Celebrating Fathers

Colossians 4:2-6, 18
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 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. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone… I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Back in ’77, my Granddad (Dad’s) passed away, then in April ’99, my father-in-law passed away (2 days after my son’s birth) and then in November 2003, I lost my Dad (The day before his 55th birthday) and in a couple months, my Mom’s Dad passed away too. This left me without a physical Dad to look up to and that was when my dependance on God the Father became total. This year, father’s day was the day I remembered each of my Dads and most importantly, the one Dad I will never lose who means the world to me and who loves me so much that He gave up what was most special to Him to bring me closer to Him. Today’s passage does not remind us of father’s day and you must wonder why I mentioned my Dads in this post?

In the life of Jesus and the apostles, the one thing that marked them was their reliance on God being their father. Everything they did was after praying to God the Father for His wisdom, leading, correction, anointing, or direction. Paul reminds us as followers of Christ that we are to be devoted to prayer and live a life evidencing the grace that saved us. The start and sustenance of our faith is God the Father who made all things possible so that we might be created and brought into communion with Him through the shedding of His son’s blood for our unrighteousness. Without our Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in our lives, we would not exist and our lives would be meaningless. I pray that today each of us will remember our Father in Heaven and celebrate Him as we celebrate the lives of our Dads. I pray for us Dads that we will pray for God’s leading in our lives to be Fathers like He is and that we will live to serve our families as Christ lived to serve His church, us.

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him

 

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Peace of Christ

Colossians 3:15-17
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

I was chatting with my ex-colleague and friend from Dubai yesterday and in the course of the conversation got three pieces of sad news. An ex-colleague lost her husband in a car accident in Nigeria yesterday, another ex-colleague’s husband has been jailed because of trumped up charges and no lawyer will represent him because the ruler of the city is involved and a third colleague has filed for divorce because her husband tried to kill her. All these have occurred in the span of a few weeks and my friends are all upset and feeling helpless. In today’s passage, Paul talks about the peace of Christ ruling our hearts and one might wonder why God would give that word to us in such difficult times and how we could possibly have peace when the world is at war?

Paul lived a hazardous life as did many children of God and most importantly Jesus Christ himself. Jesus warns all who follow him that in this new life, we will have trouble but we are not to worry for He overcame the world for us (Jn. 16:33). The peace of Christ rests upon us from the moment we submit ourselves into His hand and even though we face challenges, we are comforted. The word of God gives us assurances time and again about God’s promises and we therefore need to immerse ourselves in the word to be able to draw strength from it. Furthermore, we are called not just to be hearers of the word but to teach, correct each other, worship God through song and praise showing our gratitude to Him. Everything we do, we need to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, always thanking God the Father through Him and by that the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Standards = Goals

Colossians 2:20-23
Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

If I was standing right now before God and He asked me the same question that Paul is asking, I fear that I will have no response to give because as much as I desire to be one with Christ, my humanness craves to live in sin. I was at the public library last evening checking out some books and DVDs when the librarian looked at a DVD I had and remarked that my kids might enjoy it too. I told her that I did not think so and she went on to share a new learning she had about how ratings in the US and Canada differ. In Canada, violence seems to be an issue and in the US sex is. How different views can be across a virtual border and this affects what we consider safe standards to live and grow in?

Hitting the lotto jackpot seems to be the greatest desire of my colleagues and most people I see here. It seems that the more we have, the better we live and the less we want. Another human standard and it fuels a significant amount of money into the coffers of the lottery companies but robs the average Joe of his money for a chance only a few will have. Are we to live by these standards? We are reminded that these are destined to perish and so are we. Why would we wager on selfish human standards when the highest standards set by God are available, the access is free, the invitation is open, the payout starts now and lasts an eternity and all we need to do is submit? What wisdom are you leaning on and how is that helping you?

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

1 Corinthians 6:13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.

Supremacy of Christ

Colossians 1:15-20
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Jesus is the picture of humility no human can ever stand up to. His supremacy is so well described here by Paul and yet the person who came here to earth to live among us and die for us sounds like a shadow of the person who He really is. The only motivation for someone to go through what Christ went through for us is love and not just human, selfish, sinful love but a love that is far beyond our understanding, a love so pure and faultless that only God could feel and experience and show. Many people have asked me and I am sure I have asked God why is it that he made the world the way it is, why were we given freedom to choose and if God was God, why would he permit the pain and strife that we go through?

I am not God and therefore don’t seek to answer for him but just imagine the life of a toy. It is heartless, is built for a purpose, has value to someone who appreciates it and loses value the moment the next toy comes along and therefore to its creator it is a lifeless creation. The pursuit of every toymaker is to make a toy that works like a Pinocchio that had life in it. Look at computers and our attempt to make artificial intelligence or inventions of the first cell. God has created us and the universe around us for a larger purpose than just being toys and he wants his entire creation to praise him for what he has done and gives us the freedom to choose. The Bible reminds us that one day, every tongue, tribe and nation will bow down before him in realization of who he is and the saved will live with him for eternity. Does this God who is supreme over everything yet humble below everything in love for us deserve our all?

In His Loving Service,
ServantBoy

John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.