Whatever You Do …. Colossians 3-4

Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Whatever you do ... 

In this chapter of Colossians, Paul has been listing some of the behaviors that this community of believers (and all believers for all times) should not be doing and should be doing.   It would be impossible for him to list out everything the should/should not do and it would be impossible to make a complete list that covered all aspects of life.   It would also start sounding very much like the Pharisees’ list of what to do and not do.   Instead, Paul gives a principle to live by and to make all our decisions.    He tells them that no matter what they do, make sure it honors Jesus and brings praise to the Father, through Him.   That is the overall message we are to convey in our walk with Christ.  We are to want to do whatever we do in such a way that it glorifies God, in Christ.   If we just use that principle we have a very easy guide on how to conduct ourselves in this world.   Paul had no knowledge of a thing called the internet or social media.  Yet, his principle to use it in such a way to give praise to God, through Christ, is sufficient to give us guidance.   Paul knew nothing about entertainment as we see it today, yet this principle gives us what we need to make decisions as to what entertainment we indulge.   Notice some other principles he gives in this book:

Colossians 1:10 (ESV)

so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Colossians 3:23 (ESV)

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Paul wants this group of believers (and us) to know how to conduct themselves in this world.   He outlines for them an overriding principle that should be our guidepost, as well.   The word whatever is broad enough to cover anything we do in word or deed.   What does whatever not cover?   

All In? Luke 21-22

Luke 21:1-4 (ESV)

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Have our ever put in all that you had to live on in any situation of life?  In the occupational settings we are very much rewarded for putting in all we have.   In the athletic world we often refer to this type of commitment as giving 110%.    In educational settings anyone who puts in all they have is very much rewarded with degrees and academic status.   In the above story we read about Jesus’ observations about a poor widow who dropped a small coin into the offering box outside the Temple.  Imagine sitting there and seeing the rich and the pious drop their money into the box.  You could almost imagine their public display of their religious sacrifice in giving.   This poor woman gave her life living.   Obviously this demonstrates Jesus omniscience.   He knew what she had to live on.    He knows what sacrifice we make for serving Him.  He knows when we give all our finances.   He knows when we give all our energy toward a project for Him.   He knows when we are exhausted because of our service toward the saints in duty toward Him.  He knows when we give all our time for His work.   He also knows when we hold back each of those things and use them for ourselves.  He knows when we are all in and He knows when we are holding back.  Note this story later in the New Testament:

Acts 5:1-6 (ESV)

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

The issue with Ananias and Sapphira was not that they held something back.  The issue was that they said they put in all they had from the sale of the property.   God wants a true heart of worship.    He knows what we give to Him and what we hold back.   

Tangible vs Non-Tangible Blessings of God - Ezekiel 31-36

Ezekiel 36:8-11 (ESV)

“But you, O mountains of Israel, shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they will soon come home. For behold, I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. And I will multiply people on you, the whole house of Israel, all of it. The cities shall be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt. And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

Man lives by earthly vision.  Meaning that he is temporal in nature.   That might have been one of the biggest struggles in the Gospels as Jesus attempted to talk to disciples, religious leaders and the Jewish people about the Kingdom of Heaven.   When they heard the word kingdom they could only translate that to the rule of Rome and a new kingdom coming to defeat Roman sovereignty over them.   When Jesus began to talk of his death, Peter objected.  His mind was on an earthly kingdom:

Mark 8:33 (ESV)

But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

God knows this about mankind and especially His people.  So He gives us tangible ways to know who He is and His plan for us.  In chapter 36, the prophet is told to prophecy to the mountains of Israel.   God wants to encourage His people that are in captivity for disobedience.  But there is hope.  God is going to do a new thing for them.   He first explains it in a tangible message: The mountains surrounding Jerusalem are going to be blessed.   His message is that even though you are in captivity for discipline, I will bless your land.  The land in Israel’s history has always been a tangible sign of God’s promises and blessings. This is why that little strip of Israel in the Middle East is always up for grabs.    God gave it to Israel.  It is a sign of His blessings to Israel.   Ezekiel wants them to know they will once again have the land. The land will be blessed, which means the people will be blessed. The mountains are a word picture of God’s care.   Later, however,  in this chapter, the prophet will pivot from the blessings on the physical land to the blessings in the heart and mind (Ezekiel 36:22-30).   The entire point of the prophecy is found in the last sentence in the above passage:  Then you will know that I am the LORD.  God will bless the land (material) so that you know Him (spiritually).   God gives us tangible so that we can grasp the non-tangible.   We are not to make the tangible a replacement for our non-tangible relationship with God.  We are not to worship the creation over the Creator.  But God will bless the tangible.   He wants to show us His great love and He uses what we see to bring us into faith for what we do not see.   

God’s Word and the Counsel of Others - Proverbs 11-12

Proverbs 11:14

Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Solomon has a lot to say about making plans. In Proverbs 15:22 he tells us to make sure we have other advisors to our plans and without them, plans may fail. 

Proverbs 15:22 (ESV)

Without counsel plans fail,

but with many advisers they succeed.

In Proverbs 20:18 and Proverbs 24:6 he further recommends that we seek others input before we move into a plan. 

Proverbs 20:18 (ESV)

Plans are established by counsel;

by wise guidance wage war.

Proverbs 24:6 (ESV)

for by wise guidance you can wage your war,

and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

There is much to learn in these proverbs about planning and action in our lives, but perhaps a missing lesson is how much emphasis God puts on the interaction of others in our lives. God could say making plans should be reserved exclusively from seeking His truth in His Word and through His Spirit. But, using Solomon's Words, God is, indeed, telling us that planning is something that should come from seeking counsel of others, as well. God gives good plans through His Word and His Spirit bears witness with our spirit in regard to what we should and should not do. However, God has given us "others" for the perfection of those plans. Wisdom is available through His Word and His Word is exponded by other believers in our lives.  When we solely rely on God's Word and His Spirit we are not wrong, but God's Word tells us to include the counsel of others, as long as that counsel squares with God's Word. God speaks to us by the counsel of others. Now, we must filter their counsel through God's Word. In Acts 21 when the prophet Agabus propheised that Paul would be taken prisoner, everyone wanted Paul to stay away from Jerusalem. But Paul knew their "counsel" needed to be filtered by God's Word.  Since God had already told him to go to Jerusalem, Paul was not going to make plans by their counsel. Counsel from others is needed to find God's will for our plans. 

Acts 21:13-14 (ESV)

Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”

The counsel of others in our lives is only to be heeded when it is offered in God's will.  When we listen to good counsel and take the correction it will give us, we can have the victory, safety and security. Getting the opinions of others about our choices in life gives us safety and security, as it comes into alignment with what God has already told us.  

God Restores After Discipline - Psalms 84-86

Psalms 85:1-3 (ESV)

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH.

LORD, you were favorable to your land;

you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

You forgave the iniquity of your people;

you covered all their sin. Selah

You withdrew all your wrath;

you turned from your hot anger.

Psalm 85 is a song written upon the return of the nation of Israel from their captivity.  They were sent into captivity due to their disobedience to God’s Word.  He disciplined them to correct their behavior.   Now they are returning to the Promise Land.   They rejoice that their sins are forgiven and they can rebuild in the land again.   This is a time of Nehemiah, who returned to rebuild the city, and of Ezra, who returned to lead the rebuilding of the Temple.  But before there was to be a rebuilding of the material things there had to be a restoration of the heart toward God.   They had to come to the point that they rejoiced and worshipped God for His marvelous mercy and grace.  Knowing your sins are forgiven and God has turned from His wrath toward us should produces great rejoicing in our hearts.  

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 (ESV)

For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

When we turn to God in repentance we are delivered from the wrath that God is brining on the world.  The people had experienced God’s anger and wrath but He was now faithful to them in mercy and grace.   Despite their sins God was willing and eager to forgive:

1 John 1:9 (ESV)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God Keeps His Promises - 2 Kings 11-15

2 Kings 15:8-12 (ESV)

In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah the son of Jeroboam reigned over Israel in Samaria six months. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as his fathers had done. He did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. Shallum the son of Jabesh conspired against him and struck him down at Ibleam and put him to death and reigned in his place. Now the rest of the deeds of Zechariah, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. (This was the promise of the LORD that he gave to Jehu, “Your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.)

Zechariah was in position to lead for one month.  That is not even enough time to get the name plate on the office door changed.   The evil was so bad that conspiracy after conspiracy and coup after coup was taking place.   To become a king in those days was to sign one’s own death sentence.    But Zechariah needed to be king.  It was proclaimed by God, four generations earlier:

2 Kings 10:28-30 (ESV)

Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.”

Zechariah was the fulfillment of God’s promise to his great-great-great grandfather.   God keeps His promises.   God does not forget His people nor the promises He makes to them.   Our walk with God is based upon our trust that His character does not change, nor His promises fall empty.   

God Is Concerned About Immorality - Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 18:28-29 (ESV)

lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people.

Although the above two verses are taken right out of the middle of a paragraph, there is a truth to learn from them.   Moses is writing about the sexual behavior for the nation of Israel.   If we used a New Testament passage to sum up what Moses says in this chapter of Leviticus it might be this passage Paul wrote to the Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 4:1-5 (ESV)

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

In order to live a life to please God, whether in the Old or New Testament, we are not to look like the world in our conduct, especially in the area of sexual activity.  It is amazing that God is concerned about our sexual lives.   He sees the act of intimacy as a holy act created to bring glory to Him.   Man always seems to distort for himself what God creates for His glory.  In this Leviticus instruction Moses has just told them that having sexual relationships with family members, with same gender partners and with animals, is forbidden for them.  These are things the Gentiles do, who do not know God.    These things are so sinful the land itself vomits.   The impact from immorality has a negative effect on any nation, any culture and any land where these things are permitted.   The reason the nations were removed from the land and the land was given to Israel was the wicked way they lived.   God does not tolerate wicked living.   Sexual immorality was just one aspect of that life style that cost them their land.  God destroys nations and countries that run rampant with immorality.  He did then and He will now.