Colossians 4:5-6 (NKJV)
5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
The child of God has a great responsibility to be a light in a world which is blinded by darkness. Paul starts by telling us that we need to walk in wisdom in this world. Walking has the idea of a continual pattern, a repetitive action which you have established in your life. We need to walk in wisdom. God’s wisdom is different than the “wisdom” of the world. God’s wisdom requires us to observe all things in the same way in which He would look at them. We then need to respond in such a way that would reflect the principles of scripture.
The people who are outside of the church need to see the love of God in God’s people. God’s people need to show His kindness and His unfailing forgiveness. God has chosen His children to be His examples of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world. The idea of “redeeming the time” has the idea of buying up every opportunity to be an example of Christ to others. Paul also wants to realize that there is urgency in letting others know that they are sinners and with a repentant heart, they can believe in Jesus in order to send them to heaven.
Paul also urges us to speak with grace. Grace is an undeserved, unearned gift, given purely out of love for the sake of the recipient’s best good. If our words are to reflect grace, we need to step back, think before we speak and then use the best words possible to help others. The only way that we can be able to do this is by the power of the Spirit of God. We need to start our day in God’s word and prayer, allowing God to prepare us, in love. We then can take on the challenges that will be ahead of us. We can then, by God’s Spirit, through God’s wisdom, respond to others in the ways in which God desires for us to reflect the light in a dark world.
It is interesting that Paul uses the idea of salt with our words. It only takes a small amount of salt to accent the flavor of food. Salt also causes the natural flavor of food to be tremendously enhanced. This accent makes us desire to eat more. Even so, we need to use our words sparingly and also use the greatest amount of care, love and grace within these words. If others find kindness, approval, encouragement and positivity in our words, they will then be drawn to the Savior, in whom all people need to believe and trust.
Once again, we need to constantly be aware of the fact that we must look at others from God’s perspective. Then we need to pick our words wisely in order to be shining example of Christ to a hurting, sin fallen world.
Thoughts, comments, objections.
Daniel A. Smith
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
The Sweet Fragrance of Prayer
Psalms 141:2-3 (NKJV)
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips.
Throughout the Old Testament incense was burned within the temple. The alter of incense was an alter which burned a very aromatic incense which was pleasant to all the senses of the person who inhaled the satisfying aroma. Pleasant incense calms your body, puts you at rest and makes you want to prolong such a wonderful experience.
Both, in the Psalms and in the book of Revelation, incense is directly related to the prayers of the saints. When the saints of God pray, it is very pleasant in God’s sight, His mind is well pleased because people are seeking Him, and His heart is thrilled because His people are displaying faith. All in all it is an extremely pleasant aroma to God, pleasing Him to the uttermost.
Our prayers, which please God, can also be extremely satisfying to us. Christ is our advocate before the Father (I John 2:1-2). Christ is our representative to God, offering our prayers to the Father on our behalf. Since He paid the price of His life for our sins, He will only offer our prayers to the Father in love and with selfless intensity.
When our prayers are pleasing to God, this sacrifice is always worth the effort. Prayer, many times, causes us to lift our hands in praise. Many times prayer is not easy. We have an enemy that knows the power of prayer and wants to stop it. But, when we, through God’s Spirit, overcome our own feelings and participate in regular committed prayer, we will find it a pleasant aroma to God and to us.
What is our part in having pleasant, aromatic, lovely prayers unto the holy God of heaven? As David says in verse 2, we need to ask God to put a guard on our mouth and a watch on the door of our lips. Fresh water and salt water cannot co-exist without the pure being corrupted. Even so, a pure mouth cannot allow wickedness to proceed and then expect to praise God from the some well spring. Solomon says it well, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles”, (Proverbs 21:23, NKJV). James says that a man who able to keep his tongue from stumbling is able also to bridle his whole body (Jas 3:2).
When we choose to control our tongue, we can then, by the power of the Spirit of God, offer beautiful aromatic praise and thanksgiving unto a God Who is worthy of all praise and adoration.
Thoughts, comments, objections.
Daniel A. Smith
2 Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. 3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth, keep watch over the door of my lips.
Throughout the Old Testament incense was burned within the temple. The alter of incense was an alter which burned a very aromatic incense which was pleasant to all the senses of the person who inhaled the satisfying aroma. Pleasant incense calms your body, puts you at rest and makes you want to prolong such a wonderful experience.
Both, in the Psalms and in the book of Revelation, incense is directly related to the prayers of the saints. When the saints of God pray, it is very pleasant in God’s sight, His mind is well pleased because people are seeking Him, and His heart is thrilled because His people are displaying faith. All in all it is an extremely pleasant aroma to God, pleasing Him to the uttermost.
Our prayers, which please God, can also be extremely satisfying to us. Christ is our advocate before the Father (I John 2:1-2). Christ is our representative to God, offering our prayers to the Father on our behalf. Since He paid the price of His life for our sins, He will only offer our prayers to the Father in love and with selfless intensity.
When our prayers are pleasing to God, this sacrifice is always worth the effort. Prayer, many times, causes us to lift our hands in praise. Many times prayer is not easy. We have an enemy that knows the power of prayer and wants to stop it. But, when we, through God’s Spirit, overcome our own feelings and participate in regular committed prayer, we will find it a pleasant aroma to God and to us.
What is our part in having pleasant, aromatic, lovely prayers unto the holy God of heaven? As David says in verse 2, we need to ask God to put a guard on our mouth and a watch on the door of our lips. Fresh water and salt water cannot co-exist without the pure being corrupted. Even so, a pure mouth cannot allow wickedness to proceed and then expect to praise God from the some well spring. Solomon says it well, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles”, (Proverbs 21:23, NKJV). James says that a man who able to keep his tongue from stumbling is able also to bridle his whole body (Jas 3:2).
When we choose to control our tongue, we can then, by the power of the Spirit of God, offer beautiful aromatic praise and thanksgiving unto a God Who is worthy of all praise and adoration.
Thoughts, comments, objections.
Daniel A. Smith
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