Tag Archives: Colossians

Stumbling blocks to spiritual growth

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At one point or another, we all come to the point in our lives where it feels that somehow we have reached a plateau where we have quit growing spiritually; for some, it even goes to the extent that it feels that God has left us.  I know in my own life, beginning when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, I have had to deal with numerous things (and some of them more than once) that have kept me from developing a richer and deeper relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, the truest of our heart’s desire should be to become more Christ-like in our attitude and in the way we treat others.  The more we desire to become more like Him, the more temptations will follow us, the more hardships we will endure – and overcoming each will serve to strengthen our faith.

I was originally going to publish this as a single devotional but after sketching it out, I realized there was enough for a few posts.  I did not place them in any sort of order that may indicate importance nor is this meant to be a complete list of everything that can keep us from experiencing spiritual growth.  These are simply some things that I or others close to me have had to deal with that has kept them from enjoying true spiritual growth.

We attempt to return to our old lifestyle:

No Christian is immune from the pull of our old lifestyle. At some point, every Christian has to battle the pull of their past. This is not necessarily because we find it more exciting than what Christ calls us to, but because we have a tendency to return to what we know and are comfortable with.  As a Christian, a return to our old lifestyle will cause a division between ourselves and the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage (Galatians 4:9). Even Solomon, considered the wisest of all the ancient kings, understood the problems with the believer who returns to their old lifestyle, The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself (Proverbs 14:14). Yes, a Christian with unrepented sin has a tendency to justify their sins, much like a lost person will do. Although still saved by the grace of God, our old lifestyle and the sins we are predisposed to will place us in a state of rebellion against God.

Being led by the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote, Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him (Hebrews 10:38).  The apostle Peter also warns the follower of Christ to avoid the temptations and traps of returning to our old lifestyle: For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (II Peter 2:20-22). Oh, the wasted years of my life when I was young in the faith!

God makes a provision for us; If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9). Just as told in the story of the prodigal son; if we come to God, our heavenly Father and repent of our sins, He will forgive us and restore us into his fellowship.

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Taking a stand within the “old tyme faithe”

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One of my favorite places to go for a day trip is St. Louis, Missouri.  From where I live at in Henderson, Kentucky, it takes about two and a half hours to reach the east side of the city.  Two of my favorite attractions are the St. Louis Metropolitan Museum and St. Louis Metropolitan Zoo.  One Saturday morning, while wandering along the various art exhibits, I encountered one of the museum’s star bronze statues – called The Puritan.  As I took the picture above, I remember overhearing a couple of young people commenting that the statue looked menacing, judgmental, and angry.  As I thought about what the young girls said, I knew that the reason they felt this way was because of the world’s perception of Puritan life and culture.

During his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ did teach his disciples and all that listened in that day, Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets (Luke 6:22-23).  What is it about the Puritans of Colonial America that the lost world still hates?  What is it about the Puritans that the lost world ridicules, mocks, and scorns? What is it about the Puritans that the lost world sees as menacing, judgmental, and angry?  The answer is simple from the perspective of a Christian – it is their stand on the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The legacy of the Puritans in Colonial America bears witness to the very thing that Christ taught – If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you (John 15:18-19).

As an American historian by trade and training, I have always enjoyed studying the faith and life of those early American settlers. Because of this background, when I saw that sculpture I didn’t see the same things that the young people saw; in fact, I saw someone who was sincere, dedicated, firmly rooted in their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a staunch defender of his faith hating the very things of the flesh that tend to weigh down the typical Christian of our day. In fact, the Puritan faith of Colonial America can be summed up in three verses: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment (Mark 12:30), But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37), and No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Luke 16:13). These three verses are the keys to understanding the reason for the stand of the Puritan.

Because of their love and devotion of God and the things of God, they tended to live a life as close to their understanding of Biblical principles as possible.  While a part of their faith was based on the concept of Calvinism – the belief that God has predestined some to Heaven and others to eternal damnation – they did believe that one’s lifestyle determined their eternal destination.  This was driven by the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ: Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (Matthew 7:16-20). While I do reject the teachings of Calvinism, I do believe that a holy lifestyle does show a close relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The drive for a holy and chaste lifestyle also came from a second scriptural reference: Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16). Their dedication to the teachings of Christ, especially the importance of drawing others to Christ was also based on this verse: And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).  In their personal lives, and as a community of believers, they felt compelled to live a lifestyle that reflected the holiness and love of God and would serve to remind the lost world of the offer of salvation available to those who were willing to submit their lives to God.

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The radical Christian discipleship contained within our hymns

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Every Christian denomination has them and if you are like me, you might even collect them.  Within any church, the church hymnal plays an important part of the New Testament Christian worship service.  In Paul’s letter to the church to the Ephesians he encourages Christians to allow songs of worship and praise to fill their hearts: Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19) and to the church at Colossi, he wrote Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16). The singing of songs that honor God not only is accepted as a sacrifice by God, By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name (Hebrews 13:15) but is seen as something that truly does make a difference in our daily walk with God.

Since becoming active in my Christian faith back some twenty years ago, I never really paid much attention to the words of the congregational songs sung during the worship and praise parts of the service.  I would simply stand, turn to the hymn that the song leader directed us to, and simply sang along – virtually the same thing that many of us do while listening to the radio.  It wasn’t until 2006 that I began to really begin to pay attention to my walk with God that it dawned on me how radical a message is contained within any hymnal.  A common song to every denomination, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, it has a simple tune, is fairly short, but contains a message as powerful as any sermon:

When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gains I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God; all the vain things that charm me most – I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from his head, his hands and feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

Every time I sing this song it now feels more like a heartfelt prayer than actually singing a song.  Even if I had all the world could offer me and if I did desire to give it all to the Lord, it still would never be enough of a sacrifice to repay the love that the Lord Jesus Christ showed to me on that old cross on Golgotha nearly two thousand years ago. This hymn is rich in imagery and portrays the cost of my salvation – the cruelest means of death that man had yet devised – as the means to purchase our redemption.  The price that brought us true freedom is far more valuable than anything that we could possibly place any sort of value on here in this world that is tainted by sin.

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