Jacobs Thoughts and Doings

The hay field behind our house is marvelous.  The rows and sunflowers and fence shape a beautiful and restful scene.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:1

Paul writes to those who have been “raised with Christ.”  People who have not experienced that conversion, casting all on Jesus, can not appreciate what God is doing in the hearts of the disciples of Jesus.  How can a nonbeliever even begin to understand what is happening to a person who truly believes?  A chasm exists between those who believe and those who do not.  It is as simple as that!

We who are converted and are following Jesus have a new world view – we set our hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  This is the vision, the reality, that drives us on.   We see Christ at the right hand of the Father, and we see ourselves, I do believe, as holding hands with Jesus before the host of heaven.  That vision of reality is what sets us apart.  We do well to allow this vision to shape us every day in every way.

It makes little difference to us how the unbelievers view us, what matters is where our hearts are, seeing things that are above.

As I add years, this vision grows clearer all the time.  I am drawn heavenward, not to escape life as it is, but to understand the huge change that conversion and walking in the Spirit means.  That is where I am!

^… while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:13

This is Titus writing.  Jesus is the blessed hope.  There is no other.  He will appear again, in all his glory!  He is the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Who is this Titus, the brother who wrote the letter that continues to bless the sons and daughters of the Lord?  Paul wrote “As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.” 

2 Corinthians 8:23

Let’s pause here a bit.  Titus is a Gentile!  He is among Paul’s greatest partners in the ministry. Paul calls him  my partner and fellow worker.  This is a miracle, indeed.  This is the Saul who felt called to destroy the church of Jesus Christ.  He met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was changed beyond recognition.  This is that Paul!  The destroyer of the church now embraces a Gentile believer, Titus!

Is this not proof of the life-changing work of God, the Holy Spirit?  I find myself, to a degree, with Paul in that I spent 20 years working hand in hand with African believers who had become our family.  We lived and loved with such people!

Praise God!  He opens the eyes of the blind!

Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2

I love the opening phrase, “Walk in love.”  Not in hate or judgement, etc., but in love.  Love is the controlling emotion in our relation to God. He loved us so much that he paid the unbelievably high price of our redemption.  That is where we stand, in the embrace of God’s love.  The question is, what does that mean for me?

Paul goes to the heart of that question.   His answer?  “Just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.”  That is the high standard!  Who can attain to that?  This is where grace takes over and we repent of selfishness and flee to God for refuge.

And live with Jesus as He does the good work in us. Jesus gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Now, He is in us to do the very same thing, that we should be a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

It is Sunday morning, time to go to Chestnut Hill Mennonite Church, where our close friends in Christ will be worshipping this morning, a group that includes us!  That is a precious miracle, wonderful beyond words.  We have human family, that is for sure and we praise God endlessly for them.  But we are also in the group of believers with whom we walk here and now, seeking the grace of God to  touch our spirits today.  We receive with joy and gratitude!

The glory of Summer are upon us – the hummer that paid us a visit this morning, the lush heavy laden sunflowers outside our kitchen window, the cat bird squealing!  I do love Summer.  A special treat this morning was the brightly colored gold finches that fed on the rich sunflower seeds.  And the ponds full of life – fish, frogs, snails, little unknown creatures and much more.  Life is pushing, that is for sure.

All of this speaks to me with the breath of God.  His love is forever, constant, surprising and always an invitation to love Jesus with all my heart.  Amen

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:4

Satan does not want anyone to believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  I see that the work of Satan is to make sure people do not see the Light of the Gospel.  He seeks to blind the minds of unbelievers! This is a given!  Satan does not want anyone to see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Always and forever.  Satan hates Jesus, as he hates all that God does.  Satan makes sure that people do not see our Hope, Jesus Christ!  Looking at the pages of history, he has been quite successful.  But many people see Christ, alive, teaching, crucified, risen, in glory, now filling the saints with his goodness!

This is a true picture of reality!  It is what is!  Only those who embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior are blessed of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Lord, Jesus, secure me forever in the arms of your love, never wavering in faith.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:29-30

Truth in relationships.  A cardinal sin that causes uproar in our spirits is employing the weapon of prayer instead of the poison of hate or disgust.  People need our prayers!

I must keep in mind that without prayer I am hopeless. Yet I recognize that I find it difficult to pray for people with whom I have nothing in common.  Jesus did not give us license to hate those who have no love for God.

The air is full of accusations – even this morning people are spewing out hurtful things.  Sometimes it looks like we are called to condemn all who disagree with the call of God, we are called to love all and to keep praying for their full salvation.

I see that Paul ties together the tendency to hate or despise to grieving the Holy Spirit.  I should never allow a thought to grieve the Holy Spirit in my life.  The Holy Spirit is holy and will keep me in the way of holiness as I walk with God in love.

A hummer showed up a day or so ago, after an hiatus, and so Anna Ruth is replenishing the feeder!  Hope they return as they often do later in the Summer.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24

These words come from Jesus, our Lord.  He begins by insisting that his listeners, in this case, His Disciples, realize the profound change that is the inheritance of the believers.  It is so hard for the human mind and heart to comprehend the importance of what Jesus is about to explain – “the gift of eternal life.”  One thing is clear! It is available to all who hear the words of Jesus and believe.

So, Jesus says, “very truly.”  In other words, let there be no doubt that what they are about to hear is bed-rock truth.

It is so important that it is not enough just to hear the truth, but to act upon it.  The fundamental challenge is to believe.  Believe what?  That Jesus is sent by Almighty God to enable us to have life eternally.  His life is in us by faith!

Those who experience this new heart know that they will not be judged because their life is facing an entirely new direction.  They have, according to the word of our Lord Jesus, crossed over from death to life.  That is not only after death, but now!

Promises such as this are so very precious to me – because of my age, perhaps.  I truly thank the Lord for enlightening these words to make them life to me, life indeed!  I rest my entire being on Jesus – on the work he accomplished for me on the Cross and now.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:9 – 11

Does this describe me, the object of Paul’s prayer?  Does my love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that I can walk blameless?

It is clear that love and knowledge are friends!  My mind tells me that knowledge is greater than love, and vice versa.  Nonsense, they go together, creating a fulness of revelation.  Knowledge without love is dangerous and love without knowledge, likewise.

Love and knowledge are part and parcel of the word of God.  Working together they produce in you and me fruit of righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. 

As I think about this, I am amazed at the totality of revelation that all believers in Jesus inherit.  I am amazed at this.  During my first days in Africa I depended on reason, not on love.  This led me straight into a dilemma that I recall vividly now.  Love and knowledge are gifts of God, all mine through faith.  As they are one in the heart of God, so must it be in me, his disciple.

So, as I begin the day, I want to employ love and knowledge (or reason} to fully reveal the will and purpose of God.  The key is to receive both!  In my heart, I do, Lord.  You show me both, I embrace what you embrace!