PT-1 "The Man with a Servant's Heart" (Col. 4:7-8)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/10/2017 7:42 PM

My Worship Time                                               Focus:  PT-1 “The Man with A Servant’s Heart”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:7-8

            Message of the verses:  “7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8 For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts;”

            John MacArthur writes that “Tychicus means ‘fortuitous,’ or fortunate.’”  When you look at the meaning of his name as can be seen as fortunate we have to agree that he was indeed fortunate in serving the Lord with the Apostle Paul.  Tychicus’ name is mentioned five times in the New Testament and even though not a lot is said about him we can be sure that what is written about him shows that he was given a rich profile of him.

            I will list the five times that his name is mentioned in the New Testament. 

Ac 20:4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia.

Eph 6:21 But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you.

Col 4:7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information.

2Ti 4:12 But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.

Tit 3:12 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

            The background from the first mention of Tychicus in Acts 20:4 takes place near the end of the third missionary trip of Paul.  It was Paul’s desire to take a collection from the Gentile churches that he started to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem because of a famine that was going on.  He wanted the Jewish believers to understand that the Gentile believers did love them.  Paul planned to take some Gentile believer from Greece and also from Asia Minor which was representatives of the Gentile churches and one of them would be Tychicus.  This took a great trust in the Lord to do this as there was hostility between these different churches.  It also shows that Tychicus had a servant’s heart to do this task as traveling in that day and age was certainly not like it is in our modern world today. 

            Paul’s letter to the Colossian church came two years after his trip to Jerusalem and he went through a lot during that time period, most all of it was spent in prison.  As you read the ending chapters of the book of Acts you will read about a sea voyage that was very dangerous, but the Lord had promised Paul that he would get to Rome.  (We will conclude this section in our next SD, God willing.)

6/10/2017 8:12 PM   

           

Introduction to Colossians 4:17-18

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/9/2017 10:55 PM

My Worship Time                                                           Focus:  Introduction to Colossians 4:7-18

Bible Reading & Meditation                                               Reference:  Colossians 4:7-18

            Message of the verses:  “7 As to all my affairs, Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will bring you information. 8  For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here. 10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and also Jesus who is called Justus; these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision, and they have proved to be an encouragement to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas. 15 Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house. 16 When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter that is coming from Laodicea. 17 Say to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it." 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my imprisonment. Grace be with you.”

            I first of all want to say that this is the last chapter in John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Colossians, and he has entitled it “With a Little Help from My Friends.”  Another thing worth mentioning is that at the end of this commentary MacArthur has a commentary on the book of Philemon which we will look at after we finish this letter to the Colossians.

            Paul had never been to the Colossian church as we have mentioned, and when he wrote his letter to the Romans he had never been there either.  Both letters have an extensive list of names at the end of the letters, and I believe it is to show those who are receiving these letters that it is truly a letter from Paul.

            MacArthur writes that “This section adds a warm, personal touch to what has been largely a doctrinal letter.  It is similar to the personals he adds to chapter 16 of Romans.”

            “These names in the letters that Paul writes are mostly names of those who helped Paul in his ministry as he was preaching the gospel in different towns, along with starting churches and getting the new believers grounded in the faith.  Having help in the ministry is necessary to the success of the ministry and Exodus 17:8-13 illustrates that truth:

“8 Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." 10 Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.”

It was because of the help that Moses received from Aaron and Hur which enabled Israel to have a great victory.

            We will look at more from the Pen of Moses from Numbers 11:11-15:

“11 So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12 “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ’Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? 13 “Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ’Give us meat that we may eat!’ 14 “I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. 15 “So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."”

            Moses gets his answer from the Lord in verses 16-17:

“16 The LORD therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 “Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone.”

            Good leaders are people who know those that are working with or for them as the leader knows the strengths and weakness of those people working for them.  A good leader will then trust those around him to do the job and not go out to help them do the job.  Trust is an important aspect in being a good leader along as I said the ability to know your people and their skills.  There is much to say in the Bible about leadership, and the book of Nehemiah gives an example of how to be a good leader, as Nehemiah proved to be a good leader getting things done for the Lord.

            MacArthur concludes:  “Paul never ministered alone.  He shared his first leadership opportunity in the church at Antioch with four other men, and throughout the following years of his missionary travels, he always had companions.  The only time we find him alone in Acts is for a brief period in Athens (Acts 17).  Although he is a prisoner as he writes Colossians, he still is not alone.  The eight men he names are not all well-known figures.  Each was, however, a special person to Paul.  And each was willing to pay the price of associating with a prisoner.  In this passage we meet the man with a servant’s heart, the man with a sinful past, the man with a sympathetic heart, the man with a surprising future, the man with a strong commitment, the man with a single passion, the man with a specialized talent, and the man with a sad future.”

6/9/2017 11:25 PM

The Speech of Perfection (Col. 4:6)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/8/2017 9:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  “The Speech of Perfection”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:6

            Message of the verses:  “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

            We spoke about the consistency of life in our last SD, and this is followed up by consistency of speech, which the consistency of life should bring about.  Not saying that any of this is easy.  We have the best example to follow, that of Jesus Christ and according to Luke 4:22 “And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph’s son?"” We see that Jesus spoke with grace, and He is our example. 

            I have mentioned in different SD’s that before I became a believer in Jesus Christ my speech was very bad, saying things with many curse words in my speech.  God changed my heart and my mouth and I do not swear anymore because God cleaned up my speech.  My speech is not perfect by any means but that part of it has been taken care of by the Lord.

            MacArthur writes “Whether undergoing persecution, stress, difficulty, or injustice, whether with your spouse, children, believers, or unbelievers—in all circumstances believers are to make gracious speech a habit.  To speak with grace means to say what is spiritual, wholesome, fitting, kind, sensitive, purposeful, complementary, gentle, truthful, loving, and thoughtful.”  Let us look at Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.”

            What does it mean that the speech of the new man is “seasoned with salt?”  “Believers’ speech should act as a purifying influence, rescuing conversation from the filth that so often engulfs it.  Salt also adds flavor, and the speech of the new man should add charm and wit to conversation.”

            As a believer we should know how to respond to each person as this verse tells us.  One thing for sure we should know how to tell others of the hope that is in us, that is the saving faith we received from our Lord when He saved us.

            MacArthur concludes this 15^th chapter in his commentary by writing “The speech of the new man is vitally important:  ‘If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well’ (James 3:2).  Unlike the ungodly, who say ‘Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”  (Ps. 12:4), we as believers should echo the prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 141:3: ‘Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.’”

6/8/2017 10:07 PM

PT-1 "The Speech of Performance" (Col. 4:5)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/7/2017 5:45 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “The Speech of Performance”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:5

            Message of the verse:  “5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”

            Colossians 1:9 also has the word wisdom in it:  “9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”  Now wisdom involves properly evaluating the circumstances of life so that you can make godly decisions as you plan your life in a consistent, righteous Christian life.

            Paul uses the word “outsiders” and I believe he is talking about those who are outside of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  As believers we are conduct our life in order that the outsiders can see how we live in a godly wise way, and then perhaps they will want to ask questions as to why we are living like we are and then have an opportunity to tell them about Jesus Christ and salvation through His name.

            Believers can do things that are not the wisest which will then hinder their testimony to those unbelievers around them.  They can also live foolishly by trying to live the Christian life legalistically.  Let us look at Galatians 3:1, 3 “1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”  MacArthur adds “Jealousy and selfish ambition, being the opposite of wisdom, are other ways even believers can express foolishness (James 3:16).”  “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

            Let us look at some verses that will help us live in a wise way:  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Pr. 9:10).”  Next we want to talk about prayer from James 1:5 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  Next is Bible study from Col. 3:16 “16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”  Next is godly instruction from Col. 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.”  Perhaps believers today should do as the first century believers did who did not have the benefits of having the modern technology as they just lived a powerful wise Christian life and others saw it.

            As we look at the last part of Colossians 4:5 “making the most of the opportunity” we can look at Psalm 90:12 which says “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom,” a very wise statement from the pen of Moses.  Jesus even spoke of this in John 9:4 when He said “"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”

            Lastly we want to look at Romans 13:11-14 “11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

6/7/2017 6:05 PM

           

PT-3 "The Speech of Proclamation" (Col. 4:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/6/2017 8:29 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-3 “The Speech of Proclamation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:3-4

            Message of the verses:  “3  praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

            Paul’s request to the Colossians is that God will open a door for the gospel, “I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”  We need to look at the word “ought” as it can be understood in two ways.  MacArthur writes “First, it refers to the compulsion Paul felt to preach the gospel.  That was a constant burden in his life.  To the Romans he wrote, ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek’ (Rom. 1:16).  In 1 Corinthians 9:16 he said, ‘If I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.’

            “Second, ought to speak refers to the mandate for using the God-ordained method of presenting the gospel.  Paul preached the gospel by ‘solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21).  ‘Solemnly testifying’ is from diamarturomai, which means to give a thorough and complete testimony.  The gospel should be proclaimed clearly, boldly (Eph. 6:19(, wisely (Pro. 25:11), and graciously (Eph. 4:15).”  Once again remember that Paul, even though writing this letter from prison is most concerned about the cause of Christ, and the gospel message given out.

            When we give out the gospel MacArthur writes that we should avoid “Experience-centered evangelism” and this speaks of the means which you came to know the Lord, as you may leave out something from the Word of God and thus emotions can play into a person’s decision and they truly not saved.  Best to stick to the Word of God.  Now when I give out the I’am usually drawn to people who want to hear about the end times, as that is how the Lord got my attention and then I heard the gospel message and was saved, so that is how I usually talk to people, but make sure that they hear the whole gospel message.

            Second kind of evangelism we are to avoid is “ego-forced evangelism.”  This kind of evangelism tells people that Jesus will care for all of their troubles, however even though He does care for the biggest problem He is not going to take care of all life’s problems for when trouble comes He can use it to cause believers to grow.

            Third form of evangelism to avoid is “expedience evangelism.  “This wrong method of evangelism uses high-pressure tactics, manipulation, cleverness, emotional stimulation, or technique to force commitments.  It, too, often results in false professions of faith (Matt. 13:19-22; cf. James 2:14-26).”

            Paul’s prayer was that the people would pray that he would speak as he ought to speak, in a way God wanted him to speak.  This should be our prayer for everyone who proclaims Christ.

6/6/2017 8:49 PM 

PT-2 "The Speech of Proclamation" (Col. 4:3-4)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/5/2017 8:44 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus: PT-2 “The Speech of Proclamation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:3-4

            Message of the verses:  “3  praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4  that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

            I believe that I have mentioned what I am about to write in earlier SD’s but it does bear repeating.  In many of Paul’s letters at the beginning of them he will pray for the believers that are in the church he was writing too, and then at the end of the letter he will ask them to pray for certain things that he wants prayed for, and this is the case in this letter to the Colossians, as he prayed for them at the beginning and now is asking for prayer for him at the end of the letter.

            In these verses Paul is asking the Colossian believers to pray that he can proclaim the gospel, and remember that Paul was in prison or perhaps living in his own rented house, but under house arrest in Rome, but he still wants prayer for himself to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul wants a door to be opened, which means he wants an opportunity to proclaim the gospel.

            Believers are to pray for open doors to proclaim Christ, understanding that it is God who is the One who opens doors.  This open door could also be called a “divine appointment” an appointment set up by the Lord to witness to someone He has picked out for you to talk to about Christ, or it could be an opportunity to help a fellow believer grow in their faith.

            Paul wanted this door to be opened so that he could “speak forth the mystery of Christ.”  MacArthur writes “As already noted in the discussion of 1:26-27, the term mystery refers to something hidden in the Old Testament but manifest in the New.  In the present context, it refers to the content of the gospel.  Paul asks the Colossians to pray that he would have an open door to speak the full truth of the gospel.”

            We mentioned that Paul was in prison, but it was because of the gospel that he was there.  When Paul finished up his 3^rd missionary trip that Paul went to Jerusalem and he was arrested there, not that he had done anything wrong, but was accused falsely of doing something against the Jewish Law.  He would later go to Rome where he would write what is called the “prison epistles.”  Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon were the four letters he wrote that are recorded in the Bible.  He may and probably did write more letters, but these are the ones that are contained in the New Testament.

            We will try and finish the rest of this section in our next SD.

6/5/2017 9:02 PM

PT-1 "The Speech of Proclamation" (Col. 4:3-4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/4/2017 8:51 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-1 “The Speech of Proclamation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:3-4

            Message of the verses:   “3  praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4  that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”

            I have a prayer list just for the Pastor’s that are in our church and one of the items that is on it is praying for the proclamation of our Pastors.  “Effectiveness in Proclamation:  Scriptural Example is from Ephesians 6:19:  “and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”  I want to pray for our Pastors effectiveness in proclamation. 

The following is a quote from John MacArthur, “Now remember, Paul was a prisoner when he wrote that. He didn't say, "Pray...pray for my ankles, they've been rubbed raw. They're bleeding from the shackles." He didn't say, "Pray for my healing." He didn't say, "Pray for my deliverance." He didn't say, "I'm being abused. Pray for my suffering to end." He didn't want prayer for those things, he said, "Pray for my boldness in speaking the Word of God." Chains were incidental, absolutely incidental.”  Now this does not mean not to pray for our Pastors when they are sick.  Another Scriptural example is Colossians 4:2-4“2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”  2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you.”  MacArthur writes what this means:  “Pray that I’ll have an opportunity to speak.  Secondly, when that opportunity presents itself pray that I will speak as I ought to speak.  And how I ought to speak is boldly and clearly.  And then the third component is when I have spoken in that opportunity boldly and clearly, pray that the Word may spread from there and be glorified.  What is that?  The right response, that men will honor it, they will glorify it by obeying it.  The word ‘spread rapidly’ literally in the Greek is the word to run.  It’s a track word.  Pray that it will sprint and be honored by everybody who hears it.”

Now the following is a quote from Gardener Spring “"We cannot convert a single soul. We press home the divine commands and they trample upon His authority. We press home His threatenings and they despise His justice. We speak tenderly of His promises, they heed not His faithfulness of His beloved Son and they tread Him under their feet, of His patience and long suffering but their impenitence and obstinacy are proof against them all. We reason and plead with them until the obstacles to their conversions seem to us to rise higher by every effort we make to overcome them. Until finally we sink in dejection and cry out, `What mighty power can break these granite-like hearts, what omnipotent grasp can rescue these perishing men from everlasting burnings?' O you blood-bought churches, your minister’s need your prayers for the exceeding greatness of that power which God worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead," end quote.”

            Gardener Spring was a Pastor from New York city who lived there in the 1800’s, I believe that it was the late 1800’s.

            With that we will close this SD and pick up more of what is in these verses in our next SD on Colossians chapter four.

6/4/2017 8:58 PM

  

PT-4 "The Speech of Prayer" (Col. 4:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/3/2017 9:54 PM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-4 “The Speech of Prayer”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:2

            Message of the verses:  “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

            We finally get to move to the second part of this verse which is when we pray we are to be “keeping alert.”  We are to stay awake and not fall asleep during our prayer time.  When my wife and I were living in Aruba a little over eleven years ago we prayed before we went to bed, and I can remember on more than one occasion when one of us would actually be praying and in the middle of a sentence we would fall asleep.  When Jesus was praying in Gethsemane His disciples fell asleep when He was praying as He asked them to stay awake while He was praying, and praying in great agony. 

            Paul is speaking in a broader way here than falling asleep physically.  MacArthur writes “He also means that believers should look for those things about which they ought to be praying.  Christians sometimes pray vague, general prayers that are difficult for God to answer because they do not really ask anything specific.  To be devoted to prayer requires something specific to pray for.  We will never persistently pray for something we are not concerned about.  And to be concerned, we must be alert to specific needs.”

            Lastly we look at a third element in prayer which is “an attitude of thanksgiving.”  Five times Paul has written about gratitude in this letter, (1:12, 2:6, 3:15, 3:17 and here in 4:2).  The following is a list of spiritual blessings and privileges we can be thankful for:  First be thankful for God’s presence (Ps. 75:1).  Second believers are to be thankful for God’s provision.  Third, believers are to be thankful for God’s pardon (Romans 6:17).  Forth believers are to be thankful for God’s promise: “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).  Fifth, and lastly believers are to be thankful for God’s purpose as seen in Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

6/3/2017 10:13 PM

PT-3 "The Speech of Prayer" (Col. 4:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/2/2017 10:36 PM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-3 “The Speech of Prayer”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:2

            Message of the verse: “2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

            In our last SD we looked at a fairly long quote from Virginia Stem as this person spoke about prayer and the difficulty of prayer as we struggle with prayer and sometimes even answers to prayer.  What this person wrote, and it can be seen on the last SD from Colossians speaks of a greatly marked contrast to some of the glib, self-centered prayers of our day, and perhaps that is one of the reasons that our churches are in so much trouble today.  When one looks at the contemporary churches of today we see that many, if not all have lost their reverence for God. People look at God as the man upstairs who is suppose to do whatever people ask Him to do, and yet that is not how it is suppose to work.  Believers are to seek God’s will for their lives and then through Bible study, and prayer have ones will aligned with Gods so that one knows how to pray.  Malachi had similar problems in his day as he wrote “"’A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ’How have we despised Your name?’ (Mal. 1:6).”

            I can remember this year and also last year when I was sure after praying that it was God’s will for my life to teach Sunday school.  I have trouble with what is called IBS (Google it to see what it is if you like).  I would literally scream at the Lord on my way to church because of the difficulties that IBS presented to me as I taught Sunday school.  I would pray to the Lord that since He was the One who called me to do this that I needed to trust Him to get me through it.  God is faithful, and God is good, all the time.

            John MacArthur writes a story about being bold in our prayers to the Lord which I will share in closing.

“In 1540 Luther’s great friend and assistant, Friedrich Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time.  On his bed he wrote a loving farewell note to Luther with a trembling hand.  Luther received the letter and sent back a reply:  ‘I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church…The Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me.  For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.’

“Those words are shocking to us, but they were certainly heartfelt.  Although Myconius had already lost the ability to speak when Luther’s letter came, he recovered completely and lived six more years to survive Luther himself by two months.

“There is a tension between boldness and waiting on God’s will.  That tension is resolved by being persistent, yet accepting God’s answer when it finally comes.”

6/2/2017 10:57 PM

PT-2 "The Speech of Prayer" (Col. 4:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/1/2017 5:25 PM

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-2 “The Speech of Prayer”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:2

            Message of the verses:  “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

            In our last SD we ended up looking at a couple of parables from the gospel of Luke which speaks of prayer and today we want to give some comments on these two parables.

            MacArthur writes “The point of both those parables is that if unwilling and sinful humans will honor persistence, how much will our holy, loving heavenly Father?”  He then goes on to quote Virginia Stem Owens who wrote the following about wrestling with God in earnest prayer:

“Christians have always interpreted the splitting of the temple veil during the crucifixion as symbolic of their liberation from the mediated presence of God.  Henceforth they were ‘free’ to approach Him directly—which is almost like telling someone he is ‘free’ to stick his head in the lion’s jaws.  For once you start praying there is no guarantee that you won’t find yourself before Pharaoh, shipwrecked on a desert island, or in a lion’s den.

“This is no cosmic teddy bear we are cuddling up to.  As one of the children describes him in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, ‘he’s not a tame lion’ [Jacques] Ellul is convinced that prayer for persons living in the technological age must be combat, and not just combat with the Evil One, with one’s society, or even one’s divided self, though it is also all of these; it is combat with God.  We too must struggle with Him just as Jacob did at Peniel where he earned his name Israel—‘he who strives with God.’ We too must be prepared to say, ‘I will not let you go till you bless me.’

“Consider Moses, again and again intervening between the Israelites and God’s wrath; Abraham praying for Sodom; the widow demanding justice of the unjust judge.  But in combat with God, Ellul cautions, we must be ready to bear the consequences:…’Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint, and he went away lame.  However, the most usual experience will be God’s decision to put to work the person who cried out to Him…Whoever wrestles with God in prayer puts his whole life at stake.’

“Awful things happen to people who pray.  Their plans are frequently disrupted.  They end up in strange places.  Abraham ‘went out, not knowing where he was to go’…And Mary’s magnificent prayer at the annunciation, she finds herself the pariah of Nazareth society…How tempting to up the stakes, making prayer merely another consumer product.  How embarrassing to have to admit not only that prayer may get you into prison, as it did Jeremiah, but also that while you’re moldering away in a miry pit there, you may have a long list of lamentations and unanswered questions to present to your Lord.  How are we going to tell them they may end up lame and vagrant if they grasp hold of this God.”  (“Prayer—Into the Lion’s Jaw,” Christianity Today, November 19, 1976, pp. 222-23; italics in the original)

6/1/2017 5:45 PM

 

PT-1 "The Speech of Prayer" (Col. 4:2)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/31/2017 6:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-1 The Speech of Prayer

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 4:2

            Message of the verses:  “2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving.”

            John MacArthur begins this section with some wonderful words about prayer:  “It is fitting that Paul begins with prayer, because it is the most important speech the new man can utter.  Prayer is the strength of the believer’s fellowship with the Lord and the source of his power against Satan and his angels (cf. Eph. 6:18).  Through prayer, believers confess their sin, offer praise to God, call on their sympathetic High Priest (Heb. 4:15-16), and intercede for each other.  Prayer from a pure heart (Ps. 66:18) is to be directed to God (Matt. 6:9), consistent with the mind and will of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 6:18), in the name of Christ, and for the glory of the Father (John 14:13).”

            When we look at the first two words of this verse I can say that it is much stronger when one looks at the Greek language. “Devote yourselves” is from proskartereo, and this is a compound word which is made up of kartereo, and this means to be steadfast or it can mean to endure.  There is an added preposition which intensifies the meaning of this word.  MacArthur states “The verb means ‘to be courageously persistent,’ ‘to hold fast and not let go.’  Paul is calling strongly on believers to persist in prayer.  They are to ‘pray at all times (Eph. 6:18; cf. Luke 18:1), ‘pray without ceasing’ (1 Thess. 5:17), and be devoted to prayer (Rom. 12:12).  By so doing, they follow the example of Cornelius (Acts 10:2) and the apostles (Acts 6:4).”

            We looked at what praying without ceasing means in a former SD, and we quoted Dr. Warren Wiersbe who said that praying without ceasing is keeping the phone to heaven off the hook so you can use it when you need to use it.

            We will close this SD by looking at two parables that our Lord spoke illustrating the importance of persistent prayer:

“1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2  saying, "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. 3 “There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ’Give me legal protection from my opponent.’ 4 "For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ’Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5  yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’" 6  And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly (Luke 18:1-8a).”

“5  Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ’Friend, lend me three loaves; 6  for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7  and from inside he answers and says, ’Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8  "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened (Luke 11:5-10).”

5/31/2017 6:23 PM

Intro to Col. 4:2-6

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/30/2017 8:05 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Col. 4:2-6

Bible Reading & Meditation                                           Reference:  Colossians 4:2-6

            Message of the verses:  2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; 3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.  5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary “The Speech of the New Man.”

            He writes in his introductory commentary “Speech will reflect the kind of person one is.  Because the tongue can speak so easily and is difficult to control, a person’s speech becomes the truest indicator of his spiritual state (cf. Matt. 12:37),” “"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."”

            One might suspect that the Bible is full of things that speak about speech, both the redeemed and the unredeemed, and one may also suspect that the book of Proverbs would be a good place to find a lot of things that the Bible has to say about speech, along with the book of Psalms.

            Unredeemed speech speaks of things like sexual immorality, deceit, curses, oppression, lies, destruction, vanity, flattery, foolishness, madness, carelessness, false doctrine, evil plots, hatred, too many words, and gossip.

            Redeemed speech would be characterized by confession of sin, confession of Christ, edifying speech, talk of God’s law, praise to God, blessing of enemies, talk about God, wisdom and kindness, and gentleness.  The model of all of this kind of speech would of course come from our Lord Jesus Christ. 

            MacArthur writes “In Colossians 4:2-6 Paul continues the discussion of the new man in Christ that he began in 3:5.  In 3:5-17 he discussed the personal characteristics of the new man.  In 3:18-4:1, he discussed the home life of the new man.  In this passage he broadens the scope of his discussion to include unbelievers (cf. 4:5).  He focuses especially on the speech of the new man, because that is something the watching world will look at carefully when it evaluates Christianity.  Next to the thoughts, attitudes, and motives, it is all the most difficult area for believers to control.

            In his discussion of the speech of the new man, Paul puts the emphasis on four areas:  the speech of prayer, the speech of proclamation, the speech of performance, and the speech of perfection.”

            MacArthur also has the following short story in his introductory comments followed by a quote from James 3:1-12, we will look at both:  “in an ancient story, it is said that Bios, a wise man of ancient Greece, was sent an animal to sacrifice.  He was instructed to send back to the donor the best and worst parts of the animal.  He sent the donor the tongue.  The tongue is indeed the best and worst of man.  James agrees with that evaluation.

           

1Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. 3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. 4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”

5/30/2017 8:28 PM

           

A Word for Masters (Col. 4:1)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2017 7:59 PM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  “A Word for Masters”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Colossians 4:1

            Message of the verse:  1 Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”

            In this section in John MacArthur’s commentary he only has two short paragraphs and so this SD will not be very long.

            I can say that when I looked up the Greek words for “master” that both times they are used in this verse they are the same Greek word:  “2962 κύριος kurios koo’-ree-os

AV-Lord 667, lord 54, master 11, sir 6, Sir 6, misc 4; 748

1) He to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord

1a) the possessor and disposer of a thing

1a1) the owner; one who has control of the person, the master

1a2) in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief, the Roman emperor

1b) is a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master

1c) this title is given to: God, the Messiah”

            Masters are to treat the slaves that they have with fairness because they realize that they have a Master in heaven who is watching over them.  Those masters of slaves who do not treat their slaves with justice and fairness will one day have to answer to the Lord for their actions.

            When we looked at Colossians 3:11 earlier we learned that slaves and masters are spiritually equal in the Lord:  “a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”

            We can take this example into our time period and understand that the masters spoken of in 4:1 speaks of the employer who has the employee working for them and that employer should treat his employee the way he would want Christ to treat Him, for after all Christ is the Head over both the employer and the employee alike.

            John MacArthur concludes this section:  “If all Christians displayed the characteristics of relationships as embodied in the principles of this text, the results would be dramatic.  Believers would indeed become lights shining in the darkness.”  In speaking of the “relationships as embodied in the principles of this text” Macarthur is talking about husbands and wives along with parents and children, and masters and slaves.

5/29/2017 8:17 PM

PT-3 "A Word to Servants" (Col. 3:22-25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/28/2017 6:30 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-3 “A Word To Servants”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            We now want to look at Paul’s parallel passage in Ephesians 6:5-9 “5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

            I think that the main point that we can get from these passages that talk about servants, or in our day workers who work for others is that in reality we are not working for them in as much as we are working for the Lord, and I actually believe that when we get to the judgment seat of Christ we will be held accountable as to how we did our jobs as we worked for others.  I realize that in our day and age that it is difficult to get our arms wrapped around being slaves, as this surely is a new concept for me, but the thing that has helped me out the most is that when I look at the life of Jesus Christ while He was here on earth, that according to Paul’s writing in Philippians chapter two that He too was a slave to God.

            John MacArthur finishes up this section by writing “Paul gives two reasons for slaves (or employees) to obey their masters.  Positively, the Lord will repay them for their faithfulness.  They can endure inequity not, ‘knowing that from the Lord’ they ‘will receive the reward of the inheritance.’  The earthly master or boss may not give the servant what he deserves, but the Lord will.  He is the One who will assure the eternal compensation is what it should be (cf. Rev. 20:12-13). [‘12  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.’] Christian slaves are also heirs of eternal reward.  As an employee on the job, or a servant in the home, ‘it is the Lord Christ whom’ believers ‘serve.’  He will pay them back with grace and generosity.

            “Paul then gives a negative reason for obedience.  The one ‘who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.’  The warning is that the Lord will discipline without partiality in cases of disobedience (cf. Gal. 6:7).  Paul acknowledged that the Christian slave Onesimus was responsible to repay Philemon (Philem. 18).  The Christian servant is not to presume on his Christianity to justify disobedience.  Even if we are God’s children, we will reap what we sow, because God is impartial (cf. Acts10:34). [‘Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality.]’”

5/28/2017 6:53 PM   

PT-2 "A Word to Servants" (Col. 3:22-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/27/2017 9:40 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 A Word to Servants

Bible Reading & Meditation                                         Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            I want to continue to get some help from Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s commentary for today’s Spiritual Diary.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “A Christian servant owed complete obedience to his master as a ministry to the Lord.  If a Christian servant had a believing master, that servant was not to take advantage of his master because they were brothers in the Lord.  If anything, the servant strived to do a better job because he was a Christian.  He showed singleness of heart and gave his full devotion to his master.  His work was done heartily, not grudgingly, and as to the Lord and not to men.  ‘He serves the Lord Christ.’”

            In the society that we live in we do not have slaves so then who would Paul be talking about in this section for our society today?  I believe that he would be talking about those who work for employers and so the same thing applies to them today as slaves did during Paul’s day. 

            When I was a supervisor in a very large foundry I had people who worked for me who were believers and one of the problems we faced was that they had a very strong union, so I have to say that from time to time I did have trouble with some of those who were believers who worked for me.  I let them know about it from time to time too.

             Even thought we are not talking about the other things we discussed in recent SD’s about Parents, husbands, and wives I want to include a quote from Dr. Wiersbe as he reviews these things.  “As we review this very practical section of Colossians, we see once again the preeminence of Jesus Christ in our lives as believers.  Christ must be the Head of the home.  This series of admonitions is actually a practical application of Colossians 3:17:  ‘And whatsoever ye do in word of deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.’  It is by His power and authority that we should live in our daily relationships.  If He is the preeminent One in our lives, then we will love each other, submit to each other, obey, and treat one another fairly in the Lord.”

5/27/2017 9:59 PM 

PT-1 "A Word to Servants" (Col. 3:22-25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2017 8:59 PM

Bible Reading & Meditation                                          Focus:  PT-1 A Word to Servants

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Colossians 3:22-25

            Message of the verses:  “22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”

            I thought that it would be a good idea to look at what Dr. Warren Wiersbe had to say about this section and then look at what John MacArthur has to say about it later on.

            Dr. Wiersbe begins with something that we have talked about earlier and that is that slavery was very common in Paul’s day as there were probably some 60 million slaves at that time and many of them were very educated, people who took care of their master’s children and some of them were even doctors, so the connotation of slavery was completely different then than it is today, although there were some harsh slave masters during Paul’s day as there were in the early part of our history in the United States.  We have also mentioned that Jesus was a slave to God while on earth as Paul points out in his letter to the Philippians as we are slaves to God now, but again remember that our Master is perfect.

            Now in the early days of the church it was a minority and could not afford to go up against the owners of slaves in order to stop slavery, but their mission as is ours today is to preach the gospel.  Now that does not mean that as believers we are not to be involved in matters that are near and dear to the God we serve.

            Paul wrote a letter to Philemon about his runaway slave Onesimus and in that letter did not tell Philemon to let Onesimus to be freed from being a slave.  The letter that we are studying now was taken by Onesimus to Philemon and the church of Colossians as seen in Colossians 4:9 “9  and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number. They will inform you about the whole situation here.”

            I write this to make a point that it is all about the slave owner as to whether or not the slave is treated well, and because our God is the One we serve as His slaves then we are surely in good hands and the more we get to know the Lord the more we will want to serve Him.

5/26/2017 9:17 PM