Questions from Fight Club Study on Colossians 3
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Questions from Colossians 3 for Fight Club Study
Questions from Fight Club Study on Colossians 2
notes from colossians 2 fight club study
housework makes you ugly
while having lunch with a friend of mine at a nursing home, I saw this picture on a table. I don’t know the truthfulness of this, but it sure was funny.
housework makes you ugly
while having lunch with a friend of mine at a nursing home, I saw this picture on a table. I don’t know the truthfulness of this, but it sure was funny.
How my garage is a metaphor for my life
When we moved to Springfield to plant Grace Hill Church, we moved from a house in St. Louis that had a basement to a house in Springfield that did not. That meant that all the junk we had in our basement went in the garage. When I walked outside this morning to go for a walk, I realized that I had left the garage door open all night. That’s not exactly the smartest thing to do since someone could walk off with our stuff and worse yet, they could have walked into the house (I don’t lock the door in the garage because I have the garage door) and made off with more stuff. Well, I put that out of my mind as I went on my walk. (Side note: I left the garage door open while I was on my walk as well) As I was walking back towards the house I noticed how unsightly the front of the house looked with the garage door open and all of our stuff exposed. People that drive by (and many do since we are the first house into our subdivision) can see into our lives as they look at old golf clubs, crates full of magazines and books, lawn equipment, old bedroom furniture and shelves lined with kids clothes…oh, it’s quite a sight. But once that garage door is closed, all is beautiful and orderly in appearance.
To me this is a spot-on metaphor of my life, and perhaps yours. There is all this junk in my garage (life) that I would be embarrassed if people saw it. There are boxes of regret, crates of fears, tubs of lustful thoughts, shelves of addictive behaviors, you get the idea, scattered in my garage. Instead of letting people into my life and letting them see all of my junk, I close the garage door and pretend that my junk is not there. I put on the appearance that my life is fine and “clutter-free,” all the while my garage is a filthy mess.
As I learn more about the wonder of the gospel, I realize that God intends to take the garage door opener of my life and expose the “junk” in my garage, not so he can shame me (that’s the work of sin), but so that he can save me…save me from my junk, save me from being held captive by it, save me from giving the appearance that my life is okay, when it clearly is not. That means that God intends to clean out my garage…to help me see the unhealthy attachment to those “things” so that I can put them to death. I need more than a “Spring cleaning”…a one-time cleaning, because frankly, I will fill my “garage” right back up with “stuff.” I need a “Spirit cleaning,” which is on-going and thorough, getting behind the cracks and crevices. Pray that I will have the wherewithal to let the Holy Spirit have His way in my life as he sanctifies me and helps me to walk in the light of Christ.
How my garage is a metaphor for my life
When we moved to Springfield to plant Grace Hill Church, we moved from a house in St. Louis that had a basement to a house in Springfield that did not. That meant that all the junk we had in our basement went in the garage. When I walked outside this morning to go for a walk, I realized that I had left the garage door open all night. That’s not exactly the smartest thing to do since someone could walk off with our stuff and worse yet, they could have walked into the house (I don’t lock the door in the garage because I have the garage door) and made off with more stuff. Well, I put that out of my mind as I went on my walk. (Side note: I left the garage door open while I was on my walk as well) As I was walking back towards the house I noticed how unsightly the front of the house looked with the garage door open and all of our stuff exposed. People that drive by (and many do since we are the first house into our subdivision) can see into our lives as they look at old golf clubs, crates full of magazines and books, lawn equipment, old bedroom furniture and shelves lined with kids clothes…oh, it’s quite a sight. But once that garage door is closed, all is beautiful and orderly in appearance.
To me this is a spot-on metaphor of my life, and perhaps yours. There is all this junk in my garage (life) that I would be embarrassed if people saw it. There are boxes of regret, crates of fears, tubs of lustful thoughts, shelves of addictive behaviors, you get the idea, scattered in my garage. Instead of letting people into my life and letting them see all of my junk, I close the garage door and pretend that my junk is not there. I put on the appearance that my life is fine and “clutter-free,” all the while my garage is a filthy mess.
As I learn more about the wonder of the gospel, I realize that God intends to take the garage door opener of my life and expose the “junk” in my garage, not so he can shame me (that’s the work of sin), but so that he can save me…save me from my junk, save me from being held captive by it, save me from giving the appearance that my life is okay, when it clearly is not. That means that God intends to clean out my garage…to help me see the unhealthy attachment to those “things” so that I can put them to death. I need more than a “Spring cleaning”…a one-time cleaning, because frankly, I will fill my “garage” right back up with “stuff.” I need a “Spirit cleaning,” which is on-going and thorough, getting behind the cracks and crevices. Pray that I will have the wherewithal to let the Holy Spirit have His way in my life as he sanctifies me and helps me to walk in the light of Christ.when I’m afraid I turn to…
Who or what do you turn to when you are afraid? The answer of course depends upon what you are afraid of. Many of you know that I don’t like to vomit (really, who does?). In fact I have a 16 year vomit-free streak I am doing my best to keep alive. From time to time, I’ll get that gurgling sensation in the pit of my stomach and my fear of “letting loose” rises up and I began to worry. “Oh no, what if this is it?” That sensation usually comes at night when the mind is especially vulnerable. My mode of operation is to hop out of bed, take some Tums and lay on the couch watching reruns of the 10pm news and infomercials trying to take my mind off of my fears. After a couple hours of mindless drivel, I am usually so tired I can’t help but fall asleep.
Now as I write that, I see the absurdity of such a practice, particularly in light of the instruction Christ gives through the Apostle Paul when he says in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” It’s utter foolishness to seek comfort and peace from an inanimate object like TV or food or sex or whatever your “comfort” is, and yet our knowledge of this doesn’t seem to effect our choices. According to Paul (and Jesus for that matter), Christians aren’t supposed to be ruled by anxiety or fear. Instead we are to be ruled by the peace of God, which comes when we make our prayers known to him. When I turn to anyone/thing else than God to allay my fears, I don’t get abiding peace, I get fleeting comfort.
How sad I would be if Jackson or Anna Sloan were to turn to someone or something else than Denise or me when they were afraid. We would have missed an opportunity to come alongside them and hold them and remind them of our love and protection over them. How much more so does God want to hear about our fears and anxieties, not so he will judge us, but that he will come alongside us, through his Holy Spirit, and reassure us of His love and protection over us. The work of the gospel, after all, is rooting out the sin, fear and unbelief in our life and replacing it with a righteous confidence and trust in the person and work of Christ. So – next time I’m afraid about something, I will turn to God first and in my prayers/confessions to him I will expect to receive the peace of God that will allay my fear. Praise God for his grace and mercy!
when I’m afraid I turn to…
Who or what do you turn to when you are afraid? The answer of course depends upon what you are afraid of. Many of you know that I don’t like to vomit (really, who does?). In fact I have a 16 year vomit-free streak I am doing my best to keep alive. From time to time, I’ll get that gurgling sensation in the pit of my stomach and my fear of “letting loose” rises up and I began to worry. “Oh no, what if this is it?” That sensation usually comes at night when the mind is especially vulnerable. My mode of operation is to hop out of bed, take some Tums and lay on the couch watching reruns of the 10pm news and infomercials trying to take my mind off of my fears. After a couple hours of mindless drivel, I am usually so tired I can’t help but fall asleep.
Now as I write that, I see the absurdity of such a practice, particularly in light of the instruction Christ gives through the Apostle Paul when he says in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” It’s utter foolishness to seek comfort and peace from an inanimate object like TV or food or sex or whatever your “comfort” is, and yet our knowledge of this doesn’t seem to effect our choices. According to Paul (and Jesus for that matter), Christians aren’t supposed to be ruled by anxiety or fear. Instead we are to be ruled by the peace of God, which comes when we make our prayers known to him. When I turn to anyone/thing else than God to allay my fears, I don’t get abiding peace, I get fleeting comfort.
How sad I would be if Jackson or Anna Sloan were to turn to someone or something else than Denise or me when they were afraid. We would have missed an opportunity to come alongside them and hold them and remind them of our love and protection over them. How much more so does God want to hear about our fears and anxieties, not so he will judge us, but that he will come alongside us, through his Holy Spirit, and reassure us of His love and protection over us. The work of the gospel, after all, is rooting out the sin, fear and unbelief in our life and replacing it with a righteous confidence and trust in the person and work of Christ.
So – next time I’m afraid about something, I will turn to God first and in my prayers/confessions to him I will expect to receive the peace of God that will allay my fear. Praise God for his grace and mercy!
brett eubank | unfinished 