In An Instant, Changed Eternally

There is very common misconception among people, especially believers, that there will be time between hearing the trumpet announcing the Lord’s coming and His actual appearance to repent, get saved or make amends for all the horrible things done in this life.  Everything about this idea is wrong and will lead to much wailing and gnashing of teeth in the future.

To begin with, the only trumpet that pertains to Christians is the trumpet that is recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15.  In both instances the same event is being described.  This event is commonly known as the rapture or gathering together.  Many thought until recently that this event was for all believers, but the Holy Spirit has made in perfectly clear that this is for the remnant; the faithful in Christ Jesus.

Only those who remain faithful to Him until the end will even hear this trumpet.  No unbeliever will hear anything.  Those who claim to be in Christ but have proven themselves to be unfaithful will hear nothing.  Those who insist on straddling the fence, playing both ends against the middle and otherwise live life in the state of being lukewarm will hear nothing.  For all those who refuse to fully commit themselves in this current life to Christ Jesus; the silence of God will be the only thing ringing in their ears. 

History is full of accounts of people on their deathbed finally supposedly getting saved.  Whether they really repented and confessed with their mouth that Jesus was their Lord and that God raised Him from the dead or not; only God knows.  But, the vast majority of those who claim to have “seen the light” and given their life to Jesus moments before death do so only to get an insurance policy just in case all the crazy Christians really were right.  It is highly doubtful any of those people really were saved.

Before the trumpet sounds and we which are alive at His coming meet Him in the air; Gabriel the arch-angel shouts.  What he shouts is not known, but it will probably be something like “WAKE UP”, for the Bible says the dead in Christ rise first and THEN we which are alive and remain hear the trumpet.  All those who have lived before us and died as faithful saints will hear the shout of Gabriel to get up.  No one else hears the shout besides those it is intended for.

Once the dead in Christ have put on immortality then we which are alive have the greatest experience anyone could ever have.  In the amount of time it takes to split an atom; in the amount of time it takes for the eye to twinkle; in a literal INSTANT, the following happens:

1.       Our physical body is vaporized

2.       We receive a body fashioned unto that which Jesus received after the resurrection       

3.       We are translated to a place in the air

4.       We are in the presence of Jesus seeing Him face to face

In other words we are sitting in a chair looking out the window.  We hear a trumpet and in an instant we are totally changed.  Our entire physical make-up is changed.  We are literally vaporized and the body of sin and sickness and death is disintegrated instantly and at that same instant we receive our eternal perfect spiritual body that will never feel pain, never get sick and never die. 

In that same instant we receive the perfectly renewed mind that is incapable of thinking evil or ungodly thoughts.  We are, in an instant, totally and 100% changed.  That is the promise of 1 Corinthians 15 and we have every legal right to stand on that promise and believe it with all our heart and mind.  We are changed into what Jesus already is and has been since God raised Him from the dead.  In the amount of time it takes to blink; we go from having a body that is full of imperfections, pain, disease and death to a resurrected and glorious body as perfect as Jesus Christ’s.

In that same instant we depart this earth and instantaneously are transported into the very presence of Jesus Christ.  One minute we are looking out the window and the next instant we are looking directly into the eyes of Jesus Christ.  Nothing electrifies me faster than the realization that at any moment, the next thing I know is that I am in my Lord’s presence, face to face.  Now we see through a glass darkly, but then “face to face” 1 Corinthians 13 promises us. 

This event should really be called the appearing of Jesus Christ because that is exactly what happens.  The trumpet sounds and the next instant we see the Lord’s face in the air.  Let me ask you the most important question you have ever been asked in your life.  Think about this, don’t get distracted.

If you somehow knew that in 3 seconds you were going to see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face; how would you feel in your heart?  If there was anything other than absolute anticipation and humility you need to repent.  1 John 3 gives us the promise of our heart not condemning us at His appearing.  We need to do whatever it takes in our fellowship to get to the point we have NOTHING to be ashamed of.  We cannot be as Adam and Eve and dread hearing the footsteps of our God. 

Anything causing you shame, fear, anxiety or dread needs to be dealt with NOW.  DO NOT WAIT for the next revival.  Do not wait for the next church altar call.  Do not wait for your next vacation or day off.  NOW is the time to deal with conclusively any and all sin and darkness in your life.  You know what causes you shame.  You don’t need anyone else to tell you.  You know what sends chills down your neck when you think of seeing the Lord Jesus face to face.  Whatever it is that is causing you shame and fear DEAL WITH IT NOW.

If your heart condemns you, then you have no confidence before Him at His coming.  You won’t be there.  You won’t hear the trumpet.  You will still be waiting to deal with situations long after it will do any good.  If you are born again, you have laid before you the offer to be changed when He appears.  Do you want it?  He wants you to be there with Him.   He wants you to see His glorious and face and gaze into His loving eyes.  He wants you to hear Him say; “Well Done, good and faithful servant”.

What could this life hold that is any greater than the prospect of being changed and embarking on an eternity of glory?  What charm and appeal could this life offer that could be any greater than that of being for ever more with our Lord?  Cast off the sin that does so easily draw you off course and run with patience the race that is set before you.  You have need of patience that after you have stood faithfully in this life for Him, you might receive His reward.  He wants you to have it.

Many Trunks But Still One Tree

In many respects, Christianity is as a huge tree.  The gigantic trunk represents certain basic truths which most Christians believe in.  The pillars of the faith which once made up the trunk of Christianity used to produce a trunk far bigger than the tree above it.  It seems that now, the tree is being turned upside down.  The trunk is getting steadily smaller and the limbs and branches are multiplying above it.

There used to be commonly accepted tenets which formed the trunk of Christianity.  These fairly universally held beliefs consisted of things like; Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  Jesus came into the world to save sinners and was raised from the dead by God and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of God the Father.  One day He returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We are members in particular of His church and of His body.  The Bible is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter and salvation is by grace.  As Christians we should strive to love one another and live righteously. 

There might have been differences of opinion regarding specific elements of these beliefs, but for the most part, Christians agreed on these basic things.  Some form of these things represented the trunk of the Christian faith.  To be quite honest, I really don’t know what is left of that trunk.  In other words, I am not quite sure I know of anything everyone who calls themselves a Christian universally believes to be true.

Over the past few centuries, Christianity has branched into one denomination after another.  Denominations arise, and then split into sub-denominations due to differences of opinion in various doctrinal and practical matters.  Sometimes denominations keep one thing in common (such as Baptists regarding baptism) but other than that have little in common.  A good case in point would be the American Baptists and the Southern Baptists. 

No split among Christianity is any deeper and more radical than that which separates the liberal and conservative sides of the faith.  In many respects, it is almost as if there are two trees.  Being perfectly honest, there is very little common ground between these two branches of the faith.  Although common terminology is used, definition of terms is entirely different in many cases.

It is very interesting that although I am a Protestant, I have far more in common with many of my Catholic friends than those on the liberal side of Protestantism.  That is because the Catholic faith is very conservative.  I certainly have doctrinal issues with these friends, but on ethical, charity and lifestyle issues; we basically agree.  It may appear outwardly that I would agree with some doctrinal issues promoted by liberal Protestantism, and should thus have that in common.  But, upon further review, those similarities usually fade when scrutinized closely.

For many centuries the chasm was between Protestant and Catholic.  Even to the point of war.  I question now that the greater chasm is between the liberal and conservative sides of Protestantism.  Unfortunately, on most issues, there is little chance of reconciliation between the “far left” and the “far right” sides of Protestantism.  In the middle, there is much common ground, but on the fringes there is little, if any. 

What do we do?  Christianity has been split since the days of Martin Luther.  Christianity has gone from either one is Catholic or one is Protestant to thousands of divisions on both sides of the original split.  What was once a magnificent tree with two massive trunks is now a bush with hundreds of trunks and thousands of limbs and branches.  Good bad or otherwise, one thing can be said for the thousand plus years of the Holy Roman Empire; the church was one. 

The days of there being any possible way for Christians to unite ended before the death of Paul, Peter and John in the First Century.  Internal bickering and factions splitting from the main body of believers started even in the book of Acts and went on until around the Fourth Century.  There was a “forced unity” of sorts until Martin Luther.  But, soon after Luther, different great men rose up with differing opinions on theological matters and developed followings.   In time, these followings took on the name of their founder and became major denominations. 

I have attended services at Lutheran churches and masses at Catholic churches.  The difference between them was miniscule.  I have attended services at Methodist churches and I have attended services at Presbyterian churches.  The difference between them was nonexistent.  I have attended services at Assembly of God churches and many non-denominational churches.  I could find no difference between them.   I have attended services at two different churches in the same denomination and found little or nothing in common.

Here is the truth, as I see it from having studied denominationalism and having attended numerous different kinds of services.  It mainly comes down to the local pastor or priest and what he believes and how he chooses to conduct a service.  In other words, I have been to Catholic mass and except for communion thought I was attending a small non-denominational church because the priest was very open minded and independent.  I have also attended some non-denominational churches where I honestly couldn’t figure out what they believed due to all the emphasis placed on the “worship experience”.

The differences between us as Christians are not so much in what the individual governing bodies claim is their statement of faith, but more the individual’s personal beliefs.  Some good friends of ours attend a Southern Baptist church because they lead the worship band.  They are no more Southern Baptists than the Pope.  Yet, they attend church, are blessed and have no serious problems.  Why?  Because they chose to set aside their differences and instead be blessed by what they have in common.

We had a funny looking “tree” outside our front door that we had to have removed because it was too close to the house.  This “tree” must have had 100 trunks.  It was almost as if there were 100 separate trees.  But, when it was dug up, there was only one root system.  I was told earlier by a tree specialist, that if I wanted to, I could tie a heavy cord around all those individual trunks and make the tree look more like a normal tree instead of a huge bush. 

Think about this.  Colossians 3:14 speaks of love being the “bond of perfection”.  This bond is like a cord which binds everything together completely in ideal harmony.  Perhaps during this season when, for a change, Christians agree on many things, we can go out of our way to love one other.  Perhaps we could allow the love of God to act as a giant cord to bind all our thousands of trunks together, so at least for the next ten days, we could look like the majestic tree we once were.  After all, we still do all share the same root system.

 

God So Loved…

There is a good reason why God chose to call the experience of getting saved the “new birth” or getting “born again”.  These phrases carry with them the connotation of a fresh start or a new beginning.  When we get born again, it is as if we were allowed to start life over again.  Not physically, for that is impossible, but spiritually we are “born again”. 

In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night to privately ask him some questions without the other Pharisees around to judge or condemn him.  The first thing he does is acknowledge that Jesus is a teacher from God and that God was with him.  Jesus answered and said to Nicodemus in verse 3:

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

This was obviously not what Nicodemus expected to hear, for it was concept totally foreign to his thinking.  He responded as anyone would upon hearing about being “born again”. 

“Nicodemus said unto him, how can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”

You can tell he was truly puzzled by the idea of getting “born again”.  Looking at it from the senses point of view, it is not possible for an old man to climb back into his mother’s womb and proceed to get “born again”.  I am sure Nicodemus was wondering why he was even there.  What kind of silly theology was Jesus promoting?  Who ever heard of getting “born again?”

Jesus proceeded elaborate on this subject in verses 5-8:

“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth:  so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

Verse 8 is very cumbersome in the King James Version.  Reading from the Beck Translation it says:

“The wind blows where it pleases and you hear the sound of it, but you don’t know where it’s coming from or where it’s going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

All Nicodemus could say in response to this was; “How can these things be?”  Please keep in mind that Nicodemus according to verse one was a “ruler of the Jews”.  He was a teacher in Israel and sat on the Jewish court.  He should have been able to figure out what Jesus was speaking about.

After reproving Nicodemus in verses 10-13, Jesus lays out the simple truth of who he is, why he is there and how to get saved.  Please allow me to read verses 14-21 from the Williams Translation which is an older translation in the language of the people:

“And just as Moses in the desert lifted the serpent on the pole, the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who trusts in Him may have eternal life.

“For God loved the world so much that He gave His Only Son, so that anyone who trusts in him may never perish but have eternal life.

For God sent His Son into the world, not to pass sentence on it, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Whoever trusts in Him is never to come up for judgment; but whoever does not trust in Him has already received his sentence, because he has not trusted in the name of God’s only Son.

And the ground for the sentence is this, that the light has come into the world, and yet, because their actions were evil, men have loved darkness more than the light.

For anyone who is in the habit of doing wrong hates the light, and to keep his actions from being reproved, he does not come out into the daylight.

But whoever is in the habit of living the truth will come out in the daylight that his actions may be shown to be performed with God’s help.”

The record abruptly ends at this time.  There is no hint as to the response of Nicodemus to hearing this incredible dissertation.  If he was as smart as it appears, I am sure he took what Jesus said to heart and in due time got “born again”.

Whoever trusts in Jesus to be their Savior sent by God can receive that which Jesus came to make available; eternal life.  If a person loves habitually doing wrong, he will hate the light.  He will hide in the darkness and never see the light of glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ for fear of having his habits reproved.

Whoever loves habitually living the truth will gladly come out in the daylight so everyone can see that what he is doing is done with God’s help and through His power.  Evil people doing evil things hide what they are doing under the cloak of darkness.  Righteous people doing righteous things gladly do what they do in the light of day so God can be glorified.

God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.  He allowed His beloved Son to be nailed on the cross to give up his life for our sins.  God loved the world so much that He rejected the natural Fatherly instinct to “save His son from death”.  God loved the world so much that He, with great sorrow, did not grant His Son the request of “If there be any other way to do this”.  God loved the world so much that He watched with agony as His only Son was beaten, abused, tortured, mocked, scorned, spit upon, degraded, debased and subjected to every sadistic urge known to man.  God loved the world so much that He stood by in heaven and allowed His only Son to die. 

Jesus loved us so much that he willingly went through all he had to suffer in order to redeem us.  Jesus loved us so much that he subjected himself to unfathomable abuse, torture and degradation so that God could legally justify us and declare us righteous when we get born again.  Jesus loved us so much that he allowed himself to be treated worse than any criminal who ever lived in order to set us free.  Jesus loved us so much that he laid down his life so that we might live.

Please, my friends, let us never lose sight of the incredible love shown to us by God when He gave us His Son.  Let us never forget for an instant the love of our Savior Jesus Christ as shown by his willingness to “lay it all on the line” for us.  Love so amazing and so Devine demands our life, our heart and our all.  Love so amazing and so Devine was demonstrated so we could get “born again” and receive eternal life.  Praise God and thank you Jesus for loving us enough to allow us into your Kingdom.  Amen.

    

The High Price of Commitment

I deplore religion.  I deplore those who use religion to promote 100% secular causes.  I deplore religious people who don’t have one ounce of Christian blood inside them.  I am a Christian and I am proud of it.  My citizenship is not of this world and I do not pledge my allegiance to any nation or government of man.  My king is Jesus Christ and to Him and Him alone I am committed.  No institution of man, no religious ruling authority, no principality or power has any right to my heart or dominion over my soul. 

Those who wish to cower in the shadows and hide from the stomping boots of agents bent on the destruction of “Christians” should be the first ones shot.  They are a disgrace to those who gave their lives as martyrs for Christ.  Cowards run for cover when the enemy approaches.  Cowards should be the first ones fed to the hungry lions.

I am very tired of “playing religious games” with people who never have or ever will know and love Jesus Christ as a true Christian does.  “Religious” people are not Christians simply because they practice some religion.  Christianity is not a religion; it is a way of life.  Christianity is a FAITH, not a system of rules or traditions of men.

I pray the next time some crazed madman aims his automatic weapon at people that he would first dare any Christians to be first in line to be shot.  I would pray that there would be some who value their King more than their physical lives.  I would pray there would be some willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for God.  Oh how I pray there will always be a few true Christians around to show the enemy he cannot intimidate everyone.

I thank God for those who have served in the military.  I understand the concept of fighting for freedom.  I also understand that in spiritual warfare, there is only one thing the enemy understands and that is boldness.  Peter speaks of our foe as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  A lion’s roar freezes its prey in their tracks.  Out of fear they stop and the lion has an easy lunch.  When the lion roars, roar back at him.  Don’t just stand there shaking in your boots.  Take out the sword of the spirit and cut off his tail as a souvenir of your encounter!

Fear freezes people and renders them easy prey for the enemy.  Animal experts say that if a wild animal senses fear in its victim, it will immediately attack them.   So what if the enemy snarls and growls madly.  Snarl and growl right back at him.  No fear has to be a true Christian’s ironclad rule of combat.  If the enemy senses fear, he will immediately go for the jugular.

I am not the least bit afraid of dying.  I especially look forward to the day when I am hauled before the authorities and given the choice of renouncing my faith or being killed.  I would count it my greatest honor in life to give my life on behalf of my king.  There is nothing in this life worth compromising my faith for.  My life is not my own, for I have been bought with a price.  If the greatest thing I can do with this life is give it as a sacrifice to my King; so be it.

In the past 8 months there has been a rash of shooting sprees.  First there was Virginia Tech, and then there was Finland, then Minnesota and now Colorado.  Out of nowhere a wild person suddenly opens fire on innocent bystanders.  Is this a bad thing?  Of course it is, and the latest incident bears out where this is heading.  The gunman in Colorado stated on his pre-killing internet post that he was going out to kill as many Christians as he could.  He hated Christians and his hate bred murder.  This started with Cain and continues unto the present.

 Cain hated his brother Abel and his intense hatred motivated Cain to kill Abel.  The devil hated Christ and the devil hates true Christians for they represent Christ now.  Anyone who is daring to walk as He walked and talk as He talked is at the top of the devil’s hit list.  John 10:10 states that the devil’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.  He lives and breathes to disrupt and destroy true Christian’s lives.  He plots and plans circumstances to hinder, distract and burden those on his “list”.  He maneuvers people and situations around to present roadblocks, diversions and other things all for the purpose of thwarting God’s plans.  The devil is the ultimate orchestrator and manager.

Those who do not like battle, quickly make deals with the devil to leave them alone.  They agree to do nothing that would threaten him in exchange for “immunity”.  They willingly shut up or water down the truth so as to not rile up the enemy.  They find other “worthy” things to do with this life so as to not do anything worthy of getting the enemy mad.  They are the ultimate pacifists and World War II proved conclusively what happens when you try and pacify the enemy.  He steamrolls right over you.

Those who do not have the “heart” to fight the enemy want comfortable “desk jobs” far removed from the front lines of battle.  These lukewarm Christians don’t want anything to do with the actual “fight”.  They want to be spectators who get to sit in the stands and watch their Christian heroes do battle with the enemy like watching football on a Sunday afternoon.

Fighting the devil is difficult and entails putting on the whole armor of God found in Ephesians chapter 6.  This section of Scripture specifically states that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, and powers and wicked spirits from on high.  The battle is spiritual and it is not pretty.  The devil and his gang are ruthless thugs when it comes to their hatred of Christians.  They will stop at nothing to destroy anyone attempting to expose them and their father the devil.  Thank God He gave us weapons to fight with.  Thank God He has promised us He will never leave nor forsake us.  Thank God for the victory, if not in this life, then eternally!

Christians need to stand up and be counted, not retreat into their fancy churches and hide.  If Christianity is nothing more than a means to financial prosperity; it is nothing but a man-made religion.  If Christianity is a means to become famous; then it is nothing but a man-made fraud.  If Christianity is a fuzzy blanket to snuggle up in and hide from all the woes of the world; it is a counterfeit religion.  True Christianity entails sacrifice and suffering.  True Christianity demands separation from everything this world holds dear.  True Christianity adamantly refuses to compromise with the enemy no matter how attractive his offers sound.

Christians need to have some “guts” or they will become fodder for the devil and his hungry legions of lions.  Weak Christians breed a weak religion void of power and any real conviction.  Christians need to understand that Christianity is not a religion but the rock solid faith of those totally committed to their Master.  Christianity is simply that which describes and defines Christians.  Christians are those who deliberately seek to become just like the Christ who lives within them. 

I direct this post at no one in particular except the enemy.  Jesus Christ needs warriors to rise up.  He needs people not afraid of dying.  He needs people more committed to Him than the world.  He needs people unfazed by the screams of those demanding Christians shut up.  He needs an army of men and women who count not this life dear to them.  He needs people who would rather fight than compromise the truth.  He needs people who are willing to burn rather than bow.  He needs people unafraid of being cast into the lion’s den or the fiery furnace heated 7 times more than normal.

Throughout this world, movements are arising that have one thing in common; their hatred for Christians.  The day will come very soon when those who refuse to compromise the faith will suffer the consequences.   Lord, I want to be in that number.  I want to be one of those you can count on to fight and not run.  I want to put on the whole armor of God so having done all; I can stand for God and withstand all the fiery darts thrown by the wicked one.  I don’t want the enemy to win and thus I feel compelled to fight for that which is true, honest, just and right; no matter the consequence and no matter the cost.  Lord, please grant me the desire of my heart; to stand for you, no matter what.

  

Manifesting Christ through the Renewed Mind and Love

For whatever the reason, at this date a few days before Christmas, I am led to present a few vital things from Colossians Chapter 3.  This chapter shows the results of our union with Christ through putting off evil habits, and putting on (like fine new clothes) the things associated with Christ.  The chapter then reiterates what Ephesians chapter 6 speaks of regarding the various relationships we have in this life.

As I present this chapter, I want to read from the “Williams New Testament” for it helps put the concepts recorded in this chapter into more easy to read language.  Starting in verse 1 we see:

“So if you have been raised to life in fellowship with Christ, keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

Practice occupying your minds with the things above, not with the things on earth.

For you have died, and your life is now hidden in God through your fellowship with Christ.

When Christ, who is our life, appears, you too will appear to be glorified in fellowship with Him.”

Some sections of God’s Word are so very deep and beautiful, language cannot begin to express even a small amount of all God is attempting to communicate.  When we get born again, we have the challenge laid before us to live in fellowship with Jesus Christ.  This union is our key to successful living as a believer.  In every aspect of life, we strive to be as He is, think as He thinks, do as He does and live as He lived when He walked on this earth.  This is our calling as Christians, to rise up mentally to become more Christ like in our attitudes and lifestyles.

We attain this fellowship with Christ through what Biblically is called the “renewed mind”.  This process consists of setting aside everything associated with the old nature and putting on the mind of Christ.  We do this by first and foremost actively seeking the things above and not the things on this earth.  We must practice occupying our minds with spiritual matters and not filling our minds with the filth of this world.  Certainly Romans chapter 8 would provide a nice companion study to this one. 

Romans 8:6 says to be carnally minded (have the mind of the flesh) is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.  It goes on to talk about the mind of the flesh being at war with God due to its rebellion against God’s commands.  Of course Galatians 5 and Ephesians 4 also devote long sections to this subject of the “renewed mind”.  Back in Colossians3 picking up the record in verse 5:

So once and for all put to death your lower, earthly nature with respect to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is real idolatry.

It is on account of these very sins that God’s anger is coming.

You too USED to practice these sins, when you USED to live that sort of life.

But now you too must once and for all put them all aside—anger, rage, malice, and abusive, filthy talk from your lips.

Stop lying to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its practices,

And have put on the new self which is in the process of being made new in the likeness of its Creator, so that you may attain a perfect knowledge of Him.

In this new relation there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is everything and in us all.”

Very simply put; we must reckon the old nature dead.  We must once and for all put to death those things verse 5 said were really nothing but idolatry.  Verse 6 specifically states WHY the wrath of God is coming soon on this world.  It is because of the 5 things mentioned in verse 5 which put together equal that which God genuinely hates which is idolatry.  This is why when it comes to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed; these things must not be sentenced to life in prison with attempts made to “reform” them, they must be executed once and for all.

Before we were saved, we USED to practice these things.  They defined our lifestyle and manner of life.  But now that we have graciously been saved, we need to first execute the things in verse 5, but also put off (or aside) certain things.  The attitudes and behavior we are to “get rid of” are the unholy trinity of anger, rage and malice along with abusive and filthy talk. 

It is indeed difficult in our day and time to get rid of anger and rage issues for the world is made up of millions of things that provoke us to anger.  Jesus certainly got angry at certain things, and there is no doubt “righteous indignation” available in certain situations.  But there is huge difference between selectively getting angry at unbelief vs. living in a constant state of rage.  Anger and rage provide the fertile ground for malice of all types and forms. 

Also to be put away are the twin verbal sins of abuse and filthy talk.   Abusive talk is really nothing but slander.  It is obvious throughout God’s Word that He does not advocate nor put up with gossip, backbiting and any kind of talk behind other’s backs.  He also does not put up with any kind of abuse; whether verbal or physical.  Verbal abuse is every bit as destructive as physical abuse, and in some ways it is worse.  Verbal abuse and filthy talk must be put away so as to not offend and hurt other believers.  There is no place among Christians for rude, obnoxious and filthy jokes and talk.  Simply put it all away.

Believers MUST stop lying to each other.  God wants and demands honesty among His people.  Lying is straight from the heart of the devil, for according to John 8 the devil is the father of lies.  It is so very easy in our culture to start “hedging on the truth” or telling little “white lies”.  A lie is a lie, whether it is white, yellow or red.  The whole rationalization process the prophet Samuel exposed in Saul in 1 Samuel 15 started with “hedging” the truth.  Lying runs rampant among Christians today, and it is horrible situation which needs to be confronted and corrected.

Starting in Colossians 3:12, we see the positive side of the renewed mind.  The process of changing our thinking involves both putting off and putting on.  There are certain things we must consciously stop doing and there are things we must make a conscious effort to do.  It is equally difficult to stop doing old habits as it is to develop new ones.  In both cases it takes time, effort and patience with yourself.  Habits take time to develop and new habits take practice to become “second nature”. 

“So as God’s own chosen people, consecrated and dearly loved, you must once and for all clothe yourselves with tenderness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience; you must keep on

Forbearing one another and freely forgiving one another; just as the Lord has freely forgiven you, so must you also do.

And over all these qualities put on love, which is the tie of perfection that binds us together.

Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts, for you were called to this state as members of one body.  And practice being thankful.

Let the message of Christ continue to live in you in all its wealth of wisdom; keep on teaching it with thankfulness, in your hearts singing praise to God with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

And whatever you say or do, let it all be done with reference to the Lord Jesus, and through Him continue to give thanks to God the Father.”

The qualities of God in Christ Jesus are equated to “new clothes” in this section.  First we take off the old dirty clothes we saw previously and now we “put on” our new clothes designed by God and first worn by Christ.  We are to clothe ourselves with tenderness, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Wow, what a list to start with.  Each one of these 5 things denotes the “soft” side of our God of love.   We cannot make the old nature become these things; they are simply part of the new clothes we “put on” by changing our thinking to be in alignment with the Word of God.

We must keep on “putting up with” each other and freely forgiving one another even as the Lord has freely forgiven us.  Notice the two usages of “freely”; we were not just forgiven, we were FREELY forgiven.  We are not just to forgive, we are to FREELY forgive.  Remember how many times Jesus said we are to forgive?  Seventy times seven, which means as many times as it comes up. 

Putting all these wonderful qualities together we have LOVE.  Love is the rope that ties our hearts together.  Love is the tenderness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance and forgiveness we manifest toward each other.  Love springs from the renewed mind.  The “agape” love we are to love each other with, is the love of God in our renewed minds in manifestation.

We are to let or allow the peace of Christ to act as an umpire in our hearts.  Allow the peace which passes all understanding to tell you when you have committed a infraction, when you hit a foul ball or when you “stepped over the line”.  It is so great how the word “rule” is really best translated as “to be an umpire” or a judge.  PEACE is to be the umpire, not people.  For more information please refer to a post I did a few days ago on “answers of peace”.

Finally this section urges us to allow the very message of Christ to LIVE in us with all its wealth of wisdom.  We are to keep teaching and sharing this message no matter what.  We are to stay thankful for the honor of sharing the message of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We are to speak with our lips the message of Christ and keep singing praise to God in our hearts with songs and hymns.  This, by the way, defines the very heart of “worship”.  Worship is simply praising God in our hearts, singing and speaking to HIM with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

Whatever we say or do, we are to do it all with reference to the Lord Jesus and giving thanks to God while doing it.  Everyone should know we are Christians.  Everything we do and say should reflect the Christ within us, for we are Ambassadors for Christ.  Our lives are a blessing to this world, just as Jesus Christ life was.  In this season when people should be thanking God for so loving the world that He gave us His son; we should be living epistles of that love as we strive to manifest to others the love of God in Christ Jesus.

What better gift to give the ones you love this holiday season than the gift of the love of God in YOUR renewed mind in manifestation.  Just last year, my gift to many people was forgiveness.  I forgave many people I had harbored ill feelings toward for years and I begged forgiveness from many people I had wronged years ago.  It was a very cleansing time and I thank God I did it.  Forgiveness along with all the other qualities of the God’s love in our renewed minds in manifestation provides the greatest gift we could offer to anyone not only this coming week, but for the remainder of our lives.  God bless you and I pray you have a wonderful holiday season.