BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL

I have to admit that I have been enjoying the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL weather that we have been experiencing here in northeastern Oklahoma for the last few weeks.  We do have some pretty dry conditions though, and have been on an elevated Fire Weather Alert for a while now.  But I am loving it as the temperature is slowing sliding down into the forties for the last two mornings.  In fact, yesterday was the first day in many moons where I wore a light hoodie on our morning walk!

I guess I just like things that are BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL… like my wife who always radiated a BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL beam of love and encouragement about her everywhere she went… even when she got sick, people still commented on the BRIGHT and sweet spirit that emanated from her.

I think that the Apostle Paul shared the same sentiments with me… and especially when it came to the things of God!  The Message Bible seems to best capture the emphasis of the way in which Paul defined the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things that God has for each of us when he wrote to the Christian church at Colossae saying,

“Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think about and thank the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL that He has for us, for He has rescued us from the power of darkness – from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons - and has set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much!”*

The reason as to why and how we can take part in (or ‘partake of’ or ‘share in’ as other translations put it) the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God, is explained in the latter part of this portion of scripture where Paul succinctly declared,

“for He (God) has rescued us from the power of darkness – from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons - and has set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much!”**

You see… you and I have been spiritually removed from the power or ‘dominion’*** of the darkness in this world… freed from any allegiance to the dark practices of the enemy of our soul… and have been ‘translated’ or ‘transferred’**** and set-up to “prosper and be in good health”***** partaking of the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things that He has provided for us within the Biblically stated rights of our spiritual standing in the kingdom of God! 

Kind of makes you want to stand up and shout, doesn’t it?

Jesus Himself told us that,

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”(KJV - John 8:12)

And Paul also made it pretty clear when he was teaching the church about God’s standard of Christian living and summed up his comments by saying,

“So, I tell you and encourage you in the Lord's name not to live any longer like other people in the world. Their minds are set on worthless things.”  They can't understand because they are in the dark…” (Ephesians 4:17-18 – God’s Word ©) 

I’ll share some ways in which we Christians can learn about the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God in my upcoming weekend blog post… but until then, I can suffice to say that all of the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God are found within the pages of yours and my Bibles… and particularly, in the New Testament Epistles as they were specifically written to you and me… the church!

So… I guess I am kind of leaving you with a cliff hanger!  But you really don’t have to hang until this weekend… just open up your Bibles to the book of Acts where you will get all fired up by miraculous works of the Holy Spirit that occurred as the early church began to grow… and then continue on, reading into the book of Romans and beyond.  

Just pray and ask the Holy Spirit to shed some light on your readings concerning the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God… and He will!

I hope that you are having a terrific week.  Like I mentioned earlier, we have been blessed with some incredibly wonderful weather out here lately and I am REALLY enjoying it!  Let me know what BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God that you are discovering this week and I look forward to connecting with you all in our next blog post!

 

*A personal combination of Colossians 1:12-13 from The Passion Translation, The Message Bible and the God’s Word © translations.

**Colossians 1:13

*** KJV

****KJV / EMTV

*****3 John 1:2 KJV