Pitiful or Powerful
Hi Jessica! I really enjoyed the Bible Study last night. It is always so good to see you and be encouraged by you. I wasn't sure what to blog about today, and have given it some thought. I remembered you expressed a desire to know where to start in finding what your "responsibilities" are in living the Christian lifestyle. I thought I could blog a little bit about that.
The Scriptures often speak to us of "putting on" and "putting off" when addressing Christian conduct. Just as we put on clothes, we can put on Godly ways. Colossians 3:8-17 is an excellent example.
Colossians 3:8-10 "But now (since becoming a Christian) put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blashpemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him."
Don't hurry through this too much, because you will not get the depth if it. For instance, this list gives us some things we would do well to consider. For instance, anger and wrath are both listed. What is the difference between them? They are two different words. Wrath describes a more agitated condition of feelings coming from inward indignation and generally will rise up quickly and subside (reminds me of "road rage"), while anger is connected with a condition of the mind that is more settled and abiding, thinking about revenge. It is a more lasting state and not as sudden in its rise. Malice is not a word we are used to. It refers to being spiteful or having a desire to inflict suffering on someone. Blasphemy is another confusing word. It means, "evil speaking", or to bring dishonor upon someone by attacking their reputation, especially with unjustified or false information.
After we are told what to "put off", we are told what to "put on".
Colossians3:12-14 As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a complaint against you; even as Christ forgave you, you should also do. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
Bowels of compassions is such a strange term, isn't it? I looked up the word, "bowels" in the Greek dictionary, and it means "the inward parts as the seat of emotion". Vines Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "To be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion is frequently recorded of Christ towards the multitudes and toward individual sufferers." Some examples of this are recorded in:
Matthew 14:13-14 "When Jesus got the news (that John had been beheaded), he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by Himself. But the word got around and soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick."
Mark 1:40,41 And a leper came to Jesus, begging Him, and falling on his knees to Him, saying, 'If You will, You are able to make me clean.' And being moved with pity, reaching out the hand, Jesus touched him and said, 'I am willing. Be made clean.' And when Jesus spoke, instantly the leprosy left him, and he was made clean."
Mark 6:34 "And going out Jesus saw a large crowd. At the sight of them, His heart broke because they were like sheep having no shepherd. He went right to work teaching them."
Luke 7:12-16 "As He drew near to the gate of the city, they met a funeral procession - a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, His heart broke. He said to her, 'Don't cry.' Then He went over and touched the coffin. The pallbeareres stopped. He said, 'Young man, I tell you: Get up.' The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother."
I noticed in these verses that when Jesus was moved with compassion, He was moved to DO something. People were healed, and the dead were even brought back to life. I am reminded something a wonderful Bible teacher, Joyce Meyers says often. When she was sulking and wallowing in self pity one day, the Lord said to her,
"You can either be pitiful (poor me attitude), or powerful. But you can't be both."
That really struck me. It is so true. When we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we can't help ourselves or anybody else. I would definitely rather be powerful!
Love is the glue that holds us all together and keeps us in the perfect peace of God. It is not an automatic thing, however. It is a conscious decision we make. Like putting on our clothes in the morning, it takes effort. But just as we want to look good on the outside, God wants us to look good on the inside. Our bodies are the Temple that the Holy Ghost dwells in. Kindness, longsuffering, gentleness, humbleness, meekness and mercy are the decor of the inner Temple that allows the Holy Spirit to feel at home in us. It is not always something we even want to do and it is also not always easy. But then we are again reminded that we walk in love and forgive others because we are also forgiven, and we are loved. We have been chosen by God to know His love. We can't know His love if our hearts are full of anger, wrath, etc.
Verses 15 and 16 don't tell us to "put on" something, but as we put on the things in the above verses, the result will be a peaceful heart.
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you are called; and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."
Verse 17 puts it all into perspective. It says, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God."
I like the way the Message Bible puts it.
"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Let every detail in your life - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."
These are a lot of verses that speak of what to do in order to live the Christian life. They really point to attitudes within our hearts. They are not verses that tell us to go out and save the world, so to speak, but instead they tell us to live a pure life within, as Jesus said, the Kingdom of God is within you.
When the Holy Spirit is welcomed in your heart, and not grieved by the presence of anger, wrath, unforgiveness, and hardness of heart, then He is able to empower you. His anointing will be upon you to work through you and in you. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was upon him to enable Him to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
Paul also spoke of the power of God working great things in his life. In Acts 26:18 he said he was sent to the Gentiles to "open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith."
This is the kind of life the Spirit enables us to live.
The Scriptures often speak to us of "putting on" and "putting off" when addressing Christian conduct. Just as we put on clothes, we can put on Godly ways. Colossians 3:8-17 is an excellent example.
Colossians 3:8-10 "But now (since becoming a Christian) put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blashpemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him."
Don't hurry through this too much, because you will not get the depth if it. For instance, this list gives us some things we would do well to consider. For instance, anger and wrath are both listed. What is the difference between them? They are two different words. Wrath describes a more agitated condition of feelings coming from inward indignation and generally will rise up quickly and subside (reminds me of "road rage"), while anger is connected with a condition of the mind that is more settled and abiding, thinking about revenge. It is a more lasting state and not as sudden in its rise. Malice is not a word we are used to. It refers to being spiteful or having a desire to inflict suffering on someone. Blasphemy is another confusing word. It means, "evil speaking", or to bring dishonor upon someone by attacking their reputation, especially with unjustified or false information.
After we are told what to "put off", we are told what to "put on".
Colossians3:12-14 As the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a complaint against you; even as Christ forgave you, you should also do. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."
Bowels of compassions is such a strange term, isn't it? I looked up the word, "bowels" in the Greek dictionary, and it means "the inward parts as the seat of emotion". Vines Dictionary of New Testament Words says, "To be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion is frequently recorded of Christ towards the multitudes and toward individual sufferers." Some examples of this are recorded in:
Matthew 14:13-14 "When Jesus got the news (that John had been beheaded), he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by Himself. But the word got around and soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick."
Mark 1:40,41 And a leper came to Jesus, begging Him, and falling on his knees to Him, saying, 'If You will, You are able to make me clean.' And being moved with pity, reaching out the hand, Jesus touched him and said, 'I am willing. Be made clean.' And when Jesus spoke, instantly the leprosy left him, and he was made clean."
Mark 6:34 "And going out Jesus saw a large crowd. At the sight of them, His heart broke because they were like sheep having no shepherd. He went right to work teaching them."
Luke 7:12-16 "As He drew near to the gate of the city, they met a funeral procession - a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, His heart broke. He said to her, 'Don't cry.' Then He went over and touched the coffin. The pallbeareres stopped. He said, 'Young man, I tell you: Get up.' The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother."
I noticed in these verses that when Jesus was moved with compassion, He was moved to DO something. People were healed, and the dead were even brought back to life. I am reminded something a wonderful Bible teacher, Joyce Meyers says often. When she was sulking and wallowing in self pity one day, the Lord said to her,
"You can either be pitiful (poor me attitude), or powerful. But you can't be both."
That really struck me. It is so true. When we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we can't help ourselves or anybody else. I would definitely rather be powerful!
Love is the glue that holds us all together and keeps us in the perfect peace of God. It is not an automatic thing, however. It is a conscious decision we make. Like putting on our clothes in the morning, it takes effort. But just as we want to look good on the outside, God wants us to look good on the inside. Our bodies are the Temple that the Holy Ghost dwells in. Kindness, longsuffering, gentleness, humbleness, meekness and mercy are the decor of the inner Temple that allows the Holy Spirit to feel at home in us. It is not always something we even want to do and it is also not always easy. But then we are again reminded that we walk in love and forgive others because we are also forgiven, and we are loved. We have been chosen by God to know His love. We can't know His love if our hearts are full of anger, wrath, etc.
Verses 15 and 16 don't tell us to "put on" something, but as we put on the things in the above verses, the result will be a peaceful heart.
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you are called; and be thankful. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."
Verse 17 puts it all into perspective. It says, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks to God."
I like the way the Message Bible puts it.
"So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Let every detail in your life - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way."
These are a lot of verses that speak of what to do in order to live the Christian life. They really point to attitudes within our hearts. They are not verses that tell us to go out and save the world, so to speak, but instead they tell us to live a pure life within, as Jesus said, the Kingdom of God is within you.
When the Holy Spirit is welcomed in your heart, and not grieved by the presence of anger, wrath, unforgiveness, and hardness of heart, then He is able to empower you. His anointing will be upon you to work through you and in you. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit was upon him to enable Him to preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
Paul also spoke of the power of God working great things in his life. In Acts 26:18 he said he was sent to the Gentiles to "open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith."
This is the kind of life the Spirit enables us to live.
posted by Laurie T at
11:04 AM
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