Suffering for Others

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,   of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,   the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.  ~ Colossians 1 24-26

I kept reading "filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction for the sake of his body, that is the church".  I read it over and over.  Read the whole chapter, the whole book, and that phrase still stuck in my head. I could not understand it.

Then I sought God over the passage. There are times when I forget the obvious.  I suspect that I am not alone in that forgetfulness!

Paul is talking about how we are united in sufferings.  We are united to Jesus, and we are united to one another.  Some Christians seem to have ease, others have much tribulation.  All of us are united by that tribulation, and by that ease.  We depend on one another to minister the mystery hidden:  the gospel.

The church grows on the blood of the martyrs.  Have you heard that before?  How about Jesus' words that we will suffer for his name's sake? It is a joy to come, a joy to wait for when we suffer.  Jesus endured the cross to receive His joy:  His Bride, the church.   It may be through our suffering the church will grow, the gospel be heard.  Praise Him.

 Even in our suffering, Jesus is not unfamiliar with our sufferings.  He was forsaken, tortured, beaten, persecuted.  Do not be surprised, dear saints, when these things happen also to you.  You belong to Jesus, and will be treated no differently than He was.  Run to Jesus with your woes.  He will hide you.  You are safe in Him.  Cry out to him, He listens and knows.  Remember, too, you are minstering the gospel to others, even in your afflictions.

Fruit for You

Colossians 1:5-7  Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. 


 The gospel comes to us personally.  It comes to us one by one.  The whole world is bearing fruit of the gospel and increasing.  How exciting is that?  It also does this among you.  Wow.  It is the gospel that increases our fruit and our understanding of the grace of God.  The church at Colossae learned this from Epaphras.


We hear the gospel in the mouths of others.  God used Epaphras at Colossae, and Epaphras learned from Paul. Paul learned from our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. Today we are learning from Jesus, who spoke through Paul's hand.  We are connected to one another.  We are connected to Paul, Epaphras, and to the Colossians.  We bear fruit for the benefit of others.  We do not always see that benefit, but God has told us that we are bearing fruit.  We are bearing fruit to gain one more person.  Do not be shy with the Gospel.  Sow it liberally, that Christ's body may continue to grow.

 Do not doubt that you are bearing fruit, you can believe it.  God has said so.

Two Kinds of Righteousness

"We set forth two worlds, as it were, one of them heavenly and the other earthly.  Into these we place these two kinds of righteousness, which are distinct and separated from each other.  The righteousness of the law is earthly and deals with earthly things; by it we perform good works ... But the righteousness (of the gospel) is heavenly and passive.  We do not have it of ourselves; we receive it from heaven.  We do not perform it; we accept it by faith, through which we ascend beyond all laws and works."  Luther, "Lectures on Galatians"

"This is our theology, by which we teach a precise distinction between these two kinds of righteousness, the active and the passive, so that morality and faith, works and grace, secular society and religion may not be confused.  Both are necessary, but both must be kept within their limits."  Luther, "Lectures on Galatians"

Thank you, Luther, for clearing away some cobwebs for this reader.

Ex Fear Factor

"You can't believe that!  That is not true!  I thought you were smarter than that!"

Have you ever been afraid of telling others your beliefs?  Holding your tongue for fear of the reaction you will receive?  There was a time in my life when I would hold back on telling others what I believe about God.  My fear of their reaction kept my tongue paralyzed.  How did that change?  How did I get over the fear factor of what others will say?  Let me share with you what I have learned.

There is this call in protestantism of "Sola Scriptura!"  It's a famous call from a famous era in church history.  Some define sola scriptura thusly:  Scripture has the final say-so, over custom, tradition, opinions.  Sounds reasonable, doesn't it?   Here's the problem with it:  most who talk about it, do not do it.

There are descendants of the reformation that proclaim they are sola scriptura, yet they make requirements of scripture.  The demand placed upon the bible is logic.  It is a form of doubt.  It is humanism disguised as godly interpretation.  It is saying, in essence, our finite brains can understand the infinite wisdom of God.  It is not sola scriptura to require scripture to fit into our understanding.  It is prideful.

"Let God be true though every one were a liar."  Read that again and let it sink in.  It is from Romans 3.  That, in essence, is Sola Scriptura.  When the bible tells us baptism doth now save you, it does.  Shocking?  Read that bit from Romans 3 again.  When you come to a passage of scripture that someone has told you is not true, turn to Romans 3.  When you come to a passage of scripture that you find shocking, read Romans 3.

This is sola scriptura.  It does not take away God's word by tradition, opinion, custom, or logic.  It receives God's word by faith, even if it is not understood right now, today. It is true because God tells us it is true.  That is how I removed the fear factor when talking to others of shocking topics. It is shocking that I can believe that baptism saves because the God of the universe tells me it is true.

Your King Comes

And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD,' whether they hear or refuse to hear."  Ezekiel 3:11

Your King comes in words of the Gospel.  He seeks you out by using the mouths of others, or by reading of scripture.

The man had dialed a wrong number and reached me at work.  I did a little bit of digging to refer him to the correct phone number.  I talked with him a little bit, and then he began confessing some of his doubt and insecurity to me.  I was able to remind him of Jesus’ forgiveness of sin, and the assurance we have.  “You are baptized, right?”  “Yes.”  “You are adopted.”  He hung up the phone and we were both in Christ, peaceful.

In the downtown Holiday Parade, our church had a float.  I walked alongside the float, wishing onlookers “Merry Christmas” and handing out Nativity stickers to children whose parents gave permission.  I was smiling, most people smiled back.  A few said “No thanks” to the Nativity stickers, so I just continued on.  There were a lot of people ahead of me to greet for Jesus’ sake!  I came to one man, and said “Merry Christmas” to him and his response was, “Stop the brainwashing”.  I carried on, but could hear him behind me yelling “Stop the brainwashing” louder and louder.  It was evident the gospel message was coming through the float loud and clear. 

Your King comes in sacraments.  He names you and claims you in baptism.  He continues to come by giving you grace in the Lord’s Supper, where He tells us, “This is my body for you” and “This is my blood for you”, the blood of the new covenant.

The first time I partook of the Lord’s Supper while believing Jesus’ words of what the elements are I was giddy with joy.  It is unexplainable other than to say Jesus’ words are true.  He does not lie to us when He says He is the bread of life, and His  blood is the new covenant.

Your King comes to you as a human, born as a dependent baby, to insignificant parents.  He was born to forgive the world of sin, to become sin for us. He became one of us to save us. 

Your King comes.

To see more of Your King Comes:  http://luthermatic.blogspot.com/

My Joy

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18

I have a friend like that. It does not matter what I say to this friend, he never rejects me. Fairweather friends are many. Some linger awhile longer, some leave quickly. Some take and take, without giving. A listening ear is all that they want, without having to listen in return. For some, the newness wears off and they wander to chase a newer bauble. I am not a bauble, so I bid them farewell and Godspeed.

My brother-friend told me that I should expect to be rejected and despised. Those things should not surprise me, but somehow they always do. When life becomes challenging, my one true friend doesn't leave. He listens to all my whining and heartaches. Patiently, he listens and shows me my faults. Even bringing up embarrassing emotions, he shows me without shaming me and listens. I am so thankful for this friend that sticks closer than a brother.

Do you know him? His name is Jesus.

He told me long ago that he was despised and rejected, and all of us that belong to Him should not expect to be treated any differently. Thank you, Jesus, for sticking closer to me than a brother. For being the faithful One that loves me, with all my faults and imperfections. He loves you, too, dear reader. Praise God!

Mourning Rises

Miles and miles apart, almost 2000 miles. But the fondness and love remained. Encouraged and encouraging is how I think of her.

When Madeline was young, she told me, "Draw her now as a baby. While she looks this way to you, draw her now. Do not wait."

We grew up miles and miles apart, many more than 2000 miles apart. She in Mexico City, me in San Jose. Two different countries, two different cultures. She fascinated me. So different, yet the same.

"Maybe you have grandma's artistic ability. Someone in our family should!" I tell her it's really in my brother.

The grief grips my belly and tears rise in the bottom of my eyes. They leak over and down my cheeks leaving tiny rivulets that I try to brush away lest someone will see. The little streams arrive at unexpected times.

Cousin, I miss you.

Juanita, March 10, 1952 – October 27, 2011

http://deathreferencedesk.org/2011/10/30/juanita-garciagodoy-march-10-1952-october-27-2011/