1 Thessalonians 1:6-8

 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia. And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God

Joy in spite of suffering. It’s hard enought for me to have joy in spite of living better than 95% of the world and having everything I have ever needed my whole life. Joy in the midst of suffering is inspiration to those around you. Moping around and complaining in a state of relative-plenty is a source of inspiration as well. Inspiration to NOT be like me.

How cool is it that these believer is Thessalonica were examples to their whole country, and cause the word of the Lord to RING out to everyone, even beyond their own country. That’s powerful. I would like even a tiny bit of that power in my life.

Colossians 4:5-6

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

“Make the most of every opportunity.” As I reflect back on the day each night, I would consider it a great accomplishment if I could look back and say that I made the MOST out of EVERY opportunity. In order to do that I need to first, RECOGNIZE the opportunity. Recognizing every opportunity comes from being in close fellowship with God and keeping a watchful eye and being quiet and open enough to hear God’s still, small voice.

Once I recognize the opportunity I need to take action. I need to be strategic, and make sure I make the MOST of it. If I only have a short time, I need to choose my words and actions very carefully. If I have a longer time, I need to make sure I don’t talk so much that I say something stupid.

I need to also recognize the importance of every opportunity. I recently went to a meeting of JR High leaders and I noticed that all three of the boys I had in my 5th grade Sunday school many years back, that me and my co-leaders nicknamed the “three L’s” had become Jr. High leaders as they moved into high school. Each of the had an “L” in the first letter of their name, and if you had all three of them at once, you were in BIG trouble.

None of us leaders in that 5th grade Sunday school would ever have believed that all three “L’s” would grow up to want to contribute and build into the lives of other kids.  I am not trying to say that our leadership in the 5th grade with them was the sole cause of the decisions they made, but I know for sure it was a part of the process. We contributed to their development, in a small but meaningful way. It is one area that I can say I tried to make the most of the opportunity to spend an hour with those kids every week.

God can take the little we have to offer, the two fish and 5 loaves, and turn it into amazing things with his power!

Colossians 3:8-9,12-13

But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other…you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.

I like this chapter because it reflects a basic truth about the Christian “walk.” It is possible to be a follower of Christ, receive salvation and be headed to eternity in heaven, forgiven for all my sins, and still be a jerk. I live that out most every day. Jesus gives us the power we need to not be a jerk, to follow after him in our thoughts, words and actions, but it is not a guarantee. I have to work at it, and want it, every day.

I like the imagery of “clothing” yourself with mercy, kindness, gentleness, patience. Fortunately for the rest of the world, I have never left my house and later realized I forgot to put on my clothes. I have never forgotten or failed to get dressed before I leave the house. Unless you have serious issues, you would never leave the house without clothes.  If I could only have the same discipline in getting spiritually dressed and ready for the day. I am not sure how to make it happen, but if I could just put on kindness and patience, like I put on my socks, shirt, etc., how cool would that be. Once I had them on, I would exhibit that quality. I wish it was that easy!

Colossians 2:16-18

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things.

Halloween is always a big deal around our house. I love seeing my kids in cute costumes and seeing other kids running around the neighbor in their costumes. I love candy. I love eating my kids candy. I loved when my kids were too small to eat candy and I got to eat all of it. I love to buy too much Halloween candy so there is plenty left over afterward.

Many followers of Christ choose not to celebrate Halloween, and that is OK. I certainly don’t hold it against them. There are many aspects of the holiday that are negative. Many people use it as an excuse to dress too provocatively. I am not a big fan of ugly witch costumes, or pentagrams, or things squirting blood. Many of those things are tasteless decorations if anything else.

What I do take issue to is when followers of Christ say they don’t celebrate the holiday BECAUSE it is a pagan holiday. The truth is, EVERY day of the year is a pagan holiday of some kind. It is a fact of history that Christmas is taken from the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, when Romans would spend seven days celebrating the God Saturn; and their was much wickedness associated with it. Easter is taken from a pagan holiday which celebrated the feast of the fertility goddess Ishtar, from whose name the word Easter is derived. The fertility goddess celebration makes the skimpiest Halloween costumes look like traditional Amish garb atcompared to a rip-roarin fertility festival.

If people wish to not participate in Halloween because of some of the things it represents that is OK, they just shouldn’t take their personal choice and turn it into a condemnation or a way to look down upon others. Certainly some of the things Christmas and Easter have come to represent are not all that great either; but, one of the great opportunities taht comes from being a committed Christ-follower in the world is that I can be an example of everything that is good, about any day, any event, any celebration.

Of course, it is important to temper any freedom you have been given within the broader context of loving otehrs so much that you put their needs above your own. In Romans 14:21, Paul exhorts us not to use our freedom to cause your bother to fall. I try not to make a big deal about Halloween, or having a beer or glass of wine, or whatever it is, around people that it would completely offend, or cause to go down the wrong path. My freedom should never be an excuse to harm someone.

I need to take the time to carefully discern every situation I am in, and carefully and lovingly look to the best interests of those around me.

Colossians 1:

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

That is just good to read. It is good to be reminded about who Jesus is, especially since he calls me his adopted child and loves me so much he would rather die than be without me.

I just recently watched a video called “indescribable” by  Louie Giglio. He speaks about the enormity of the universe from an astronomical perspective and a Christian perspective. Louie is part of an organization that has been reaching out to college-aged youth for more than a decade. You can learn more about him here: http://www.268generation.com

I can’t say I was 100% on board with every word spoken in the video, but overall it is an awesome video and I would highly recommend it. It underscores the crazy juxtaposition that exists between Jesus as almighty God, creator of the universe, and of Jesus the humble, lowly servant, who lived a s a peasant, and died a shameful, sinners death on the cross.

It is hard for me to keep both aspects of Jesus in my head at the same time. I normally think of him as being my humble savior; and not the almighty creator of everything. If I could keep both thoughts in my head at the same time, I bet I would worry a lot less, be a lot more brave, and attempt a lot bolder actions in following after Jesus.

I don’t just want to amen it, cheer, and woo-hoo how awesome and powerful Jesus is; I want to live it.

I want people to look at my life, and have it be completely obvious that I have a heavenly daddy who is all-powerful, all-loving and all-serving. I pray to live a life that would leave no doubt of who he is. I am far from that now.