One for Andy...

I was on my computer at 10:21 a.m. checking my facebook and a good friend chimed in. He said to me "thanks for the encouragement in your status". Being slack on my facebook lately, I had forgotten what my status was. It was simply this (or something like this):

"Josh is...realizing who who God is and who I am and how strong he is and how weak I am"

I knew people read my status but I did not think anyone took anything I put on that thing seriously. So number one: I am now realizing that I need to be careful what I put on my status. And number two: I realize that can be an avenue to what people view me as.

Anyway...

Later on in the conversation, Andy told me that he had been delving into Colassions chapter 1. He said that it was very powerful. So I figured why not, let's dive in with him. One of the verses that Andy said interested him was Colassions 1:13 " God has freed us from the power of darkness, and He brought us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (or the Son He Loves depending on the version) Think about that for a second.

It didn't hit me at first, but then after reading the verse, it sank in. God has taken those of us who dwell in darkness (a.k.a. people of darkness) and graciously placed us (those who believe in Him) into the Kingdom that He loves the most. God the father, sent His only Son to be killed so that a proper sacrifice could be made to remove darkness from mankind, and place them into a special unique kingdom. Something is different about this God.

Not only is there something different about this God, there is definitely something different about His Son. He is so vital. Nothing is accomplished without him. Everything works with Him. Paul, in the NLT version, calls Jesus the great Secret. (Colossians 1:27) Christ is the only hope for Glory. Now in today's world words like Glory and Honor can be seen in so many different ways. Now that postmodernism has disfigured everything in the western world and most of the eastern world, Glory and Honor can be anything from hearing your name cheered at a rock concert to attacking a nation that defends freedom of all. How contorted have our views become.

In a world that demands the incomporable of mankind (true glory and honor), God decides to give his answer to true Glory and Honor, which is in Him only, through a simple carpenter. Seriously? A poor man... or is He poor? A quiet man...or is he quiet? A simple man, that if anything less than God in human form, could not have accomplished becoming the most influential political and religious power to ever step foot on Earth. Christ defied all rules. He broke all social boundaries. God placed Jesus in the most simple place so that he can show one simple fact to the world, through His Son man can do anything. A simple carpenter can be the most influential figure in history. If we have faith in Jesus, we also can do the same thing. But it is only through him. Jesus, really is the Great Secret.

Thanks Andy for getting me into that Chapter...once again I am realizing who I am and and who He is...how strong He is and how weak I am.

P.S. don't know why I put a lion on here...just liked it.