QT 11 Jul 11, Are we faithful in what God has given us?

Jer 22:15-17 (NIV) "Does it make you a king

to have more and more cedar?

Did not your father have food and drink?

He did what was right and just,

so all went well with him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,

and so all went well.

Is that not what it means to know me?"

declares the Lord.

17 "But your eyes and your heart

are set only on dishonest gain,

on shedding innocent blood

and on oppression and extortion."

NOTE:  When the position is more important than the duties, then something is wrong.  We are not given jobs to glory in (talking to those with significant high-paying jobs), but to make a difference.  When we achieve self-importance, then we have sunk to valueless-ness.  It is not the titles, or the money, or the prestige.  Jesus said it well, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."  The kings forgot why they had been given much and they misused what God gave them.

God has given me much as well.  Am I using what he has given me rightly?  Am I using it for others?  Obviously we do give our money to many, and use it in many ministries.  But, the answer to that questions varies with the amount given.  And it is worthwhile to ask the question again.  Am I using what God has given or am I trying to keep some of it for myself?  God, help me to see what you would have me do.

QT 7 Jul 11, God thinks a whole lot different than we do

Jer 20:1-6 (NIV) When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the Lord's temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord's name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.  4 For this is what the Lord says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this city — all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'"

NOTE: When I read this passage, my thoughts go to the verse that says God's ways are not our ways.  Two things happen here, both of which are the opposite of what we think should happen.  There is no denying that God is in charge as history itself is proof.  First, God promises to protect Jeremiah, and Jeremiah is thrown into prison.  Well, that would not be my idea of protection, but apparently God did not promise Jeremiah that bad things would not happen to him, only that he would ultimately protect him.  Jeremiah is protected, but Jeremiah suffers.  And by the verses which follow, he suffers emotionally in his faith as well.  Secondly, Pashur is judged for his action of throwing Jeremiah into prison.  What happens to Pashur?  He goes on to live through the attack and into exile into Babylon.  He will die in Babylon, but he will not die by sword or plague or famine or any other incredibly painful death.  Instead, he watches as Jeremiah's prophecy is fulfilled and his prophecies turn out to be lies.  I suppose that is a punishment, but it seems light on the surface.  Maybe he spends the rest of his life trying to figure out how he thought he could be so right and yet so wrong.  Maybe he doesn't care.  And maybe he is too thick-headed to even recognize the truth.  Still, in both cases, God is sovereign, and God does as he pleases.  His ways are not my ways, and I suppose that is a good thing.

QT 6 Jul 11, Idols are still a danger, even today

Jer 19:3-4, 15 (NIV) 'Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned sacrifices in it to gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. …

15 "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.'"

NOTE:  There are many reasons for God's judgment against Judah.  Near the top of the list is the worship of foreign gods, idols.  But what are idols, and what is the worship of idols in this day and age?  I think an idol, and the worship of an idol, is anything that captures our affections to the point of negatively changing our relationship to God.  This is a difficult definition to develop and I'm not sure I have it right.

Some affections are good, such as the affection of a husband for his wife.  Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians also states that a man's interests or affections are divided by marriage, but that is still okay.  On the other hand, a car or home or hobby that consumes our attention and affects our relationship with God can easily become an idol.  A thing is not an idol by the amount of time it requires.  In that case, work would be an idol to everyone.  Work is an idol for some, but work is, generally, a good thing which God created.  But when my idol consumes so much of my time and interest that I don't have time for God, as measured by fellowship (church and small group involvement), devotional time (reading the word and prayer), witnessing (standing up for what is right),  and obedience (responding to God in areas where he reveals sin), then I have an idol.  And an idol, is a terrible thing to God.

God destroyed Israel and Judah for their idols. Of course, the old testament believers were under the old covenant which included blessings and curses (mostly curses).  The new testament believer is under a different covenant that is characterized by spiritual blessings and some warnings.  One warning, "do not be deceived, God is not mocked, a man reaps what he sows," should cause us to reconsider our lifestyle (in context it relates to our use of money and giving).  God forgives, but God will not be mocked by our stiff-necks and unwillingness to listen to his words, which is not any different than how he treated the old testament saints (Jer 19:15).

QT 4 Jul 11, Why does God ruin our plans?

Jer 19:1-2, 6-7a This is what the Lord says: "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you,

...

6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

7 "'In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem.

NOTE: Why does God 'ruin' their plans?  Because they rebelled against him, and according to the terms of the covenant, they were deserving of the curses.  The ruin was death by sword, famine, and plague.  Death will put a crimp in most people's plans.  The new covenant does not include any specific curses, although one can argue that there are many warnings.  In fact, I believe Hebrews is a warning to Jewish believers falling back into the old covenant that physical fire and physical death await them if they do not repent (as did happen in AD70 when Rome burned the city and killed its inhabitants).

But we are all in rebellion to God.  A rebellion which began in the garden and continues to this day.  The result of that rebellion was death too, just not immediate.  God promised us that our bodies would return to dust.  It was  not God's original plan, but it was what we chose because we did not want to be under his authority.  And yet today, people scream up at God for the pain and misery of this world.  God did not choose  that course, we chose that course.  If we curse at anyone, it should be ourselves.  Jesus words are beneficial, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish (Luke 13:2,3)."  Pain is part of our choice in this world.  We can't escape it.  But we can repent, and in that we have a future and a hope.  God doesn't ruin our plans, we already did that.  But God provides a plan which will not disappoint.

QT 15 Jun 11, Church Buildings Hinder Real Relationships with Christ

Jer 7:4-8 (NIV) Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!" (emphasis mine) 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

NOTE:  What was the people's problem?  They were trusting in religion.  The put their hope on a building or activities or attendance to forestall God's discipline.  The biggest hindrance to a relationship with God is a church building.  Because we think that we meet with God in the church building.  And there is some truth to that since Jesus says that where two or three are gathered in his name, there he is.  But a church building is primarily for collective worship of the body.  Individual worship does not require a building or a special place.  People substitute church for a walk with God to their detriment.  And as a result become religious, but never become Christians.  They carry around the name, but not as ambassadors of Christ, but as self-proclaimed.  The real family of God have individual personal relationships with the Godhead, and the Spirit of God living within them.  Church buildings are nice but far, far from necessary.

QT 8 Jun 11

Jer 3:8-10 (NIV) I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the Lord.

NOTE: In 722 BC, the Northern kingdom, Israel, is destroyed by the Assyrians.  It is now around 625 BC, about 100 years later and Judah (the Southern kingdom) is committing the same sins of her sister.  Rather than learning from Israel's mistakes, Judah repeats the sin.  God gave Israel her certificate of divorce, he is now about to do the same thing to Judah.  In 40 years, 586 BC, Jerusalem will be destroyed, along with the temple, because they refused to believe and to change their actions.

It is hard to be too critical of Judah, we are not so different.  Even though we have the HS within us, we still give in to certain sins, sometimes repeatedly.  But hopefully, we recognize our errors and repent of our sins.  We will never be free of this battle until we have new bodies, but we still must seek to do what is right and pleasing in God's eyes.

QT 7 Jun 11

Jer 2:13 (NIV) "My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Jer 2:20 "Long ago you broke off your yoke

and tore off your bonds;

you said, 'I will not serve you!'

Indeed, on every high hill

and under every spreading tree

you lay down as a prostitute.

Jer 2:29 "Why do you bring charges against me?

You have all rebelled against me,"

 declares the Lord.

NOTE: Even though Israel's situation is different, many of the statements made here apply to us as well.  Israel was in a covenant relationship with God.  As believers, we also are in a covenant relationship, albeit significantly different from the blessings and curses of the Mosaic covenant.  Finally, the last group, the world, is under no such covenant.  But the verses are very descriptive of man's primary problem (all three groups):  (verse 13)we did not like what God had to offer; we went out for something that we wanted; and we found our water but it never satisfies because the cisterns are broken and they need constant refilling.  In the garden (verse 20), we broke free of our bonds, choosing to be gods.  We brought death to ourselves and decay to creation, resulting in many of the evils today.  And finally (verse 29), when disaster strikes, we scream at God.  We say God cannot exist because of the evil in the world, and yet it is our rebellion which brought about the present state.  In the garden, there were no natural disasters.  Death did not exist.  But we rebelled against God's idea of life, and believed the lie of Satan that we could be like God.  If we are bring charges against anyone, it is ourselves for rebelling against God's rule.

QT 6 June 11

Jer 2:5b (NIV) ...

They followed worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

NOTE:  Last night I read this same thought in 2 Kings 17:15.  The Hebrew word is hebel and comes from the root habal.  Habal (second usage in verse) means to be vain in act, word, or expectation (Strongs).  Hebel (first usage in verse) means emptiness or vanity, something transitory and unsatisfactory (Strongs).  In a sense, the worship of an idol is vanity, because it promotes the individual, and places the individual above his god.  He makes it with his hands, he places it where it stays, and he acknowledges it on his terms.  The idol is encapsulated.  It is not great, it is nothing.  It is not a creator, it is created.  That is the vanity part, where the individuals exalts himself above God by choosing his god.  The foolishness is that he goes to his idol with prayer requests, which can never be answered, unless some demon sees value in the task.

In modern times, we don't see idols in the sense of the biblical example.  But we still have idols.  They are created and exalted. They are ours and we alone control them.  They are protected, pampered, and cared for meticulously.  We go to them, not with petitions or prayer, but with an emptiness of soul that the experience or enjoyment of, we believe will fill our ache.  And so, in our vanity, we exalt what we have created, and we foolishly believe our "toys" will give us the happiness we seek.  We really are no different than our biblical counterparts. 

Lord, help me to recognize the idols in my life.  May I worship you alone.

QT 3 Jun 11

Jer 1:14, 16 (NIV) The Lord said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ...

16 I will pronounce my judgments on my people

because of their wickedness in forsaking me,

in burning incense to other gods

and in worshiping what their hands have made."

NOTE: God's second prophetic piece of information to Jeremiah is the knowledge that Babylon will be coming to attack Judah.  In vs. 16, God provides his reasons, and they are three-fold.  The first reason, God names as wickedness, and it is the act of forsaking God.  To forsake means to abandon or to renounce, give up.  Israel gave up on their faith in God.  Maybe they became too sophisticated, too knowledgeable to still believe.  More likely, and consistent with the next few verses, they found a faith that suited them better, that they were more comfortable with living.  God calls it wickedness.  The statement that there are many ways to God is another form of wickedness because it is untrue.  The God of the bible is the only way, and in these last days he has made himself known through his son, Jesus Christ.  Jesus is now the only way to the Father (John 14:6).

God's second reason for judgment is the burning of incense to other gods.  To burn incense is most commonly associated with prayer.  The people sought to have their prayers answered by other gods -- maybe they didn't like the answers that God gave them.  Maybe they did not like all the "no's" in response to their selfish prayers.  Rather than exercising faith that God knows what is best, they chose another god.

God's third reason for judgment is the worship of what man's hands created.  God exists only -- he is not created.  There is no creation, no feasible work, no imagined beauty, that can encapsulate the greatness and glory of God.  Any work merely brings God down to our level.  Any work dismisses the glory and power of God.  We worship created things rather than the creator.  We need to reserve our worship for God alone.

QT 2 Jun 11

Jer 1:11-12 (NIV) The word of the Lord came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"

"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.

12 The Lord said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."

NOTE: This is a strange way to begin Jeremiah's prophetic ministry.  God asks him what he sees and then gives him the interpretation.  Yet, on the surface, the image and the interpretation do not seem to fit, nor does God ever use the imagery again.  One possibility is an illusion to Aaron's rod, which budded almonds.  In Ezekiel, God does use the imagery of a rod budding, and the rod turning into a rod to punish wickedness (Ezek 7:10).  Forgetting the image for a moment, God says that he is watching to see that his word is fulfilled.  That would place God in an active role versus a passive role that the deists argue, at least in relationship to God's word.  The imagery link to Aaron's rod may suggest a spiritual dimension to the fulfillment of God's word as opposed to an intervention in every small event of life.  Rom 8:28 suggests that God, rather than actively intervening in events, works to bring good out of events in the lives of believers, a sort of passive-active role.  Passive in allowing events to happen and active in using them for good.  But, in the case of his will and the development of history, God is actively involved in seeing that his word, his prophecies are fulfilled.  And maybe that is God what God is saying to Jeremiah -- "I will give you my word to prophecy, but I will be the one to ensure its fulfillment.  Your role is spokesman, not the executor of the prophecy, I will take care of that."

QT 1 Jun 11

Jer 1:7-8 (NIV) But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.

NOTE: There is certainly an argument regarding the need for experience in most jobs.  And I would venture to say that spiritual jobs are no different.  Unless of course, God tells you otherwise, because God's command trumps convention.  In Jeremiah's case, God chooses a young man to take a message to a disobedient people.  The qualifications are fairly simple -- repeat what I say.  The working conditions are not so simple, and being afraid will be a natural condition, else God would not warn him not to be afraid.  Finally, Jeremiah will have tremendous management support.  God promises to be with him and to rescue him.  Which doesn't say nothing will happen, only that God will rescue him (when something does happen).  It is an interesting job.  There is no mention of pay or whether a second job will be required.   But the employer has promised to provide.  Also, at this point I can't remember whether there will be time to take a wife and have children.  The job will last, in Judah, for 45 years, after which the people are deported to Babylon.  Of course, while God knows that, I suppose it isn't a given, since the people could repent, but they won't repent, which must make the job especially difficult, to pour out your heart for something that no one will pay attention to.

It is not the results that matter in our life, but our obedience to what God has called us to do.  We could spend a lifetime with no immediate return, but if we have been obedient to God, he will be pleased.  Father, I want to serve you.  I want to see results, but I want to please you first.

QT 27 May 11

Philem 15-19 (NIV) Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back — not to mention that you owe me your very self.

NOTE: Paul says that Onesimus returns no longer as a slave but as a dear brother.  But the fact that he returns shows that he is, in a sense, still a slave.  As a slave, he has an obligation to his master.  And Paul returns him so that he can fulfill his obligation.  In the Jewish system, individuals sold themselves for a period of time for cash and work, much like the current system of sports contracts.  At the end of the contract, they were free to pursue another contract.  There were also other types of slave contracts where individuals were treated as property with little benefit to the individual.  It is not clear under which system Onesimus was.  Also, Paul agrees to pay any expense that Onesimus has caused.  In both cases, Paul gives importance to the issue of obligation.  In fact, Paul ends by reminding Philemon of his obligation to Paul.  God obviously considers our contractual and financial obligations, as well as our promises of key importance.  As believers, we have a moral duty to fulfill our obligations--it is part of our witness as believers.  What have I promised that I have not fulfilled?

QT 25 May 11

Philem 8-11 (NIV) Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul — an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus —  10 I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

NOTE: Paul seems to know Philemon.  The letter to the Colossians suggests that Philemon is from Laodicea or Colossae.  Paul was never there but the friendship with Philemon suggests that they have met somewhere.  Perhaps Paul met Philemon on his travels outside of Laodicea/Colossae.  Since Philemon has a slave, it is possible Philemon was conducting business outside of the town when he met.  But Paul also seems to know Apphia (possible Philemon's sister or wife) and Archippus (possibly Philemon's brother or son).  Paul traveled through Galatia, so it is possible to have met them in some context, i.e., visiting relatives, on a trip to the beach, or as some commentators suggest--in Ephesus (which is also not far).  In any case, there is a relationship between Paul and Philemon.

Paul states that he could command Philemon to act in a certain way, probably due to his Apostleship, but instead he chooses to appeal on the basis of love.  What a wonderful picture and contrast of the old covenant (OC) to the new covenant (NC).  In the NC, it is the heart that matters and not the strict letter of the law.  Also, in the NC, we have a changed heart because of the Word of God (which transforms our mind), and the Holy Spirit which lives within us and convicts us of our sin and also gives us the power to change.  While there is no record of how Philemon responds, Paul's confidence and the working of God's Spirit suggests that Philemon obeyed. 

In the same way, we need to carefully consider the suggestions and challenges of others to us.  We need to ask God to open our eyes to our faults and sins.  And we need to repent and seek to be obedient to God in the things he reveals to us.   

QT 23 May 11

Philem 6 (NIV) I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

NOTE: This is another example of Paul's prayer for others.  It is a request that is outward focused and spiritual, as opposed to worldly and inward.  It also reveals an interesting truth.  Our ability to understand the blessings we have in Christ is directly affected by our activity in sharing our faith.  So, if we shrink back in our willingness or activity in sharing the gospel, we miss out in understanding some of the good things that we have in Christ.  I wonder if one of those good things is seeing a person come to the Lord and that life changed.  I have seen a few people whose life the gospel dramatically changed because of my witness.  It was and still is a great joy to me to have been a part of God's work.  I think we miss out on that joy when we are not actively sharing our faith.  Lord, give me boldness to stand up and identify with Jesus in all my activities.

QT 18 May 11

Col 4:3-4 (NIV) And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.

NOTE: I do appreciate prayer requests that are in the scripture, because they tend to be so much different than the modern day prayer request.  Although in defense of modern day prayer request, elsewhere in scripture, it says, "ask anything."  So, I must not be too harsh on my day and age.  Still, the prayer requests in the scripture are much more spiritual and mission focused.  They are not about self, but much bigger in scope.  They are focused on opportunities to share the message.  Someone once said that we are to pray for boldness, not opportunities, but here Paul asks prayer for open doors.  He also prays for clarity of the message.  Of course the message itself never changes, but people's needs and understanding are different.  We need to think through how to communicate in a way that captures their attention and also fully communicates the essential aspects of the gospel -- that is, our sin and rebellion from God, our inability to save ourselves, Jesus death that fully paid the penalty for our sin, our need to put our faith in Christ's work and to repent of our sin.  Repentance captures the emotion or heart aspect of our salvation.  It is not a work, Jesus did the work, but repentance shows that our heart is involved with our mind (understanding what Jesus did), and our will (asking Jesus to come into our life and be our savior).

QT 16 May 11

Col 4:2 (NIV) Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

NOTE: Having just concluded three key relationship pairs (husband/wife, father/children, and employer/employee), Paul adds a command, without the attendant "and" which follows this verse -- suggesting that this command is related to the previous discussion on key relationships.  The command is to "devote yourselves to prayer." Devote implies a commitment that is beyond ordinary practice.  It is not something to do, it is one thing you always do.  Alas, it is not always that way in my life, and more often the one thing I don't get to.  Paul also characterizes prayer as watchful and thankful.  I understand the need for thankfulness in prayer, and it has transformed my prayer life and myself as well.  Watchfulness suggests more of a contemplative aspect to prayer, and possibly more akin to a discussion with God about the issues of the day or of my life.  I do that as well, but not quite as often.  It reminds me of a statement I heard recently of an old saint who said "I must discuss this with my Lord first."  I may have quoted it wrong, but I like the thought.  That is how prayer should be, a discussion with our Lord about all aspects of our life.

QT 13 May 2011

Col 3:1-4 (NIV)  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

NOTE: Now, we move from the doctrinal portion of a letter to a group that Paul had never met, to the practical portion of a letter to a group that Paul had never met.  This is significant, because Paul is not highlighting things he said in the past, or filling in holes of things he left out.  There is no known verbal communication between Paul and the Colossians -- they never met.  Rather, this is Paul's explanation of the practical and moral requirements of the New Covenant.  If Paul meant for them to follow the law, why does he not say it here?  If Paul is just highlighting laws from the Old Covenant, why does he not highlight ceremony or dietary laws (of note -- neither he nor any of the NT authors ever do highlight those laws).  In fact, he seems to go out of the way to do just the opposite (chapter 2).  He has just told them not to judge anyone on food or drink or special days.  In the verses that follow these, he will give specific rules to judge a believer .  But his first point, has nothing to do with laws, in fact his emphasis is on our focus.  Christ should be the focus of our heart.  Our mind should be focused on spiritual things and not upon earthly things.  We have a new life with Christ, to be revealed when we are caught up to heaven.  So the New Covenant reward is in heaven, not on earth, as opposed to the Old Covenant.  Under the Mosaic law, obedience to the law resulted in defined blessings, both individually and nationally.  And disobedience resulted in very specific curses, both individually and nationally.  Under the law of Christ, our reward is in heaven and from it we await our savior.  We obey out of love for an undeserved salvation.  Yes, there is a reward, but it is a heavenly reward and not an earthly reward.  The New Covenant is very different from the Old Covenant.

QT 4 May 11

Col 2:14-19 (NIV) … having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

NOTE: This is the problem with those who want to incorporate the OT law into their NT faith, the result is a false humility.  A false humility is a belief that you are pleasing God by your obedience to laws that no one else is following, that somehow you are more pious.  And while I do not understand the worship of angels, I do understand the phrase, "… unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions."  People begin to find arguments in the scripture for the things which they do that are not scriptural.  And they reinterpret obvious scriptural truths into unobvious conclusions to justify their incorrect arguments.  Then they begin to think that they are wiser than others because they see this deep truth that others don't see.  It really is a subtle form of Gnosticism.  While I do accept the proposition that most churches in America are a poor imitations of first-century churches and first-century doctrine, and so are missing out on the reality of a relationship with Jesus Christ, I am concerned when orthodoxy is ignored.  Godly men have given their lives to study and to stand up for the scriptures, and we cannot throw orthodoxy out the window, especially when it explains the scripture in a common sense way of understanding.  In other words, be careful of the extremely small off-the-wall churches that spring up, claiming to be the real representatives of first-century churches, and of extreme minority views of doctrine -- they are most often even more wrong than the dead churches they seek to replace.

QT 3 May 11

Col 2:13-17 (NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

NOTE: Clearly the people were not following the law prior to Christ, since they are called "uncircumcision."  But when we believed, God made us spiritually alive.  He forgave all our sin.  And most importantly he canceled the written code with its regulations.  That is why verse 16 says that no one can judge us by dietary or ceremonial regulations (the law).  As the book of Hebrews also says, they are a shadow of the things that were to come, the reality is found in Christ.  The law points us to Christ.  It does not augment nor does it replace.  Christ replaces the law.  It says that he took it away.  He nailed it to the cross, the symbol of death and suffering.  They have no power or bind upon our life.

It hurts my soul so much to see people who want to be under the regulation of the OT law when there is freedom in Jesus Christ.  Why do we insist on wanting to be under the law?  Why do we need a checklist to measure our spiritual growth?  Why can we not focus on getting to know God, and allowing him to change the inner person?

QT 2 May 11

Col 2:9-12 (NIV) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

NOTE: Verse 9 makes the case for Christ's deity very clear, "the fullness of Deity lives in bodily form, …."  And yet, there are groups that want to deny the deity of Christ, or the reality of his physical life.  But he lived among us, in bodily form.  God-man, somehow, emptied himself (Phil 2:5) to live among us.  How amazing! 

The second point is that we are circumcised in Christ, and the passage is very clear, the circumcision is not done by the hands of men, but is done by Christ' death and resurrection.  We identify with the family of God on the basis of baptism and not on the basis of circumcision.  Again, those who argue that the OT law is binding are clearly wrong, since circumcision is one of the defining characteristics of the OT covenant.  And if you can pick and choose from the OT law, who decides then what is required and what is not required?  For myself, it is clear, the NT covenant is defined by Jesus Christ and the Apostles.  The law of Christ (Gal 6:2), which is not heavy (Matt 11:30), is the requirement for me as a believer in Christ.  It is not done to curry God's favor -- I am already accepted as a son -- but it is an expression of my love to God (Jn 14:21) for my salvation.