One Year Bible - October 4, 2010

JEREMIAH 2:31 - 4:18                                                                                                       
CHEATING ON GOD: God divorced Israel, the Northern Kingdom because of their "adulteries".   When we satisfy our abysmal hunger with counterfeits and substitutes, God considers that adultery.   In the OT, if a woman lived as a prostitute with many lovers, her original husband was not allowed to take her back because she was considered "defiled" (polluted, no longer consecrated to one husband).   God said that there wasn't anything they hadn't participated in, that they were such experts at sinning and polluting themselves, that they could give lessons! They weren't even embarrassed! At the same time, they were flattering God and asking Him not to be mad at them!  Sin had "perverted their way" - took what was right and twisted it to benefit themselves.

WHY WE REPENT: (1) We recognize Him as the only true God, all else is deception.  (2) Idolatry does not help us in time of trouble.   (3) Only God can give salvation and deliverance. (4) Since abandoning God, we suffered the consequences and are  self-destructing. (5) The remembrance of our sin is grievous and the burden of our shame is intolerable.

WHAT GOD EXPECTS:  (1) If you are going to repent, then repent all the way.  Come completely back to God in wholehearted worship.  (2) Abandon all your substitutes and counterfeits. ("put your abominations out of My sight.")  (3) You must never do it again (you will be trapped that much more securely).   (4) You must give God the glory and honor that is due Him. (re-orient your life around God)   (5) Repent of any hindrances in receiving mercy from God (arrogance, insensitivity, self-reliance).   (6) Circumcision obligates one to keep the law; circumcision of the flesh obligates you to deny your flesh and cleave to God.   (7) Cling to God lest His fury come against you and destroy you.

RESPONSE: I have to admit that I checked out my own repentance.  Have I really renounced my substitutes?  Is my life really oriented around God?  Do I include Him in everything I do or think about?  Do I make it a habit to repent of self-reliance?  Am I insensitive to the Holy Spirit? Do I feel obligated to forsake my flesh in preference to what the Holy Spirit wants?

COLOSSIANS 1:1-20                                                                                                      
ACHIEVING CHRIST-LIKENESS: Jesus Christ is all we need.  Colossians is probably the best teaching on the sufficiency of Jesus for everything in the context of our daily experiences.  Trials are our ordinary existence where we experience God-with-us.  Every event is an opportunity to give Jesus "preeminence".   We learn what it means to really be Jesus' disciple in context of our regular lives.  

In our daily lives, we have two kinds of events: those that are imposed (trials, temptations, tests, all our "ordinary" life events); and those that we choose (what we will do with and about ourselves - disciplines, practices, habits).  The Holy Spirit uses both of these to conform us to the image of Jesus.   The Spirit of God enables us "to hear and do" what Jesus did. Every event counts. We must not discard any of them as not being the right time or the right event, etc.

GIVING CHRIST JESUS PREEMINENCE:  We must develop new habits for our new life in Christ.  Our behavior should be a manifestation of what has, in fact, come into our inner man - the Life of God.  The first two chapters of Colossians give us the one foundational habit to form: giving Christ Jesus preeminence in "all things".  I must instruct my heart and my mind to be thrilled with Jesus. To love and delight in the Father.  My life must be re-oriented around Him.  It takes "all wisdom and spiritual understanding". (1:9) "Wisdom" is the ability to see all of life from God's point-of-view, to navigate life here on earth in a successful manner.  This "knowledge" spoken of is accurate, complete knowledge of the true nature of things.  Obviously these can only come from God, working on the inside.  Then we are "strengthened with all might,....for patience and longsuffering with joy."  This accompanies transformation of the inner man, which takes MUCH "patience and longsuffering" because it is, after all, a process.  The second two chapters of Colossians give us the practical working out of our new lives.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: (1:12-14) The Father initiated salvation that qualifies us for our inheritance - in this instance, SALVATION and all it entails.   God calls us "saints in light" as opposed to having been subject to "the power of darkness".  We have been "translated into the kingdom of His dear Son."  Leaving the domain of darkness implies a new lifestyle for the saints.  Redemption and forgiveness of sins is done for prisoners of war (who we were).   Our obligations to the darkness are cancelled because we have been bought back "through His Blood".   (1:20) The unsaved are incapable and unworthy of seeking reconciliation (Rom 3:11).  Enemies do not deserve grace.  God reconciled us while we were yet enemies.  Now all things are reconciled to God, meaning God's legitimate reign over all creation is assured. 

WHO JESUS IS:  The reason Jesus must have preeminence in our lives is because of Who He is.  (1:15) Jesus is the "exact eikon (image) of the invisible God."  Jesus is the tangible, touchable manifestation of God.   He is exactly God.   He has the same nature and character as God (Phil 2:6), He is the embodiment of the Divine.  He is better and more powerful than anyone else. (1:15) "the firstborn of every creature" does NOT mean Jesus was created or born. "Firstborn" is not about being born, but about being the Heir and Ruler, and it refers to supremacy.  The firstborn is the heir of all that belongs to the Father.  It is about Jesus' position and greatness.   (1:16-17) "For by Him were all things created.... visible and invisible (like angels)."  Creation is CENTERED in Christ.  Jesus is the embodiment of Reality.  He has authority over all things, encompassing everything, and so all the glory belongs to Christ alone.  (1:16) "all things were created by Him, and FOR Him." All of it is for Christ's purposes. To serve Jesus alone, making Jesus the goal of creation.  (1:17) "He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" , meaning that He holds it all together and that therefore Christ is unchanging.  He preexisted all of Creation.  He is the cause of creation and He is the bond that holds it together.  This negates the possibility of true chaos.  (1:18) "He is head of the body, the church" which means that He is God-with-us, and we are helpless without Him. (1:18) "The Beginning" means He established a NEW BEGINNING - - - the beginning of redemption.  (1:18) "the firstborn from the dead", never to die again.  He has supreme dominion and authority over death, so that He now has first place in everything.  (1:19) "In Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell."  He holds all redemptive power - He is the only Way.  (1:20) Jesus is the goal for reconciliation.  Jesus' preeminence is seen on every point. He has absolute authority, not to be shared with any person, angel or demon.

RESPONSE: Whew!  Jesus is the center of everything!  Mankind is really messed up!  We thought it all revolved around us!  When we are born again, our new life was almost the exact opposite of our old life. We go from darkness and ruin, to light and glory.  We must re-oriented our lives around Jesus, Who is now our Center.  He is our Reality.  He is our Goal. 

PSALM 76:1-12                                                                                                                  
JUDGMENT AND DELIVERANCE:  What appears to be a catastrophe was really God releasing and saving the righteous.   It is important for God to KNOW US.   It is a privilege to know God, but a better privilege that God knows us and sees us as His dwelling place.

PROVERBS 24:21-22                                                                                                    
It is a contradiction to say that we are submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and then refuse to honor His designated authority.  Those who recognize neither the monarchy of God or the monarchy of kings are dangerous.  Sooner or later, they are judged. Just as they have sneaky habits, their ruin will sneak up on them.