Not Again!

Here is that sentence again: (for the third time!)

“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have 

been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”

(Colossians 2:9,10)

Now, how did that last phrase slip in?

How is it connected to the theme of fullness and filled?

Why in the world did the Apostle Paul put it there?

I probably could come up with something, but I have not had

time to ponder it, so I am going to pack it in and take up the 

pen--so to speak--on Tuesday.

 To see my stories, Click here

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Outrageously Wonderful!

Just when I am trying to get my imagination around the truth in

Colossians 2:9, “in him all the fullness of Deity dwells in 

bodily form,” I read on.  Actually, the sentence goes on into verse 10:

“...and you have been filled in him,”  New English Standard

“...in him you have been made complete,”  ASV

“...you have been given fullness in Christ,” NIV

The Apostle Paul writes long sentences in his letters and man has

divided these sentences into verses. However, verse 9 should NOT

have been separated from verse ten as they are of one piece. The 

subject of dwelling and filling continues and it is so important to 

read it that way.

Jesus is God incarnate and you, me, us, have been filled in Him, not 

with Him--how odd. Ponder this...

When did this filling take place? At salvation! It is written in the past tense.

If God filled me at the time of salvation, then I must have, within me,

all of God that I will ever need, right now. But, what if I don’t know this 

part of the Gospel? What if I think that I must work, work, work, in

order to be filled in Him? Knowing that I have been filled in Him,

changes the way I think, behave, and the way I live my Christian life.

Christ in me, the hope of glory! (and I don’t have to wait until I die

to experience His glory in me!)

My dear Papa, I need your Spirit to help me grasp Jesus in me. Give

me revelation and wisdom. Enlighten the eyes of my heart to know

the hope to which I have been called! And, I do pray this for others, like 

those who read this blog! How can we possibly grasp this truth 

without your help? It is unbelievably outrageously wonderful!

To see my stories, Click here

http://hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Friendship

I  just returned from a long weekend with my dear friend, Sandi,

who lives in South Carolina now. We have known each other for

twenty years during which each of us has experienced both

tremendous joy and deep suffering. Long ago we decided to love 

each other no matter what took place between us. 

We had a wonderful time. We took our breakfast in the screened 

in area at the back of the house and also the front porch--for variety . 

Sandi puts together both color and comfort. From there we explored 

the charming downtown area of Aiken; the shopping mall in Augusta; 

Starbucks of course; and so much more. We spent evenings watching 

the second PBS series, Downton Abbey. And, oh yes, did we talk! We 

never seem to run out of words when together. Fortunately our men 

were busy elsewhere.

I am so grateful for my friends; love the variety. I find that with my

Christian friends especially, we can pick up where we left off even

after many years of separation. So, today I celebrate my friends and

give thanks to Papa for the richness of life.  

Sandi has contributed to my story page. See her two stories,

The Barren Woman’s Song, and Mimi.

http://hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

The Father's Pleasure

In the last blog we looked at a caution: Beware that you are not drawn into

the world’s way of thinking, and not according to Christ,

“For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Col 2:9

There’s that word “in” again. 

What an outlandish statement! The fullness of the Godhead dwells in 

Jesus bodily--not just in a vague spiritual sense. Has any man, any

spiritual leader of any religion ever made such an outrageous claim?

Paul gives us two more scriptures:

“For it was the Father’s pleasure for all the fullness to dwell 

in Him.”  Col. 1:19

“...God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself...” 2 Cor. 5:19

But what about the Gospels? What does Jesus say?

Take a look at John 14:

“He who has seen me has seen the Father” vrs. 9

“I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” vrs 10

“Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else

believe on account of the works themselves.” vrs 11

Philip asked Jesus to do something all the disciples wanted. These

twelve men had walked intimately with him for three years and yet

it would take the resurrection for them to really see it.

I have spent the last couple of days mulling the simple sentence

written above. It won’t lie down and there is definitely more to come,

but I sense that it will take Eternity to fully unwrap it.  In the meantime 

I can say:

“Christ in me, the hope of glory!” 

Wow!

To see my stories, Click here

http://hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Warning--DANGER AHEAD!

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty

deceit, according to human traditions, according to elemental

principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Col. 2:8

So what would be examples of “philosophy,“ empty deceit” and 

“human traditions?”

1 God is irrelevant to life.

2  Political Correctness

3  "We have always done it this way."

4  "You have to compromise your core beliefs, or you are a bigot." 

5  "We can all work together for the common good."

6  "As long as you do your best, you please God." 

There are many other ideas floating around in our culture. Even if you

are “in Him,” Paul says you can be taken captive and rendered ineffective.

I am so prone to being deceived as the world’s thinking can really look good,

which is why I have to go back to God for His perspective. God has always 

shown me the truth about any given argument when I take the time to ask 

Him, and even when I don’t. He wants me to live, “according to Christ,” and

not according the the world's thinking.

To see my stories, Click here

http://hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

NOTHING???

Well, Paul uses the word “in” a great deal, but what does Jesus 

Himself say?

I found it in John 15:4,5 out of the Philips Translation:

“Jane, you must go on growing in me and I will grow in you” 

(“You will grow in me? Really, Lord?”)

“For just as the branch cannot bear any fruit unless it shares

the life of the vine, so you can produce NOTHING unless you

go on growing in Me. I am the vine itself, you Jane, are a 

branch. It is the one who shares my life and whose life I share 

who proves fruitful. For the plain fact is that apart from

Me--booming voice--YOU CAN DO NOTHING AT ALL.”

“Nothing at all, Lord? Are you serious about this? Am I serious about 

this? I don’t think I have any idea just how intimately You are 

involved in all of my actions, my successes. You know, Lord, if

I walked in this truth everyday, the Christian life would be easy.”

NEW STORY, “My Psychotic Dog” : Click here

http://hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

A Stunning Surprise!

Saturday afternoon Glen said to me, "I am taking you out for your
birthday dinner tonight so wear something nice. We will leave at 5:30."

Now my birthday was in July and at the time Glen had promised me a
surprise, but that was six weeks ago.

We set out for an unknown destination--just a tad late. The traffic
was heavy as we drove into Old Town Alexandria, VA, and
the first parking garage was full. But, by then I was pretty sure we
were going to The Chart House which sits on the Potomac River
and is one of my favorite restaurants. We headed upstairs into a
darkish room with full daylight streaming into the back windows.
I could see four people sitting at the table but I could not make out
who they were--until, I heard a familiar voice cry out, "surprise!"

I could not believe my eyes! My brother and his wife live in Lancaster, PA
and my cousin and his wife live in Boston, MA. Glen knew that I wanted
my 70th birthday to be all about family--and we did have a party in July
with our children and Glen's family in Weiser, ID--but I never dreamed
Glen would go to the extent of talking "distant" relatives into this. My brother
drove down from Lancaster and picked up my cousin who flew in. I can
understand why the Pennsylvanians were looking for a good meal, but the
Bostonians?

My husband worked hard to make this happen.
My brother, cousin and their wives did their part.  Awesome!