PLUMBLINE DEVOTIONAL: COLOSSIANS 1:9-12

TEXT:

COLOSSIANS 1:9-12
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

REMEMBER ....AND WAIT

In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for You; Your Name and remembrance are the desire of our soul.....Isaiah 26:8 (ESV)

Most people not only have short memories but their concept of history begins and ends with their terms of reference. The majority alive today are unaware of the impact of past events in history and how their very existence is framed by it.

The wise remember, research and revisit the lessons of chronological events in order to learn from the unique circumstances of things which have altered the course of history. We are who we are, and where we are because of past decisions. It is said that whose who ignore the lessons of history, are doomed to repeat them. Those who manipulate the clueless at times, to go along with any philosophy - from cult to communism - know their audience...and the lack of historical perspective.

This is not so, for the authentic man or woman of God, who has been called, cleansed and classified as a Child of the Living Christ. The paths of the true believer should be different from the regular citizen because the Christian also possesses a future confirmed reservation in an Eternal Kingdom. Due to this very fact, the Ruler of this Eternal Kingdom expects certain things from every resident of this place called Heaven....and He gave those instructions almost 3500 years ago, when He gave the written record to Moses. He then had forty authors, over the next 1500 years, write inspired Scripture in their own style....with the same continuous message - #JesusIsLord!

The first thing we citizens of the Heavenly Realm need to do, according to His Word and His Holy Spirit abiding in us, is to Remember. Unfortunately, the corrupt culture of "self and selfie" has ingrained itself in the Body of Christ and we hear the chant universally almost, of "what have you done for me lately"?! It is not supposed to be like this for the Christian. WE, ABOVE ALL ELSE, ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE FOR US, PERIOD.

We are supposed to be steeped in the Knowledge of the Holy Who is Good, Gracious, Forgiving, Compassionate, Loving, Full of Mercy, Miracles and Matchless Wonder! If we are not even aware of one third of any of this, we need to go back to the drawing board of the altar, fall on our faces, beg forgiveness and start all over again. Time and time again, the Lord exhorts us to remember Him, not just in the time of our youth but throughout our lives when we have both great success and failure. We need to remember Him, in ALL His attributes throughout our lifetime, in good times and bad. It is not wise the trivialize the absolute significance of Remembering DAILY just WHO God really is.

Which brings us to the second point - "wait". The "paths of Your Judgments" in terms of the Lord, is focal point of our spiritual growth and maturity. Maturing in the Ways and Wonders of God takes patience. Sanctification is the crockpot of true Wisdom and Grace and we have no choice but to wait, hold on and persevere through those times of trials, afflictions, even times of chastisement and Godly discipline because these are the paths God has chosen to keep us on the straight and narrow highway back to our heavenly abode. These times of patient endurance mold us into the type of solid believer, which God recommends anyone associated with Him become....for our own sakes!

This is the two legs of the one who loves, adores and pursues a closer walk with the Lord. This twofold daily exercise will not only reveal the work we still have to do, in order to attain to God's standards, but these simple straightforward steps are there for both the young and old in the Faith to grab on to and run with. Jesus has equipped us with His Spirit, the same Spirit Who raised Him on Resurrection Sunday, to enable us to accomplish this amazing task. The only thing holding anyone back, from grasping this baton with both hands and running with intention, is desire to proceed. May our desire be for the Great God of Heaven, and to be called a man or woman after His own Heart, in Jesus' Name, amen.

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THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY THIRTY ONE:

VERSE:

"'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine"....Exodus 19:5

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we long to abide in Your Presence all the days of our lives and in eternity. Therefore, Lord we commit our way from the hour of our redemption and rejuvenation to now, the rest of this year and always, to obey You, listen to You, walk in Your Ways and Keep Your Covenant.

Thou hast shown us the way of all Truth. I thank Thee, Oh Lord.

Thou hast given me the Road Map and the spiritual fuel to go the distance. I am so grateful, my God.

Thou hast given me the Faith and Endurance to persevere until the end. I am all in for ever, oh God.

Thou hast shared Thy bountiful Goodness and all the Earth which You create and watch over. I am so humbled, my God.

Thou hast taken me out of the pit, sit my feet upon a rock, put a NEW song in my mouth - a hymn of Praise to our God. I will proclaim Thy Name throughout the Earth, for as long as life shall last.

I rest under the Shadow of Thy Wings.

I bow down in the Sanctity of the Throne Room.

I surrender to the Will of Christ.

I commit my ways and will to the Obedience You asked me to choose.

I am Yours. I abide in Thee and long to dwell in Thy Holy Presence on a soon coming day, choosing as King David wrote for my life verse "One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple".

On this I stand, oh God, and not just me but all who love Your appearing! Even so, come Lord Jesus! In Your Name I pray. Amen. 

FRIDAY DONUT

Okay, this is a misleading headline, especially considering this verse from James 1:2 (ESV) "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds". The first reaction of most people could be "what, are you crazy? Trials and Joy do not belong in the same sentence!" They would have a point as who in their right mind wants to go through all kinds of problems, issues or some such thing - nobody.

But this is life and we were never promised a rose garden - or if you're walking in the ways of the world - a beer garden. The modern citizen of the civilized western world has gone so soft, they expect to have no time in life where things can go wrong.  This is because most in the west are too well off, comfortable and could care less about the other guy...and I am talking about Christians! When prosperity, most of which was built on a plastic bubble, hits the brick wall of America's chickens coming home to roost, the weak kneed among us: run for the hills, start taking prescription drugs or put their trust in pagan political messiahs instead of God. This is NOT the background which the Lord through the half-brother of Jesus, wants us to view our current situation. The bible was written for all people of all time, until such time, the Savior returns!

Therefore, He says "count" or consider it all joy". God, through James, is thinking extremely highly of us here because He is exhorting us to "lead the way" or making it a priority to look at our current situation as the launching pad for His Grace or Favor! This is what this phrase actually means in the original Greek language!! Can you dig that, baby?! God does NOT want us to wallow in the wilderness of this corrupt world, but to rise above it, and because WE, the sons and daughters of the God of Grace, look ABOVE the situation, (while everyone else is looking at their navel or some weak corrupt human leader to get them out of a fix)....then WE, the sons and daughters of God - will prevail!!!! He is actually calling us out to "get a hold of yourself, man (or woman) and lead you and yours and even, some of My weaker people out of this mess"!

That's it! That's the victory! That's the Boston jelly filled donut with the chocolate drizzle, my peeps! This entire first part of the first chapter of James is for this current time! It is how to endure, persevere and win. For instance, let us resolve right now, that we are not going down with the ship. The Captain and Commander in Chief of our souls - Jesus Christ - gave us the life jacket, so now is the time to put it on!

So, when we are faced with (the second part of James 1:2) trials, temptations, calamities, disasters...even those of our own making -  here is how we get out of its face : knees down, pray hard and  then look to UP Him - the God of Grace. That's my King, that's YOUR King and He has made a way for us!