Interesting. Galileans killed for violating purity laws, and Jesus says, "Do you think they were worse sinners than all the others? Not at all...unless you turn to God, you, too, will die."
Don't chop down the non-producing trees/people. Grace gives them another year. Fruit inventory: How is my love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?
Can that kind of fruit be found in me? Even if the ax is at my roots, God steps in and says, give her more time. We all have the potential for great and good fruitfulness.
Bent over woman. 18 years. He healed her on the Sabbath. Bad call. You untie your livestock on the Sabbath; why can't I untie this woman?!
pine nut. yeast. small, miniscule beginning but great and might influence and effectiveness.
don't worry about how many will be saved. Put your mind on your life with God. Refusal at the banquet: "Your kind of knowing me can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me." Last shall be first.
Herod's after Jesus, but Jesus isn't frightened. Doing the work he came to do while he was here. Nothing would impede that.
Colossians 1-2
Christians in Colosse are diminishing the stature of Christ, putting him in the same boat as other god-figures. They don't see Jesus as unique. When they do make claims, they're arrogant bordering on violent, both incompatible with Christ himself. Paul's task here is to help them with their understanding of Christ, of love, humility, non-violence, of the wedding of head and heart.
"Our prayers for you are always spilling over into thanksgivings...The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope."
"The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you."
"Not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory strength God gives."
God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons.
We look at the Son and see the God who can't be seen. How do we know about God? Jesus.
Scripture gives us a picture of Jesus, the one who gives coherence to all the disconnected pieces of the puzzle of life. In Christ, everything interlocks. In him everything finds its purpose. He puts together what belongs together-reconciliation. He puts our lives together and makes them whole.
"When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift. God's way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth...God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery is this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing God's glory." We preach Christ. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less.
"I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God."
"Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. Start living it, and let your living spill over into thanksgiving. "
"Of Christ" People who've heard the call of God's love and grace, have responded to it, and have entered into a union with God. No longer spectators before God, but in the arena of God's working love, redeeming grace, and delivering power.
"In Colosse" regular folks following Christ in their day to day.
"Christ stripped all spiritual tyrants in the universe of their sham authority at the Cross and marched them naked through the streets. So don't put up with anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship, holy days...all are shadows before Christ. Don't tolerate people who try to run your life...So then, if with Christ you've put all that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves be bullied by it? Don't touch this. Don't taste that. Don't go near this. "
Live it.
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