Submit

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

~ Colossians 3:18

This verse has been rolling around in my head, ever since it was mentioned in a sermon I heard this morning. I have much I want to say about it, but I think that will have to wait for another blog post. Until then, it will keep rolling around...

Working for the Lord

I've been thinking about the subject of work recently, and two things in particular have brought today's manna to mind. First, teaching my boys to work (which I write about here), and second, having a conversation with a newlywed couple about who does what chores in the home and how to keep a humble, Godly heart that seeks to bless the other person (even if he didn't do the dishes!).

The manna is...

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

~ Colossians 3:23-24

Today (and probably every day of my life!) I need to be reminded of that.

Put On the Right Clothes

Nuggets of truth and inspiration continue to pop up from Colossians. Here's another one...

Only certain costumes suit Christians. To be otherwise dressed is inappropriate.

Put on the garments that suit God's chosen people, his own, his beloved: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience (Col. 3:12 NEB).

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14 RSV).

You have all put on Christ as a garment (Gal. 3:27 NEB).

You must put on the new nature of God's creating (Eph. 4:24 NEB).

You have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature (Col. 3:10 NEB).

Put on love (Col. 3:14 RSV).

The clothes we wear are what people see. Only God can look on the heart. The outward signs are important. They reveal something of what is inside. If charity is there, it will become visible outwardly, but if you have no charitable feelings, you can still obey the command. Put it on as simply and consciously as you put on a coat. You choose it; you pick it up; you put it on. This is what you want to wear.

Do you want to dress like a Christian? Put on Christ. The act of honest obedience--the fruit of love for Christ--is your part. Making you Christlike through and through is his part.

~ Elisabeth Elliot

from A Lamp for My Feet

Back to the Beginning

You know how it is when you buy a car? Suddenly you start noticing all the other cars that look exactly like yours as you drive around. Who knew there were so many dark green Mazda minivans in the world?! :)

That's what's been happening with me and Colossians. Now that I'm putting extra emphasis on it because of a sermon series I've been hearing, I find verses from Colossians popping up all around, at various times, from different sources. I'm loving the book of Colossians even more than I used to!

Here are the latest verses to jump out at me:

For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

~ Colossians 1:16-17

I suppose the reason these verses stood out to me is because lately, I feel like I've been re-examining EVERYTHING. All my beliefs have come under scrutiny again, as I (along with Jeff, of course) try to figure out what direction we are being called to go by God. We are standing at a crossroads, having left one church at the end of this past year and not having completely settled into a new one yet. So I question and ponder and study...

What do I really believe about the roles of men and women, particularly in the church?

What do I really believe about the way the Holy Spirit works in this day and age?

What do I really believe are the absolute essentials that must be found in a church, the things on which I will not compromise?

What do I really believe about the way the printed words of the Bible intersect with culture?

And on and on...

Well, as Julie Andrews sings in The Sound of Music, "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..." (I can hear her voice in my head as I type.) Back to Genesis, I go.

I just started reading The New Answers Book 1, edited by Ken Ham; and in the first chapter, I had to smile a little when I read this in the section on "How Do We Recognize the Evidence of Intelligence?":

Why do scientists become so excited when they discover stone tools together with bones in a cave? The stone tools show signs of intelligence. The scientists recognize that these tools could not have designed themselves but that they are a product of intelligent input. Thus, the researchers rightly conclude that an intelligent creature was responsible for making these tools.

In a similar way, one would never look at the Great Wall of China, the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., or the Sydney Opera House in Australia and conclude that such structures were formed after explosions in a brick factory.

Neither would anyone believe that the presidents' heads on Mt. Rushmore were the products of millions of years of erosion. We can recognize design, the evidence of the outworkings of intelligence. We see man-made objects all around us--cars, airplanes, computers, stereos, houses, appliances, and so on. And yet, at no time would anyone ever suggest that such objects were just the products of time and chance. Design is everywhere. It would never enter our minds that metal, left to itself, would eventually form into engines, transmissions, wheels, and all the other intricate parts needed to produce an automobile.

Clearly, there IS evidence of design. There IS evidence of a creator.

For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

~ Romans 1:20

Words for the Sick and Weary

The church we've been attending has started a sermon series on Colossians, which is a good thing because, as I've dealt with feeling under the weather the past few days, I've needed these words:

...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience...

~ Colossians 1:11

I'm Against Sin

I'm against sin. I'll kick it as long as I've got a foot, and I'll fight it as long as I've got a fist. I'll butt it as long as I've got a head. I'll bite it as long as I've got a tooth. And when I'm old and fistless and footless and toothless, I'll gum it till I go home to Glory and it goes home to perdition!

~ Billy Sunday,

quoted by Bekah who got it from Tim Challies

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

~ Colossians 3:5-10

There is so much that I would like to write about this; so many thoughts are swirling through my head. But it's late, and I need some sleep so that tomorrow I can more effectively put to death what belongs to my earthly nature, as I strive to care for my boys without giving in to impatience and frustration and anger! Maybe I'll write more about this some other day.