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The Book Of Colossians Visualized
The Book Of Colossians
Have you ever noticed how, as you read scripture, certain words receive more prominence than others? I was reading the book of Colossians this morning, and I couldn’t help but to see how much Christ was mentioned. It’s all about HIM and our relationship with HIM! Isn’t it supposed to be that way?
How much do you talk about Christ?
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Have You Considered Adoption?
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My wife and I have been interested in adoption since before we even met. If the Lord sees fit, we would love to be able to adopt sometime down the road, either domestically or internationally. What a wonderful depiction of the Love of God. Just think of how many Bible verses describe His relationship with us in adoption terms:
- “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains:” Psalm 68:5-6
- “Thou art the helper of the fatherless. LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.” Psalm 10:14,17-18
- “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Romans 8:14-16
- “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27
Here’s an article from the popular Colombian newspaper EL TIEMPO that relates the need for adoption in Colombia. There are more and more children being abandoned by their families in not just this country but around the world! They need a family. Will you be their family?
http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/boyaca/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-8281940.html
He Cares About Them
2 Peter 3:9
“For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” Ezekiel 18:32
I think we misunderstand God.
We might say he’s a loving God, but somewhere inside i think many seem to think he likes it when the unjust receive their punishment. That he finds some joy when someone “gets what they had coming” as they are cast into a devil’s hell.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Check out the following verses. Ponder them. Let them break you. Let them bring a tear to your eye. Let them show you the God that hurts for the hurting. The one who died to set them free and to save them eternally.
“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” Psalm 86:15
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” Titus 2:11
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:10-15
As one man said, we should never speak about Hell without a tear in our eye!
An Amazing God
“God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein” Isaiah 42:5
I Have To Tell You The Truth…
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But what is truth? Does it exist? Is it the same for me as it is for you? What if I don’t like the truth? Can I choose another ‘truth’ to hold as my own? What if the truth hurts? Is truth absolute or is it relative?
These questions and many more have filled the minds of people around the world for thousands of years. Since the early years, it seems we humans like to reason our way out of obligation, confrontation, guilt, fear, responsibility and accountability by whittling away our idea of truth. If we could only change the truth, we could change the way it directly impacts us, no?
It has been said, “the only absolute is that there are no absolutes.”
I beg to differ.
Truth itself is a very liberating thing. Consider the words of Jesus in John 8:31-36:
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham‘s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
We see quite a few major principles in this passage. I’d like to point out two of them.
1. To Know Jesus Is To Know The Truth
There is no other way around it. Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He is not a truth. He is the truth! As a disciple of Jesus Christ, the truth is not only made known to us, it becomes our only hope. It becomes our life, because Jesus IS truth. What an awesome thought! I hate cliché phrases, but this one applies here: “Know Jesus, Know Truth. No Jesus, No Truth.”
2. To Know The Truth Is To Know Freedom
It is important to see that the truth does not “SET” us free. It “MAKES” us free! What’s the difference? Imagine this senario… A man commits a terrible crime. As he stands before the judge, his penalty is declared to be $1,000,000 or 50 years in prison. This man isn’t a rich man in the least, so his only option is to spend the time in prison. As he is serving his 50 year sentence, suppose someone breaks into the prison, knocks over some wardens, steals the key and lets the man out. He has been set free. Now imagine this same senario in a different light. Suppose the man goes to prison, but now, someone comes to him informing him that he has paid the $1,000,000 fine. Now the man is free. He has been made free. This is a big difference, isn’t it?
That is why it is so important to realize that knowing Jesus is the only way to know truth, and knowing the truth is the only way to know freedom. Oh what a difference it makes!
Do you know Jesus? Seriously. Do you know him? Not just know about him… do you know him?
You see, you have committed a terrible crime against a perfect God. Have you ever heard of the 10 commandments? You have not kept them all. I guarantee it. Neither have I. Neither has anybody. We’ve all done wrong. As much as we try to justify our wrong, wrong is wrong. It’s the truth. God does not change, neither does his law, and his law has already proven us guilty.
Now, the Bible tells us that our sentence for doing this wrong is death. Not just being buried in the ground, there’s something deeper. The book of Revelation tells us that there is a Second Death. This is the Lake of Fire. Our penalty is to be separated from God. It is death.
But, Jesus, in his awesome love, paid our debt. He paid our “fine,” so to speak. That’s what dying on the cross was all about. He was paying our fine. Now, all we must do is accept that outpouring of love. When we do this, God’s word tells us that he actually makes us a new person, gives us a new life, a new hope, a new love, a new purpose. Because now, we know truth. That truth is in Jesus.
So, do you know Him? If not, call upon him today. Repent of your sins. Trust in him for salvation. Give your life to him. Quit running from the truth. Embrace it. Embrace him.
The Vance Family 