My Lovely Dwelling Place

  It’s a Wrap!   Well, it’s a beautiful day in my neighborhood – the first day of autumn per my calendar – my favorite time of year. Changing colors, pumpkin spice everything, jackets and sweaters to cover up fat – I can’t think of anything wrong with it! The end of one season and the beginning of another – it’s like a fresh start – for the world it’s the wrap up of the Summer of Stupid and the initiation of a Feisty Fall… Colossians 4:2-6 is a wrapping up of sorts as well: Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; Praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned; That I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should re

  The Gospel Comes to Work   Do you remember the original Rocky movie? Rocky wanted to be a boxer, and he wanted cranky, old Mick to coach him. But Mick wouldn’t because he thought Rocky was a bum. He thought this because Rocky worked for a loan shark and was known to break the thumbs of those who didn’t pay their debts. When rebuked by Mick, Rocky shrugged and said, “It’s a livin’.” And that pretty much sums up how we can feel about work. I once had a favorite co-worker that assured me I could do anything for eight hours. It is not unusual for a buddy at work to tell me they’re “living the dream” in a way that is not convincing when asked how their day is going. I confess to responding to the same query with, “Well, at least they pay me!” But work, for the Christian – whatever it is… so long as it is not contrary to God’s law, like breaking thumbs – is holy.   Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who

  Family   How important is the family? In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he spends the first two chapters reminding the Colossians of the supremacy of Christ including all Jesus has done for us, what we have in Him, and how not to fall for false teaching. In chapter three, Paul discusses what our lives should look like because of all that Jesus has done for us – the application of our doctrine. By the time we get to Colossians 3:18-21, the gospel is at home. Paul’s teaching on the family in Colossians has a parallel in Ephesians 5:22-6:4. There are studies that state fewer people are getting married today, and for those who do 50% of those marriages are likely to end in divorce. Yet children raised without both parents are more likely to be poor and participate in criminal activity. Marriage and family are God’s idea (Genesis 2:24). It’s the first human institution and the best place to raise children. I’ve heard it said that if we can’t do this Christianity thing