More Than Bread

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As we jump into Paul’s opening lines of his letter to his friends in Colossai, let me say this and then explain it. "When it comes to Christ and his mission, there is more than I can see." There is more to life, more to Christ, more to the Kingdom of God, more than I can see. There is more happening in me and around me, and perhaps even through me than I can see.

There is more brokenness and more potential for glory than I can see and what is unseen is not necessarily unreal. In fact, Paul's call to fix our eyes on the realities of heaven is a call to get a bit obsessed with what we cannot see!

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In this episode, we begin to dive into the book of Colossians, and here is what I love about Colossians. It is passionately thrilled with Christ. Colossians is one of the most Christ-centered; Jesus-loving, Son of God-exalting books in the Bible. It’s filled with variations on the theme of Jesus. Jesus is the object of our faith and the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the creator of all things and in fact, all things were created by him and in fact, all things are even now held together in him. He is the head of the church. The resurrected one; our Savior through the cross; our victorious champion over sin, Lord of glory, Lord of Life, model for living. 

If you ever need a pick-me-up reminder of the treasure that has been given to us in Christ, just take 15-20 minutes and read through Colossians. You will find that there is nothing greater than Christ. Christ is the treasure of Christianity. I don't know why you are listening to these podcasts, but if it's not because of Christ, you're missing it all! 

And at the beginning of a new day, the question we should always ask is, "What will I do with Jesus today?"

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So much of Philippians 4 is about walking with people. Go back and read the whole chapter. It’s all about people; Euodia, Syntyche, his co-workers, Epaphroditus and Clement. They are the people we work with and walk with through difficult times. We share our troubles and we encourage and support one another. We don’t walk alone. We can't walk alone. We won't make it if we walk alone. 

And even beyond the people there are some amazing promises flowing from the reality that we walk this path with God, with Christ. When Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." he's simply saying, "don’t walk alone." You don't have to walk alone. We walk beside the almighty Christ who shares his resurrection power with us. In the midst of anxious, difficult times, never forget, "we don’t walk alone."

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Sometimes it seems like nothing goes the way you planned, and your left to navigate what might be coming, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. But even when it doesn't, we imagine it and we hold on for dear life. So when someone says, "don't worry," you're thinking, "Holy cow if you aren't anxious, you just don't know the reality of life. You don't know or you don't care, because if you did, you would be anxious too." 

When it comes to anxiety, I can't tell you that nothing bad will ever happen. But I do think Jesus would say, and Paul would agree... there's a better way...

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Paul calls us to press on. Forget what is past and strain toward the goal ahead, the goal of gaining Christ. Press on. And the pressing on is needed for what we are doing…but even more importantly it’s needed for who we are becoming. How often have you thought…in a time of failure, a time when you wanted to be like Jesus a lot more than you looked like Jesus…how often have you thought, that’s the story of my life…I’m never going to get there, never gonna change? Paul says, press on, don’t quit. God’s not done working through you and God’s not doing working in you.

Press on. Follow Paul's example. You are a citizen of heaven!

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When  you read Philippians 3, you can almost feel the passion drip off every word. In fact, for Paul the equation of life is, Christ + Nothing else = Everything. Which also means that without Christ, if we have everything, it's nothing. So often we think we have so much. We think we can get so much, or we deserve so much. But our much is nothing without Christ.  

Paul's one thing is Jesus. So press on. Dive in. Forget what is behind, press on to what is ahead and what is ahead? Christ. We have not already obtained all there is to obtain of Christ so press on towards the goal. Don’t give up. Make the choice that Christ will be more important to you at the end of this year than he was at the beginning. Choose to do whatever it takes to have Christ ranked higher in your heart tomorrow than he was today.

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Does Christ have your heart?  I'm asking a deeper question than simply what do you believe. I've talked to thousands of people who believe correct doctrine, but Jesus doesn't have their heart. Paul Had A gloriously gut-wrenching craving for Christ; a Christ-craving. He couldn't get away from it. Jesus dominated his thoughts, filled his heart and motivated his actions. He wanted to know Christ, gain Christ, be found in Christ and treasure Christ.

Christ was his one-thing, everything else was worth-less. Can we say the same thing? More than just words, what does our life communicate? Where does Christ rank in my heart?

 

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You know there is an interesting connection between prayer and the WORD of God. If you were to ask me, “Which matters more, prayer or the Word?" I would say that it’s a bit like breathing. "What matters more, breathing in or breathing out?" It depends on which one comes next. We need both. This is the rhythm of life. 

It begins when we breathe In His Words and continues when we beathe out prayer. Soak your soul in the Word and then lift up your heart to God in prayer. This might be the most important rhythm of life. Prayer gets all the press when it comes to God at work, but it always begins with listening. When prayer is the second word, we will always pray and never give up!

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Let me ask you, How do you see Christmas?  Do we need a new look at Christmas? Do we need to look behind the wrapping paper? Our whole lives we've lived near Christmas, yet at times, it's easy to lose sight, isn't it?  Most every December 26th we
wake up feeling unsettled, like something isn't right, something is missing or wrong. 

Why? Because there's a battle. John frames the Christmas story with the words, “Then there was war in heaven.”  You might not see it, if you weren't looking for it.  Few of the usual elements. But Revelation 12 contains the Christmas story, not the one filled with sentimental sweetness, but the one filled with military strikes, the armies of heaven, and the consistent greeting of, "Don't be afraid."  

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At first glance, John’s description of Christmas is kind of an intellectual, philosophical rendition. It doesn’t have all the sentimental feels of Luke’s story. But in this episode I want to suggest that John 1 is all about the deep connection between home and Christmas. 

We started to grasp the story 2000+ years ago, that we have a home, a family that is broader, bigger, more forever. Because listen, the Christmas story is not a just philosophical thesis about how God became human. It's certainly not a sentimental story about the nobility of the human spirit. It is an historical story about how God became a particular person at a particular time for a particular purpose. What was that purpose? To love us all the way home.