Can't Help But Hope

Colossians 1:27

In the midst of troubled times, when economies are shaking, prices are sky-rocketing and investments are vanishing, it is easy to grow distressed. Even believers, washed in the precious blood of Christ can find themselves looking at the stormy waves and ignoring the sleeping Savior inside of their vessel. It is easy to forget that we have Him, not only in our boat so to speak, but living in our hearts, and He is our provider.

While the world can find little to be hopeful for, the Christian need look no further than Christ’s finished work, being manifested in their very life. The mystery among the Gentiles is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is such a mystery because it defies all natural laws. Only with Christ can you find peace in the storm. Only with Christ can you see the problems that befall our nation and have no fear for tomorrow. He is not around you, or near you, for that would be too far away. He is in you, reminding you that His grace is rich (verse 27)!

Jesus told His disciples that the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer was to convince, or convict them of righteousness. This does not mean that He is in you to tell you to live righteous every day. If you could just ‘live righteous’ by being told to, then the 10 Commandments would do just fine, but we know that Israel had those and didn’t live righteous at all. Jesus further explains it when he tells you why the Spirit convicts of righteousness:

“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10).

The Holy Spirit must remind the believer of their righteousness because without Jesus standing by us in the flesh, it will be easy to feel that He is not with us at all. The Spirit works constantly to convince the believer that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, even if they don’t feel like it.

Christ in us is as our hope for all of glory. When we acknowledge that He is there, in spite of our circumstances, we are bringing His glory to light, allowing Him to control our circumstances. Many Christians wander through this life subject to the same things that their worldly counterparts suffer through because they do not rest in Christ’s finished work in their life. Be reminded today that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Need hope? Look inside and find Jesus.

Zechariah told the Israelites to turn to the strong hold when they were in need. Jesus is that strong hold, anchored in Calvary’s cross, unshakable in times of shaking. The prophet completes the statement with, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee” (Zechariah 9:12). I love the phrase ‘prisoners of hope’. When you view Christ as your hope of glory, you become a prisoner to that hope. You can’t help but hope!

Remember who you are in Jesus; and remember who Jesus is in you. Christ is in you, even if you don’t feel like it. The Holy Spirit is proclaiming that you are righteous in Christ. Don’t worry about the shaking, for He is greater than it all.

God Has Brought Us Back

Colossians 1:20, 21

The Greek word for “reconcile” means, “to bring back to a former state of harmony”. The harmony that God had with Adam, where He walked with him and conversed in the cool of the day, was lost the moment that Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This sin of rebellion caused death to enter Adam, and it put a gulf between God and man. Literally, sin had stolen God’s creation away from Him.

Jesus came to the earth in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), so that He could live every demand of the Law and be viewed in the eyes of His Father as the perfect man. This perfection could then be used as a sacrifice for all of the fallen seed of Adam’s race. Jesus took the sin of the world into His body and was smitten of God at the cross (Isaiah 53:4) as the satisfaction for the stain of sin (1 John 2:2). This act reconciled man back to God. With sin no longer an issue, the only thing separating God and man, is whether or not man will believe.

Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that condemnation falls on those who “believe not” (John 3:18). He says nothing of condemnation falling on us for sin. Sin has been solved, with Christ’s blood as the solution. Now, we are distanced by our rejection of Christ and his finished work.

Paul said in Colossians 1:20 that God “made peace through the blood of his cross”. This peace is a peace between God and man, not between man and man. Men are not at peace, but God is at peace with men! His wrath was poured out on Jesus at Calvary, so there is no more left for you, unless you reject that sacrifice. Without the cross to take the wrath that is meant for you, “the wrath of God abideth on you” (John 3:36).

Our wicked works caused us to alienate ourselves from God (Colossians 2:21). We were not aliens or enemies, but we thought that we were. Recall, how we have discussed the need to view yourself as His righteousness? When we look only to our works, we alienate ourselves in our minds. The text doesn’t say that God views us this way, but that we do. Because of the finished work of the cross, let’s stop viewing ourselves differently than God does!

Finally, we have been reconciled to God, and given that message as the core of all ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18). God did not need to be reconciled to us; He needed to be propitiated, or satisfied. Christ’s sacrificial work at the cross completely satisfied the Father. You and I needed to be reconciled, for it was us who had sinned. Thank God for the cross and the fact that Jesus has brought us all back to God.

You are a reconciled, adopted, child of God today. Live like it saint!

You Are Dead

Colossians 3:1-4

The title for today seems kind of morbid, doesn’t it? “You are dead” is not a very encouraging way to start your day I’ll admit, but within context of the scripture, it is quite encouraging. The “old you” is gone, with all of its sins and transgressions, and the “new you” is alive through the life of Jesus Christ. When someone meets you that hasn’t seen you since your conversion, they may very well say, “You have changed. You aren’t the same person that you used to be”, take it as a compliment; for you are dead!

Just because your old man is dead does not mean that you never fail, but it does mean that when God looks at you, He sees nothing but your new man. This is why Paul emphasized that your life “is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). It is not your old man that is hid; remember it is dead, but it is your new life that is hidden. Inside of the sacrifice of Christ is the new you, for Christ is living through you to the glory of the Father.

I have heard it said that Jesus is walking next to the believer, defending them from harm. Actually, Jesus is living through the believer so that they are more than a conqueror. You never need fear that you will go somewhere that Jesus will abandon you or leave you alone. You cannot run Him off or run Him out, for He has purchased you with a price. When God views you, He cannot help but see Jesus, for it is the blood of the Lamb that marks the house of your heart.
Paul continues with, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Christ is not a part of our life, He IS our life! My life is non-existent without Christ, for the old me is dead. Without Jesus, there is nothing to define me, and that is a wonderful thing to cherish. We are all just a fading shadow without Christ; but with Him as our Comforter and guide, we are the living, breathing, righteousness of God.

Since we know that we are a new creation, and that Jesus is living through us, we should set all of our attentions on showing forth Christ in our daily lives. While we live a life of abundance and favor, we are to keep our desires toward heaven; with glorifying the Father in the forefront of our hearts and minds. The Christian life is not about doing the right and shunning the wrong; it is about a relationship with the Father. Once we know who we are in Jesus, there should be a daily desire to show His love and grace to the world around us. As long as we are consumed with getting new things and being someone on this earth, we are thinking very little about presenting Christ to a world in desperate need of salvation.

May you relax today in the knowledge that the old man has passed away and that your new man is hidden with Christ in God. Now, take that knowledge and do something great with it! You have a chance to set your affection on Godly things, with the finished work of Christ in your sights. Will you squander another day looking for your own pleasures, or will you share of His love with a hurting world?

Disarming the Devil

Colossians 2:14-15

For the past several decades there has been talk of nuclear disarmament between nations. This dialogue between rival nations has been to stifle any chance of a nuclear war which would effectively wipe the earth of mankind. When you see the videos of nuclear explosions, it is easy to see why the nations want to rid future wars of these terrible weapons, and common sense says that if you do not possess a certain weapon, there is no opportunity to use it.

Satan has hated mankind from the moment he laid eyes on Adam in the Garden. His objective then was to bring sin into the world through one man’s disobedience, and he succeeded (Romans 5:12). He then fought to stop the Promised Seed from coming by causing multiple rebellions and sins among God’s people, yet Jesus came anyhow, born of a virgin, and fathered by the Holy Spirit. He then lost all of his ability to wage war at the cross when Jesus crushed his head.

You would think that Satan would have conceded defeat when Jesus rolled the stone away from the Garden tomb, but he is still on the prowl, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If we are not aware of the defeat of Satan, we will think that it is still our job to defeat him, and we will turn to our own righteousness to do so. The landscape of the church is littered with the bodies of those who have attempted to overcome the enemy by their religious devices, only to be incinerated by a defeated foe.

When Christ died on the cross, he took the law of Moses, which had inflamed and revived sin within the heart of man for over 1500 years (Romans 5:20; 7:9), and He moved it out of man’s way. The obstacle that had kept man from God was the Law, which was “holy, just and good” (Romans 7:12), though it provided man with no help to become just, holy and good. We know that it was the law that Jesus removed, for Colossians says that he blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Colossians 2:14). The Law was written by the very hand of God, and it had stood against man for too long.

To remove the law as an obstacle, Jesus nailed it to His cross, thus finalizing its demands and its requirements. He then made a show of the powers of darkness, insulting them with His precious blood by triumphing over them in His victory. This disarmed the devil, taking the one thing away from him that he had been able to use against man for centuries: the law.

Satan is a master of guilt and condemnation. He takes your knowledge of the law and uses it against you, always pointing out to you that you are a failure and condemning you for every act that you do, even the “good” ones. His voice screams at you that you are not doing enough to please God or that you have done too much to ever be any good to heaven. By disarming the devil of the law, God was taking away his leverage. He now has nothing to scream at you, for the law has been fulfilled by Christ.

This is knowledge that Satan has, but do you? If you are not aware that the law has been removed as an obstacle then you will go about every day attempting to do things to please your heavenly Father. Satan will take every available moment to condemn for what you do and do not do. Realize that the law is no hindrance, for Jesus has moved it out of the way. The moment that you see just how finished the finished work is, you will be no slave to condemnation and failure, and Satan will have been de-fanged. Praise God!

Complete in Him

Colossians 2:10

Within Jesus Christ is all of God’s nature complete (Colossians 2:9), and you and I dwell in Christ, and He in us. Because Christ is complete then we are complete in Him, meaning that there is nothing lacking in the believer. When we grow in Christ, we are not adding to who we already are, we are simply shedding the old habits and ways and allowing who He is to shine forth from our life.

When Paul told the church at Rome how to avoid looking and acting like the world, he told them to be transformed, by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). The transformation of the believer has nothing to do with adding more works to their lives, but rather it is in the stripping away of the way that we used to think and respond. We cannot do this without the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, but with Him, we are slowly but surely changed into the very image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

If Paul says that we are complete, what more can we add that has not been placed in us by Christ? Even the things in our lives that we know are not right and that need fixed are simply remnants of the old man which is constantly being put off as we grow in Christ. Just as a sculptor will look at a chunk of marble and see a beautiful masterpiece trapped inside, God looks at us with all of our problems and idiosyncrasies and sees a wonderful finished product, fashioned in the very image of His Son Jesus.

Paul writes that part of our completion is accomplished through the fact that we “are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). We know that the circumcision of Christ cannot mean His physical circumcision, for how could that make a difference in our sinful flesh? This circumcision of Christ is the cutting off of Jesus from the Father, causing Jesus to cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

When we accept Christ, we are taking part in the cutting off of Jesus, having our sinful flesh cut away. We are no longer a slave to its nature and passions, though our old mindsets remain. These mindsets are constantly being dealt with by the believer, as we change our mind to reflect our new nature. Nothing needs to be added to us in order to take away sin, for Jesus has already taken it away, instead, let us take away the old mentality that makes us see ourselves as fallen and sinful.

Jesus bore all that He did at the cross so that you would not have to. Rejoice in all that He did for you and dwell on it everyday. Because He took it, you get the blessings! Memorize what He did and meditate on these:

Jesus was made poor, so that I could be made rich; He was made naked so that I could be clothed in the garments of salvation and the robes of righteousness; He became the curse so that I could have the blessing; He was rejected so that I would be accepted; He was made to be sin so that I could be made the righteousness of God; His body was broken so that mine could be whole and healthy; He cried “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, so that I could cry, “Daddy, daddy, why are you so good to me?”

He is good and you are complete in Him!

Can't Help But Hope

Colossians 1:27

In the midst of troubled times, when economies are shaking, prices are sky-rocketing and investments are vanishing, it is easy to grow distressed. Even believers, washed in the precious blood of Christ can find themselves looking at the stormy waves and ignoring the sleeping Savior inside of their vessel. It is easy to forget that we have Him, not only in our boat so to speak, but living in our hearts, and He is our provider.

While the world can find little to be hopeful for, the Christian need look no further than Christ’s finished work, being manifested in their very life. The mystery among the Gentiles is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is such a mystery because it defies all natural laws. Only with Christ can you find peace in the storm. Only with Christ can you see the problems that befall our nation and have no fear for tomorrow. He is not around you, or near you, for that would be too far away. He is in you, reminding you that His grace is rich (verse 27)!

Jesus told His disciples that the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer was to convince, or convict them of righteousness. This does not mean that He is in you to tell you to live righteous every day. If you could just ‘live righteous’ by being told to, then the 10 Commandments would do just fine, but we know that Israel had those and didn’t live righteous at all. Jesus further explains it when he tells you why the Spirit convicts of righteousness:

“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10).

The Holy Spirit must remind the believer of their righteousness because without Jesus standing by us in the flesh, it will be easy to feel that He is not with us at all. The Spirit works constantly to convince the believer that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, even if they don’t feel like it.

Christ in us is as our hope for all of glory. When we acknowledge that He is there, in spite of our circumstances, we are bringing His glory to light, allowing Him to control our circumstances. Many Christians wander through this life subject to the same things that their worldly counterparts suffer through because they do not rest in Christ’s finished work in their life. Be reminded today that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Need hope? Look inside and find Jesus.

Zechariah told the Israelites to turn to the strong hold when they were in need. Jesus is that strong hold, anchored in Calvary’s cross, unshakable in times of shaking. The prophet completes the statement with, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee” (Zechariah 9:12). I love the phrase ‘prisoners of hope’. When you view Christ as your hope of glory, you become a prisoner to that hope. You can’t help but hope!

Remember who you are in Jesus; and remember who Jesus is in you. Christ is in you, even if you don’t feel like it. The Holy Spirit is proclaiming that you are righteous in Christ. Don’t worry about the shaking, for He is greater than it all.

God Has Brought Us Back

Colossians 1:20, 21

The Greek word for “reconcile” means, “to bring back to a former state of harmony”. The harmony that God had with Adam, where He walked with him and conversed in the cool of the day, was lost the moment that Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This sin of rebellion caused death to enter Adam, and it put a gulf between God and man. Literally, sin had stolen God’s creation away from Him.

Jesus came to the earth in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), so that He could live every demand of the Law and be viewed in the eyes of His Father as the perfect man. This perfection could then be used as a sacrifice for all of the fallen seed of Adam’s race. Jesus took the sin of the world into His body and was smitten of God at the cross (Isaiah 53:4) as the satisfaction for the stain of sin (1 John 2:2). This act reconciled man back to God. With sin no longer an issue, the only thing separating God and man, is whether or not man will believe.

Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that condemnation falls on those who “believe not” (John 3:18). He says nothing of condemnation falling on us for sin. Sin has been solved, with Christ’s blood as the solution. Now, we are distanced by our rejection of Christ and his finished work.

Paul said in Colossians 1:20 that God “made peace through the blood of his cross”. This peace is a peace between God and man, not between man and man. Men are not at peace, but God is at peace with men! His wrath was poured out on Jesus at Calvary, so there is no more left for you, unless you reject that sacrifice. Without the cross to take the wrath that is meant for you, “the wrath of God abideth on you” (John 3:36).

Our wicked works caused us to alienate ourselves from God (Colossians 2:21). We were not aliens or enemies, but we thought that we were. Recall, how we have discussed the need to view yourself as His righteousness? When we look only to our works, we alienate ourselves in our minds. The text doesn’t say that God views us this way, but that we do. Because of the finished work of the cross, let’s stop viewing ourselves differently than God does!

Finally, we have been reconciled to God, and given that message as the core of all ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18). God did not need to be reconciled to us; He needed to be propitiated, or satisfied. Christ’s sacrificial work at the cross completely satisfied the Father. You and I needed to be reconciled, for it was us who had sinned. Thank God for the cross and the fact that Jesus has brought us all back to God.

You are a reconciled, adopted, child of God today. Live like it saint!

You Are Dead

Colossians 3:1-4

The title for today seems kind of morbid, doesn’t it? “You are dead” is not a very encouraging way to start your day I’ll admit, but within context of the scripture, it is quite encouraging. The “old you” is gone, with all of its sins and transgressions, and the “new you” is alive through the life of Jesus Christ. When someone meets you that hasn’t seen you since your conversion, they may very well say, “You have changed. You aren’t the same person that you used to be”, take it as a compliment; for you are dead!

Just because your old man is dead does not mean that you never fail, but it does mean that when God looks at you, He sees nothing but your new man. This is why Paul emphasized that your life “is hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). It is not your old man that is hid; remember it is dead, but it is your new life that is hidden. Inside of the sacrifice of Christ is the new you, for Christ is living through you to the glory of the Father.

I have heard it said that Jesus is walking next to the believer, defending them from harm. Actually, Jesus is living through the believer so that they are more than a conqueror. You never need fear that you will go somewhere that Jesus will abandon you or leave you alone. You cannot run Him off or run Him out, for He has purchased you with a price. When God views you, He cannot help but see Jesus, for it is the blood of the Lamb that marks the house of your heart.
Paul continues with, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Christ is not a part of our life, He IS our life! My life is non-existent without Christ, for the old me is dead. Without Jesus, there is nothing to define me, and that is a wonderful thing to cherish. We are all just a fading shadow without Christ; but with Him as our Comforter and guide, we are the living, breathing, righteousness of God.

Since we know that we are a new creation, and that Jesus is living through us, we should set all of our attentions on showing forth Christ in our daily lives. While we live a life of abundance and favor, we are to keep our desires toward heaven; with glorifying the Father in the forefront of our hearts and minds. The Christian life is not about doing the right and shunning the wrong; it is about a relationship with the Father. Once we know who we are in Jesus, there should be a daily desire to show His love and grace to the world around us. As long as we are consumed with getting new things and being someone on this earth, we are thinking very little about presenting Christ to a world in desperate need of salvation.

May you relax today in the knowledge that the old man has passed away and that your new man is hidden with Christ in God. Now, take that knowledge and do something great with it! You have a chance to set your affection on Godly things, with the finished work of Christ in your sights. Will you squander another day looking for your own pleasures, or will you share of His love with a hurting world?

A Religious Show

Colossians 3:20-23

Christianity is about a relationship between God and man through the finished work of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout the history of the church, which is another name for the collective body of believers that are all followers of Christ, man has done a little here and a little there to make that relationship look more like a religion. Religion denotes man’s activities to become more like God; while relationship is founded on love and compassion, and Christ’s complete victory at the cross.

When we become a Christian, or “get saved”, we die with Christ, identified in His death at Calvary. That death is not physical of course, but is spiritual, and it kills us off from the attractions and trappings of this world. If we are dead to the “rudiments” or principles of this world (Colossians 3:20), why are we making ourselves subject to ordinances or laws that do not apply to us? For instance, if we are alive in Christ, and He is living His life through us, why would we place physical restrictions on ourselves like, “touch not; taste not; handle not”? These are “commandments and doctrines of men”, and we are not like other men!

Religion quickly imposes a series of “do’s” and “don’ts”. If you “do” the “do’s”, and “don’t” the “don’ts”, you get rewarded with blessings and goodness. If you fail to do when you should, or you don’t watch the “don’ts”, you are cursed and punished. Relationship deals with us based on the merit of Jesus’ work at the cross. He did all that He was supposed to do and didn’t do what He wasn’t supposed to do, thus fulfilling all of the demands of God’s holy law (Matthew 5:17).

When we begin to restrict what people can watch, listen to, be involved in or wear, we are imposing a series of ordinances onto them. Why would bind them to a system that they have been delivered from? Jesus delivered us from the trappings of law, so we should live free without it. Paul said that when you impose these things on believers, they certainly appear to be holy, but they do nothing to change the heart. Look closely at his words:

“Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh” (Colossians 2:23).

Following after these ordinances has an appearance of wisdom in “will worship” which is “self-imposed” worship, and it makes you look humble because you are neglecting certain physical desires and comforts and entertainments, but Paul says that they will not “honor to the satisfying of the flesh”. In other words, they lack value in restraining the sensual desires. In fact, if you impose regulations and ordinances on people, it causes the sensual desires to explode (Romans 5:20)

If you want to be closer to God, don’t make a mental list of things to exclude and include in your life; that is religion. Instead, seek a relationship with Jesus Christ by going to His finished work and accepting His price paid at the cross. He will embrace those who embrace by faith what Christ has accomplished.

Disarming the Devil

Colossians 2:14-15

For the past several decades there has been talk of nuclear disarmament between nations. This dialogue between rival nations has been to stifle any chance of a nuclear war which would effectively wipe the earth of mankind. When you see the videos of nuclear explosions, it is easy to see why the nations want to rid future wars of these terrible weapons, and common sense says that if you do not possess a certain weapon, there is no opportunity to use it.

Satan has hated mankind from the moment he laid eyes on Adam in the Garden. His objective then was to bring sin into the world through one man’s disobedience, and he succeeded (Romans 5:12). He then fought to stop the Promised Seed from coming by causing multiple rebellions and sins among God’s people, yet Jesus came anyhow, born of a virgin, and fathered by the Holy Spirit. He then lost all of his ability to wage war at the cross when Jesus crushed his head.

You would think that Satan would have conceded defeat when Jesus rolled the stone away from the Garden tomb, but he is still on the prowl, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). If we are not aware of the defeat of Satan, we will think that it is still our job to defeat him, and we will turn to our own righteousness to do so. The landscape of the church is littered with the bodies of those who have attempted to overcome the enemy by their religious devices, only to be incinerated by a defeated foe.

When Christ died on the cross, he took the law of Moses, which had inflamed and revived sin within the heart of man for over 1500 years (Romans 5:20; 7:9), and He moved it out of man’s way. The obstacle that had kept man from God was the Law, which was “holy, just and good” (Romans 7:12), though it provided man with no help to become just, holy and good. We know that it was the law that Jesus removed, for Colossians says that he blotted out “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” (Colossians 2:14). The Law was written by the very hand of God, and it had stood against man for too long.

To remove the law as an obstacle, Jesus nailed it to His cross, thus finalizing its demands and its requirements. He then made a show of the powers of darkness, insulting them with His precious blood by triumphing over them in His victory. This disarmed the devil, taking the one thing away from him that he had been able to use against man for centuries: the law.

Satan is a master of guilt and condemnation. He takes your knowledge of the law and uses it against you, always pointing out to you that you are a failure and condemning you for every act that you do, even the “good” ones. His voice screams at you that you are not doing enough to please God or that you have done too much to ever be any good to heaven. By disarming the devil of the law, God was taking away his leverage. He now has nothing to scream at you, for the law has been fulfilled by Christ.

This is knowledge that Satan has, but do you? If you are not aware that the law has been removed as an obstacle then you will go about every day attempting to do things to please your heavenly Father. Satan will take every available moment to condemn for what you do and do not do. Realize that the law is no hindrance, for Jesus has moved it out of the way. The moment that you see just how finished the finished work is, you will be no slave to condemnation and failure, and Satan will have been de-fanged. Praise God!

Complete in Him

Colossians 2:10

Within Jesus Christ is all of God’s nature complete (Colossians 2:9), and you and I dwell in Christ, and He in us. Because Christ is complete then we are complete in Him, meaning that there is nothing lacking in the believer. When we grow in Christ, we are not adding to who we already are, we are simply shedding the old habits and ways and allowing who He is to shine forth from our life.

When Paul told the church at Rome how to avoid looking and acting like the world, he told them to be transformed, by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). The transformation of the believer has nothing to do with adding more works to their lives, but rather it is in the stripping away of the way that we used to think and respond. We cannot do this without the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, but with Him, we are slowly but surely changed into the very image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

If Paul says that we are complete, what more can we add that has not been placed in us by Christ? Even the things in our lives that we know are not right and that need fixed are simply remnants of the old man which is constantly being put off as we grow in Christ. Just as a sculptor will look at a chunk of marble and see a beautiful masterpiece trapped inside, God looks at us with all of our problems and idiosyncrasies and sees a wonderful finished product, fashioned in the very image of His Son Jesus.

Paul writes that part of our completion is accomplished through the fact that we “are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Colossians 2:11). We know that the circumcision of Christ cannot mean His physical circumcision, for how could that make a difference in our sinful flesh? This circumcision of Christ is the cutting off of Jesus from the Father, causing Jesus to cry, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

When we accept Christ, we are taking part in the cutting off of Jesus, having our sinful flesh cut away. We are no longer a slave to its nature and passions, though our old mindsets remain. These mindsets are constantly being dealt with by the believer, as we change our mind to reflect our new nature. Nothing needs to be added to us in order to take away sin, for Jesus has already taken it away, instead, let us take away the old mentality that makes us see ourselves as fallen and sinful.

Jesus bore all that He did at the cross so that you would not have to. Rejoice in all that He did for you and dwell on it everyday. Because He took it, you get the blessings! Memorize what He did and meditate on these:

Jesus was made poor, so that I could be made rich; He was made naked so that I could be clothed in the garments of salvation and the robes of righteousness; He became the curse so that I could have the blessing; He was rejected so that I would be accepted; He was made to be sin so that I could be made the righteousness of God; His body was broken so that mine could be whole and healthy; He cried “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”, so that I could cry, “Daddy, daddy, why are you so good to me?”

He is good and you are complete in Him!

Can't Help But Hope

Colossians 1:27

In the midst of troubled times, when economies are shaking, prices are sky-rocketing and investments are vanishing, it is easy to grow distressed. Even believers, washed in the precious blood of Christ can find themselves looking at the stormy waves and ignoring the sleeping Savior inside of their vessel. It is easy to forget that we have Him, not only in our boat so to speak, but living in our hearts, and He is our provider.

While the world can find little to be hopeful for, the Christian need look no further than Christ’s finished work, being manifested in their very life. The mystery among the Gentiles is “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). It is such a mystery because it defies all natural laws. Only with Christ can you find peace in the storm. Only with Christ can you see the problems that befall our nation and have no fear for tomorrow. He is not around you, or near you, for that would be too far away. He is in you, reminding you that His grace is rich (verse 27)!

Jesus told His disciples that the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer was to convince, or convict them of righteousness. This does not mean that He is in you to tell you to live righteous every day. If you could just ‘live righteous’ by being told to, then the 10 Commandments would do just fine, but we know that Israel had those and didn’t live righteous at all. Jesus further explains it when he tells you why the Spirit convicts of righteousness:

“Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more” (John 16:10).

The Holy Spirit must remind the believer of their righteousness because without Jesus standing by us in the flesh, it will be easy to feel that He is not with us at all. The Spirit works constantly to convince the believer that they are the righteousness of God in Christ, even if they don’t feel like it.

Christ in us is as our hope for all of glory. When we acknowledge that He is there, in spite of our circumstances, we are bringing His glory to light, allowing Him to control our circumstances. Many Christians wander through this life subject to the same things that their worldly counterparts suffer through because they do not rest in Christ’s finished work in their life. Be reminded today that He will never leave you nor forsake you. Need hope? Look inside and find Jesus.

Zechariah told the Israelites to turn to the strong hold when they were in need. Jesus is that strong hold, anchored in Calvary’s cross, unshakable in times of shaking. The prophet completes the statement with, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee” (Zechariah 9:12). I love the phrase ‘prisoners of hope’. When you view Christ as your hope of glory, you become a prisoner to that hope. You can’t help but hope!

Remember who you are in Jesus; and remember who Jesus is in you. Christ is in you, even if you don’t feel like it. The Holy Spirit is proclaiming that you are righteous in Christ. Don’t worry about the shaking, for He is greater than it all.

God Has Brought Us Back

Colossians 1:20, 21

The Greek word for “reconcile” means, “to bring back to a former state of harmony”. The harmony that God had with Adam, where He walked with him and conversed in the cool of the day, was lost the moment that Adam ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This sin of rebellion caused death to enter Adam, and it put a gulf between God and man. Literally, sin had stolen God’s creation away from Him.

Jesus came to the earth in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), so that He could live every demand of the Law and be viewed in the eyes of His Father as the perfect man. This perfection could then be used as a sacrifice for all of the fallen seed of Adam’s race. Jesus took the sin of the world into His body and was smitten of God at the cross (Isaiah 53:4) as the satisfaction for the stain of sin (1 John 2:2). This act reconciled man back to God. With sin no longer an issue, the only thing separating God and man, is whether or not man will believe.

Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that condemnation falls on those who “believe not” (John 3:18). He says nothing of condemnation falling on us for sin. Sin has been solved, with Christ’s blood as the solution. Now, we are distanced by our rejection of Christ and his finished work.

Paul said in Colossians 1:20 that God “made peace through the blood of his cross”. This peace is a peace between God and man, not between man and man. Men are not at peace, but God is at peace with men! His wrath was poured out on Jesus at Calvary, so there is no more left for you, unless you reject that sacrifice. Without the cross to take the wrath that is meant for you, “the wrath of God abideth on you” (John 3:36).

Our wicked works caused us to alienate ourselves from God (Colossians 2:21). We were not aliens or enemies, but we thought that we were. Recall, how we have discussed the need to view yourself as His righteousness? When we look only to our works, we alienate ourselves in our minds. The text doesn’t say that God views us this way, but that we do. Because of the finished work of the cross, let’s stop viewing ourselves differently than God does!

Finally, we have been reconciled to God, and given that message as the core of all ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18). God did not need to be reconciled to us; He needed to be propitiated, or satisfied. Christ’s sacrificial work at the cross completely satisfied the Father. You and I needed to be reconciled, for it was us who had sinned. Thank God for the cross and the fact that Jesus has brought us all back to God.

You are a reconciled, adopted, child of God today. Live like it saint!