The Accuser

One of the names of the enemy is the Accuser. It is his doing, when we have sought God's guidance and been as obedient as we knew how, and then remain in an agony of doubt as to whether God did guide, whether we really did obey. There is no end to the "proofs" the Accuser can present to sow doubt in our minds. "Hath God said?" (Gn. 3:1 AV) was the first seed he sowed in the mind of Eve, and he has had a great deal of practice at that kind of planting ever since.

It is to be expected that every decision made with the desire to be obedient to God will be attacked. Spread your doubts before the Lord. Pray for correction of any wrong in thinking or doing and for his word of assurance as to the action you must take. If there is nothing else required of you at this moment, leave it at that. Trust God. Put the whole weight of your doubts and cares on Him--that will foil the Accuser.

"It is God who pronounces our acquittal...It is Christ who pleads...our cause" (Rom. 8:33,34 EB).

~ Elisabeth Elliot,

from A Lamp for My Feet

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

The Ramban's Letter, Part Three

Consider everyone as greater than yourself. If he is wise or rich, you should give him respect. If he is poor and you are richer--or wiser--than he, consider yourself to be more guilty than he, and that he is more worthy than you, since when he sins it is through error, while yours is deliberate and you should know better!

~ from The Ramban's Letter to His Son (written by Iggeret HaRamban to his elder son, Nachman, with the instruction to read it weekly)

Honor one another above yourselves.

~ Romans 12:10