Tag: Colossians

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A Borrowed Thought

I have to admit, my mind is a little distracted today, and even though it’s Lip’s Appreciation Day, my lips are sort of silent.  ( But it does make me wonder how one would celebrate Lip’s Appreciation Day?)

And so, this morning, just a simple verse pulled from the verse of the day on Bible Gateway’s front page. The words reminded me of someone, and seemed right to share with you.

 12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. Colossians 3:12 The Message (MSG)

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The Most

Earlier this week, Amy’s day calendar, which we both get lots of laughs and motivation from, contained this quote:

Make the most of yourself….. for that is all there is of you! – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I like it.  How about you?

Reminds me of two verses I was also taught to teach that we should give all we have, since we are doing it for Him.

 

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. Colossians 3:17

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God! 1 Corinthians 10:31

Give what you got!

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Little Drummer Boy

There is one tradition Christmas carol that for the last several years I have pretty much despised.  And that is the Little Drummer Boy.  My analytical brain could not handle this crazy addition to the Christmas Story.  I mean, who is this kid, and where in the world did he come from.  And why is he waking the baby playing that blasted drum?

However, last year, I started thinking about this song a little differently, and even more so this year.  Now, let me stop and say that it’s not that I have developed an affection for it, but I have been able to begin to tolerate it.  I guess it’s not really about a made up drummer boy, and his drum.  It’s really a lesson about giving all you have to the Savior of the world. ( I know many of you are saying Duh , where have you been!)

As the Holiday approaches very rapidly, I am sure you will hear many renditions of this number on the internet or over the air waves.  As you do remember these two little bits of wisdom from the scriptures.

17And 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. Colossians 3:17 New International Version (NIV)

 

10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.  Ecclesiastes 9:10 New International Version (NIV)

 

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Tomorrow Starts Today

It was such a nice day yesterday afternoon that I decided to walk back to the garage to pick up the car, instead of taking the shuttle. It’s about a 20 block walk through parts of town that are in various stages of renovation. But it was a delightful day with mild temperatures and the glory of the sun beaming down.   I had noticed this sticker in an office window a few weeks ago,  so I this time I stopped and took a picture of it.

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That sticker is from Chattanooga Stand, which is a non-profit whose work was to encourage people to think about the city and to create new ideas and changes that move the city into a positive future direction.

But hey , I like the message.  Because it’s so fitting.  If you want change, you can’t just wake up tomorrow and be like – “hey, I am different now!”  No, you future depends on what you do today.  It’s the same idea that I expressed earlier in the week with the braces post.

So what do you want to be like to tomorrow?  Start that today.

 

2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  Colossians 3:2 New International Version (NIV)

 

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Can You Hear Me Now

This past weekend my friend Jill was talking about greed and it’s impact in her life.  She told a story about how in the week before she was driving down the road in her new vehicle, which she stated many times that she looooved.  She was driving down the roadway in said vehicle when a vehicle in the other lane came over into her lane.  She swerved and just missed smashing into the concrete wall.

Fortunately for her, she was able to maneuver her vehicle in a way that there was no collision.  However, she stated, related to greed, that she wonder how she would have been if she had wrecked the car, which she loved.  She was concerned that maybe she was holding on to tight to stuff.

hmm,

Well as many of you know, I live on the phone.  Not that I love to talk, I am just on the phone a whole lot.  I also love my iPhone!  Recently I saw a site where people post pictures of the  essential stuff in their lives.  For me, its my car keys, my very small money clip/credit card holder, my sunglasses,  my iPhone and my Bluetooth headset.  With those elements, I can go just about any where and be fine.  (sometimes I might want a gallon of sweat tea, and of course at night a toothbrush!)

Anyway, earlier this week, the receiver on my iPhone died.  That’s the speaker that you listen with.  The headphones work, the speakers work, but the receiver just does not.  That makes a phone hard to use!  So, no biggie right, just use the Bluetooth headset.  Well, it seems that in the last week I have lost my most favorite Bluetooth headset.

argh….

Since then, I have been so anxious.  I have spent hours trying to fix my phone.  I have spent hours searching my cars, the rooms in the house, my bags, my wife’s bags, dresser drawers, wherever I could look to find that headset.

As a matter of fact I laid in bed Wednesday night, frantically trying to remember where I could have let that headset and lamenting the current state of my favorite piece of technology.

And that’s when I remembered Jill.  Could it be that I was getting a message about how much I was “holding on” to these devices.  Could if be that I was placing them in front of things that are more important and boom – now they are being taken from me?

I dunno.  But I can say that this helped me remember that they are just things.  Things the are to be helpers, not rulers.

The book of Colossians compares greed to idolatry.

5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  Colossians 3:5New International Version (NIV)

And I can tell you as much as I use my iPhone and even with the amount of utility it brings to my life, I still really don’t want to think that I worship it!  But maybe I have been?  What I do know that Jill and my iPhone’s issue have given me a great reminder this week about where my treasure is and where is should be!

    19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 New International Version (NIV)

What are you holding on to?