Welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well. And as Suzi and I come to you this week, Here's a thought that has been running through our minds collectively. you know how often times, babe, in the Psalms, 139th Psalm, we talk about God saying, "We're fearfully and wonderfully made.", and yet that can sometimes get muddied or lost in the world that we live in. And I think what gets lost is the fact that we think it's all about us when maybe it's not all about us. Maybe it's all about him.
Isn't it interesting that we would be talking about this week, the week after Easter, the week after Jesus we celebrate Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, all that he did for us. And yet, it's like the disciples on the boat, they had just been with Jesus when he performed the miracle. They're on the boat and you know, there's a big storm. This is not the storm where he's in the bottom of the boat, but the other storm where they're all like, "Ah, we're going to die. We're going to die." And then I mean, they had just seen Jesus do a miracle. And didn't we collectively as followers of Christ just celebrate a miracle of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. And yet,
and yet we typically end up
Yeah. We end up to the place where we wonder what God's doing with us and why he's using us. So, you came across a quote that I think was powerfully speaks to it. And I'd love for you to read that.
Let me give you a little backstory. a friend of mine gave me a devotional guide called the blue book and it's a devotional guide for every season of your life by a man named Jim Branch who I do not know but my friend has been and was mentored by him and what he's done is he's done a little bit of a different take on a devotional in that it's by the week so you stay in one section for a week there are different readings each day but they all have the same basic point and theme And I just started this. So I've just done one week and it's a little frustrating not to keep turning pages to go, "Wow, look how far I've progressed." And yet I think it's so f I'm going off task here a little bit. Not that anybody could tell, but that in my life right now I feel like the Lord is saying, "No, I want you to I want you to sit. I don't want you to scurry forward and look at how many pages you've done. I want you to sit." So this devotional is doing that. So that's the backdrop to this quote. It's by a man named Basil Pennington. Who? Jimmy, can you tell them who he is?
Well, he was he's passed away in 2003. He was a Trappist monk and just I think got in touch with what God was doing in his heart and in his spirit.
He's probably one of those what do they call him? Mystics kind of where they do a lot of spend a lot of time in reflection and thought and solitude and quiet. And he wrote a book called Breaking Bread. But I want to read this. quote to you. We need to come to know who we truly are. That uniquely beautiful person that God has made and to have the courage to live accordingly. Each of us is a unique expression of the divine goodness and beauty. If we do not live that and express it in our lives, it will never be expressed in this world for the glory of God and the upbuilding of the whole body of Christ. I think that's powerful. What he's Well, I don't have to tell you what he's saying, but basically where it hit me this past week was if I am not living in accord with how God designed me, then he will not get glory for my life. It's not about me doing well and being successful. It's about bringing glory to him.
Yeah. It's about, you know, you're showcasing Jesus. You're showing off Jesus by living out the fullness of who he created you to be and how he's gifted you and how he's made you and how he has changed our lives because of putting our faith and our hope in him.
And in order to do that, we've got to go to Colossians chapter 3.
Okay?
And I'm not going to read the whole chapter from scripture. I'm going to read you what I wrote as kind of a summary about it because it'll take us through a little quicker. But this is Colossians 3 1-17. And it says this, "If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is. Set your mind on things above, not on things that are on the earth. Put to death what is earthly in you. And these two you once walked when you were living in them, you must put them all away. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk. Don't lie. Put away the old self with its practices, but instead put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bear with one another, forgive, put on love, and then the peace of Christ will rule in your heart. Be thankful. Let the word dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another. Be thankful. Do everything in the name of Jesus. That's when we live into our calling to glorify Jesus.
Yeah. And I think something else that's important, you and I have talked about this before. That's a lot. what you just described and the only way it's accomplished is through the spirit of God who lives within us who enables us to do it. We can't do it on our own and it's because it's a lot but he's empowered us. The same spirit who lives in us who raised Jesus from the dead.
So the power source to live out life that way I is found in the spirit who lives within us and the connection that we have through him to Christ and through to the father.
Brennan Manning said something that is fascinating. he said that without him without being lost in him, we're lost. And I'm I think about without taking off all of the old stuff which clings so desperately to each of us. We battle with the flesh every day. We battle with the things that we want, our own agenda, with our those sins that just nab us all the time. The re the repetitive sin we've dealt with our entire life that if we don't put those things off and that is a to me is a discipline and Paul is saying put them off put away. So when you're feeling angry and full of wrath or malice that's a word we don't use much but wanting to harm someone else slander gossip obscene talk stop lying put those things away if we don't lose ourself in Christ by putting on who he was Then I think that's when we get lost.
Yeah. And you said it at the beginning of that chapter, it's to set my mind on things above, to set my mind on Christ, to realize again that I've been raised with him and that I have the ability not to live in the way I used to live. Now, I can lapse back into that.
Yeah.
But I have the ability because I have been raised with Christ to set my mind on things above and to follow the spirit of God and allow this spirit of God to have more freedom within me to control me. So that my natural inclination to show mouths towards somebody or to speak ill of somebody or whatever else that there may be that I struggle with takes a backseat to the spirit of God who enables me to do things differently. And I think that's a huge reality.
This is just a thought that's bubbled up. I mean for real. So let's we'll see what happens here. everyone strap in. Jimmy and I have the opportunity and it is a wonderful opportunity to meet with a lot of people one-on-one and through what Jimmy does during the week and what I do during the week, we oftentimes meet with more than one person at a time. But often times when we meet with a couple or we meet with someone one-on-one, the issues that come out are really the issues of the flesh that they're battling with. And it may be that their own flesh and the person that they are in battle with. It comes to the forefront and there's it's like we struggle with those things over and over again because we have not put them off. We have not realized that we have been raised with Christ. And so we don't put them off. We live in them and they reflect in the way we relate to one another as opposed to putting on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, all those things. Imagine for a couple a married couple in the midst of tension and I'm not trying to be polyiana here. I'm just saying in the midst of tension if instead of having anger and wrath and slander and obscene talk and all that when you're in a disagreement with somebody that you put on kindness and you put on compassionate hearts and humility. Imagine what that would be.
Yeah. And it all comes out of what he says that you got to remember that you are God's chosen ones,
holy and beloved, chosen by him, loved by him, and the potential to re to live like him in my humanity. it's going to be a little bit of an overstatement, Suzi, and maybe a generalization, but I think there's real truth to it. It is the difference between being selfish and self-centered and other centered.
Because as you look at the description of the things that we're to put on, it takes it away from me. and puts it out to being concerned about others. And then the trump card that Paul often uses, he uses again there. You got to forgive someone just as you've been forgiven by Christ. I mean, okay, well, there's a trump card. What do I say to that? I mean, he's forgiven everything I've ever done. And why can't I then forgive others in that same manner? Again, taking and realizing what I have because of my relationship with him. And
and the benefit of that is what we all are cir searching for and that is peace. Yeah.
We want to feel peace. Not a like a happy bubbly thing but peace in our hearts. And it the way that Paul progresses here when you put off those things that you know like we said anger, wrath, etc. And you put on love and compassion and all that. He says then the peace of Christ will rule in your hearts to which you were called in one body. And then become thankful.
Yeah.
And then it says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart." It's really when you're living in that place of where your flesh is just raging. It's hard to be thankful for anything. I have this little journal thing that I don't use, right? Because why would I? There's instructions on I don't pay attention to them.
Did you ever read the instructions? No, no,
there's a place for you put a verse for the day or whatever and then a thing that says, "Lord, teach me to dot and then I am thankful for dot." I cannot tell you how many times like I'm looking at it right now where I've scratched out I'm thankful for so I could wax eloquent about something I'm whining about and where I find myself going, I don't I can't think of anything I'm thankful for. Well, could it be that I am not realizing I've been raised with Christ? that I still am wearing that coat of hideous colors. Not the I'm not clothed in the robe of righteousness that I should be wearing. I'm not putting on all those things that Jesus modeled for us, but tells me I need to put on. I don't have any peace. I can't find anything to be thankful for.
Yeah. And the cap that Paul puts on this section in verse 17 to me takes in all of life. Whatever you do, whatever you do in word indeed. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
I mean, there if you want a verse to start every day with, start with that verse every day. Whatever you do, pretty much covers everything.
Yeah.
In word or deed, do it all. Do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.
I think that would set us so far apart from what we see out in the world if we started that way.
Yeah. And I'm guilty of this and I'm sure there are those who are listening who if they're honest would be too. We rush into our day. We rush into our day and we don't even stop long enough to think about the fact that today I have the chance in what I say and what I do and how I treat other people to give thanks to God through Christ because he's the one that enables me to live that way. So, it's a great reminder for you and me and I hope for everybody else as to What could change the way which we face every single day? The mundane days of the week, the mundane days that seem to blend into each other. What would it look like if we took the time to stop and to recognize and to realize that I have the chance to showcase the beauty of God to his glory?
To his glory
that no one else does. It's just what I can do, what you can do, what each one of us can do.
Thank you so much for joining us again. we really do enjoy doing these I get a little fruity beforehand. I always do. Jimmy is steady Eddie. And without Tim Briggs, we would have nothing to offer to you. So, we are thankful this morning. And we hope and pray that in some small way sharing the word of God with you will change your life. Thanks for joining us. To learn more about the Struggling Well podcast, visit tandemspirituality. com.