and Adam knew that he no longer had a live spirit or a pure heart before God.

Now the story has a happy ending, for God so loved you that He sent His only Son in human form to live with us and show us an example of how a human with a pure heart before God could have a relationship and fellowship with our Creator.  But it required more than an example, it required someone to free us from the wrath of a holy God, whose holiness required justice for the penalty of sin. 

The Holy Spirit spoke these words to the apostle Paul and he recorded them for us; “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed?  The end of those things is death.  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:20-23)  You may be asking how do I get this free gift?  That is the best question a person can ask God.

You and I showed up on planet earth with a dead spirit to God and we need help, and that help came in the form of a baby born to a virgin named Mary.  He took on flesh and dwelt among us, the gospel according to John is very helpful to one who is asking God how to receive this free gift, the gift that is required by God to have fellowship and a relationship with God.  To have a live spirit to God we need a redeemer and that was what Christ did for all of mankind on the cross.

Now with that information, this is what the Scripture has to say about anyone who by faith has entered into Christ.  “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.” (Galatians 2:20)  At the moment you by faith ask Jesus for the free gift, you received His Spirit, you enter into His time line and you became an eternal being.  And what were you crucified to, the control of sin, and the wages of sin, which leads to death.   You have a new spirit living in your body, a relationship with God, not rules or requirements but fellowship, that is, if your life is hidden with Christ in God.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

In your Face

Colossians 3:1-2

Have you ever had someone get in your face?  Let me number the ways that has happened in all aspects of life; my mentor and friend Ken Ryan, told me to stop saying I believed the Scriptures, when my actions did not measure up to that truth.  My wife told me to stop telling her I loved her, and then treating her harshly.  My daughter, as a teenager, told me I did not trust her because I checked to make sure she was where she said she would be, and my boss telling me to keep my comments about middle management to myself.  I have a history of people getting in my face, and I believe that is what Paul is doing in these two verses.

“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 things that are above, not on things of this earth.”  The “if” comes across to me as an in your face thing, but why was this needed, and what was Paul reasons for making the statement?  What is going on at the writing of this letter to the Colossians?  It seems as if there was “doctrinal errors growing out of the mixture of Judaistic teaching with oriental and philosophic speculation.  These heresies tended to obscure the divine glory of Christ.” (The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible Page 1540 Analyses of Books) 

Paul gave a final warning to the church at Corinth and it also seems to be an “in your face” from 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves.  Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”  The following is taken from a paper by Bob Wilkin, who is the Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society; “The church at Corinth had been filled with divisions, strife, envy, drunkenness, and immorality (1 Cor. 1:11; 3:1-3; 5:9-6:20; 11:21, 30) when Paul wrote 1 Corinthians. And yet he affirmed rather than questioned their salvation in 1 Corinthians as well (cf. 1 Cor. 1:2; 3:1; 6:11,19-20).” 

So what is the test?  For me the test is when I make the choice to sin, does the Holy Spirit speak to my heart and remind me about the sin.  Do I want to make right the wrongs my sin has caused.  I must inject this, the Holy Spirit never attacks your person, never tells you that you are a looser or of little value, that is coming from channel 2, from the enemy of your soul.  The enemy will entice you to sin and in the next moment tell you what a failure you are.  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and He will guide you into all truth.

We also have the ability to set our minds or God would not have told us to do so.  We who are in Christ are to live in the world, but to keep our focus on things above.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Your Evaluation of Self is Based on what?

Colossians 2:20-23

What is your self-evaluation based on?  Most of us stop and examine ourselves, for some it is daily, and for others it may be when a storm comes into our lives, it may be weeks or even years between the process of evaluating your own character, work, or achievements.  The apostle Paul asked this question: “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations –“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” (referring to things that all perish as they are used) – according to human precepts and teaching?”

Being somewhat a bottom-line type, it comes down to not what I believe, but do I believe the Scriptures?  Because if I believe the Scriptures it is clear that when I entered into Christ, I entered into His death, and I also entered into His resurrection, His time line is now my time line.  It may be helpful to refer to Romans 6:6, where we are told that our old self was crucified with Christ and that sin no longer has power over us.  You might want to go to Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  In 2 Timothy 2:11, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him.”

Then why do we submit to these regulations?  The Baptist for years taught people not to dance and not to drink, but while taking that stance they said nothing about the deacons who smoked on the front steps while greeting the members.  That has changed in many Baptist churches, now the message is be moderate in your drinking and when it comes to dancing they do it on stage at special times.  For my many Catholic friends, you are no one to throw stones, for years you could not eat meat on Fridays, and then one day it’s Ok.  Not one of the examples above came from God, they were manmade, it was men best effort to earn goodness and it was by rules, not faith.

The apostle Paul goes on to state in verse 23, “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”  It comes back to the flesh; flesh is your will outside of the will of God.  Flesh is how you learned to get your needs met, and flesh likes to look good and religion is a great place for flesh.  The Scripture is clear that our flesh is in a battle with the Spirit, it does not want to submit to the Spirit. 

Now let me ask a question that I often ask myself; can a dead person show desires?   No, they are without life, and yet we have been told we no longer live, but Christ lives in us.   “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20b)  Often I ask for faith, faith to believe the truth that I know, faith to trust God and not men, faith to stop and act on the knowledge God has shown me in His word.  If you are in Christ you have been freed from the control of sin, but you must let Jesus do it all for you.  But how do I do that?  Colossians 2:6 has the answer: “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.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Rewards of the Faithful

Colossians 2:18-19

Rewarding the faithful, now that is something I understand, in that my living was made in the area of sales.  In my early years in sales, I wanted to win the contest no matter the value of the prize, but as I got more sophisticated a trip to some nice place would drive me, but a plaque with nice words was not much of a motivator.  As I read the above verses this phase jumped out at me, “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize.”  My first thoughts were, what is the value of the prize, is it worth the time and energy that will be required?

In my thirty plus years of living this Christian life, I’ve dropped the ball more than most, and I have found that it is easy to put your ladder on the wrong wall, or to put your focus on a person and not on Christ.  An uninformed Christian can be of great harm to the kingdom of Christ.  After reading the verse above it is apparent that the enemy has a plan devised to turn our hearts from Christ Jesus.  But if we study to show ourselves workmen and we rightly divide the Word of God, God has some prizes for us, and some are for now and others will be given out in heaven.

The Rewards of the Faithful; I like to prioritize things, but you can put these rewards in any order you desire.  For me the order of importance is Matthew 10:32, in that Jesus said it, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”   The greatest prize is; being introduced to God by His Son Jesus!  If that prize is not part of your plans stop reading; the remainder will not apply to you.  The prophet Daniel shared this about the person who shares Christ with the lost, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”  (Daniel 12:3)

What about the reward given to the faithful servant found in Matthew 25:23, “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Come and share your master’s happiness!  I believe this is one we will enjoy both now and in heaven and I also believe this one on being benevolent is in that same group.  In Luke 6:35, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”  I only know one way a person can do this, and that’s by telling God; “I can’t You never said I could, but You can and You promised You would.”  It is Christ doing the will of the Father in us, it requires us to by faith ask Jesus to love our enemies in and through us.  The apostle Paul tells us this; “but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”  (Romans 2:10)

The bottom line is do not let anyone who is unspiritual, who puts the object of their faith on anyone or anything other than Christ disqualify you for the prize.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice