Refresh & Restore – Just Keith Harris

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — June 8, 2023

Greetings Sojourners!

As I have walked back through these passages in Colossians 2^[1] and dug into the cross-references^[2] again, I am reminded again how beautiful God’s Word is and how poignant His way of saying things through those He breathed the Scriptures through (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:16-21). The way Colossians 1 speaks of Jesus is with such a reverence and awe that it makes my heart ache with longing to see Jesus. I hope that, as you read the words of God – not my feeble commentary, you are moved to worship and awe as well.

There is a shift between the very end of Colossians 1 (v. 1:24) into the beginning verses of Colossians 2, but it needs to be understood that, as Paul talks about ministering and serving and those being served growing in Christ, this is not a shift from faith to works. No, Paul speaks of the suffering (v. 1:24), ministering (v. 1:25), preaching (v. 1:28), toiling (v. 1:29), struggling (v. 2:1), encouraging (v. 2:2), and growth through walking with Christ (vv. 2:6-7) as results of worshiping the Lord. These actions are fruit of God’s Spirit being within a believer (Galatians 5:22-23). And I am humbled and thankful that I can have any part in making “the Word of God fully known” to you, dear Sojourner (v. 1:25).

So, with no further ado, today we will dive back into Colossians 1:24-2:7!

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/

Paul’s Ministry to the Church (vv. 1:24-2:5)

^1:24Now ^[3]I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh ^[4]I am filling up ^[5]what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions ^[6]for the sake of his body, that is, the church, ²⁵^[7]of which I became a minister according to ^[8]the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, ²⁶^[9]the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. ²⁷^[10]To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are ^[11]the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, ^[12]the hope of glory. ²⁸Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that ^[13]we may present everyone ^[14]mature in Christ. ²⁹For this ^[15]I toil, ^[16]struggling ^[17]with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

^2:1For I want you to know ^[18]how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ²that ^[19]their hearts may be encouraged, being ^[20]knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of ^[21]God’s mystery, which is Christ, ³^[22]in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I say this in order ^[23]that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. ⁵For ^[24]though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your ^[25]good order and ^[26]the firmness of your faith in Christ.
Colossians 1:24-2:5

When I see Paul so confidently and boldly talk about suffering, I find myself wrestling with my own desire for comfort and my tendency to avoid suffering. But we need to realize that Paul is not boasting of his own inner strength. He is recognizing the “surpassing worth” of Jesus (Philippians 3:8). I recognize in Paul’s writing here that I have shortcomings in that area. Where I long for strength, there needs to be worship. Where I get to serve, there needs to be worship. Christ is to be the forefront of the Christian life because He is “all and in all” (v. 3:11). In that worship – and this is perhaps the most un-21^st-century, un-American-Dream, un-human-nature thing that I can probably think of – our desire for personal comfort needs to be outweighed by our desire for Him.

Think of all the trouble and effort a bride goes to in preparation to stand before her husband-to-be and be married. In those moments, the discomfort of clothing and shoes are forgotten. It is to be so for the Church. Y’all, if you are in Christ, the groom awaits – and is worthy of all worship, praise, honor, and the worst discomfort this world and Satan could hurl at us. Corey Ten Boom, who knew firsthand the horrors and pains delivered at the hands of Nazis in concentration camps put it well: “I’ve experienced His Presence in the deepest darkest hell that men can create…. I have tested the promises of the Bible, and believe me, you can count on them.”

Reading these words from Paul again and contemplating his struggles and suffering due to his worship reminds me why I am deeply critical of the prosperity gospel, which promises material (especially monetary) blessings in exchange for faithfulness and promises positive declarations free of suffering. This selective interpretation of Scripture overlooks the Bible’s clear teaching about suffering. What about Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael? What about Jesus?!? And what of Jesus’s promises that the world will look at us and treat us as it did Him (John 15:18-25, 7:7; 1 John 3:13)? He is worth it all (Revelation 4:11)!

In writing this, I want to emphasize how far I am from these things on my own. Paul, Daniel – all of those who suffered in the Bible and since for the sake of the Lord – they were far on their own, too. They, like us, needed the power of God through His Spirit (John 15:26-27). I think of Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, who persecuted the early church. Despite his wicked sinfulness, He met Jesus on the road to Damascus and was transformed (Acts 9:1-31) – brought from death in his sin to life in the very Christ he persecuted (Ephesians 2:1-5). He is different as he writes to the church at Colossae because of what God has done and was still doing in him. His is willing to suffer and considers all previous accomplishments and accolades as loss, placing his focus on knowing Christ and sharing in His sufferings (Philippians 3:1-11). His testimony serves as a testament to the transforming power of God’s grace and the hope that comes only from known Christ.

This is why Paul can use his own life and ministry as an example for working faithfully for God’s Kingdom. I highlight Paul’s dedication to following Christ’s example and caring for the church, emphasizing the significance of discipleship and spiritual maturity, and I underscore the revelation of God’s mystery through Christ, extending the opportunity for all people to experience the riches of God’s glory and have Christ as their hope. But I also acknowledge the challenges the Church faces, both externally through persecutions and internally through false teachings (not just in Colossae, dear Sojourner).

His desire for the churches was for them to remain encouraged, united in love, and rooted in the knowledge of God in His gospel – for them to find strength in His Spirit and in the ministry of the Word. That is my desire for those I am blessed to serve at Christ Community, and I hope that you are 1) saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and 2) have a pastor in a local church who desires these things for you and strives in the ministry of the Word to point you to the One who makes it happen!

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Walk With Christ as You Received Him (vv. 2:6-7)

⁶^[27]Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷^[28]rooted and ^[29]built up in him and ^[30]established in the faith, just ^[31]as you were taught, abounding ^[32]in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6-7

As a pastor and a disciple of Christ, I find myself reflecting on the goal of reaching people with the gospel and helping them mature in their faith. It makes me wonder, are making disciples and promoting spiritual maturity goals that drive us? And more importantly, is this reflected in my life – not because I am a pastor but because I profess faith in Christ?

In this reflection, I want you to understand that I am not joining in the popular activity of criticizing the church. Instead, I see the church as the Bride of Christ, and it is crucial for us to treat and regard the church with grace and love. Through my own journey with Christ and my involvement in my local church, I have great hope for the church. I have found that Jesus is the source of that hope, and I pray that He would use me to make a difference through my ministry within the local church.

I think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and martyr who served during the Nazi regime in Germany. He dedicated himself to helping young ministers grow in Christ. When he left Germany for safety in America, he felt convicted that his true calling was to be in Germany. He repented and returned, ultimately facing arrest and imprisonment – inevitably in Nazi-run prisons and a concentration camp. Bonhoeffer’s example is a testament to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ, where everything else pales in comparison.

Knowing Christ and seeking His Kingdom should fill us with hope. It is a treasure worth more than everything we own, and it prompts us to be willing to sacrifice and endure suffering. We must remember that the suffering we experience on earth is temporary, while God’s Kingdom is eternal. My desire is to help others walk in Christ, to see them rooted, built up, and established in their faith – just what Paul points us to in Colossians 2:6-7.

As I reflect on these verses further, I think about the various ways people describe what it means to be in Christ – being saved, born again, or a Christ-follower. Yet, I am aware that some may use these terms to hide their disbelief and navigate “church” culture. I also observe the shift in the southeastern United States from being known as the Bible Belt to a predominant worldview of “moralistic therapeutic deism,” where people speak generically about God and attend churches for community without embracing biblical teachings. Receiving Christ Jesus as Lord is of utmost importance. It goes beyond a mere label or outward profession. It is about submitting to Jesus as Lord, recognizing His sacrifice as a ransom for many and embracing Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Romans 10:9-13). Merely calling oneself a Christian without true submission to Jesus as Lord is incompatible with genuine belief. Confessing Jesus as Lord and believing in His resurrection are the hallmarks of true salvation.

For more, check out the original Bible study from this section:

Refresh & Restore — May 19, 2022

Wrapping Up

I invite you to assess your own life considering Jesus’ teachings and the words we have read from Colossians 1-2 today. Have you truly received Jesus as Lord? Does your life reflect the transformation that comes from knowing Him? Are you putting off your old self and being renewed in the likeness of God? If not, I urge you to repent and believe. It is not too late for you to receive Jesus, to confess Him as Lord, and to be saved.

If you are in Christ, I encourage you to consider the depth of your faith. Receiving Jesus as Lord is the foundation for growth and maturity. Making disciples requires personal investment and time. Being rooted in Christ provides sustenance and support, while building up in Him involves growth and putting His Word into practice. The church is built through love and service, and being established in the faith brings assurance and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Confronting harsh truths offers an opportunity for repentance and faith in Christ. May we all seize that opportunity and worship Christ as Lord, walking in the hope and maturity that He offers!

^[1] All Scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:1–2.

[2] Cross references show what the Bible says about a particular verse, section, or word. I use the cross references heavily in my study of the Word, especially when preaching and/or teaching the Word. Cross references that parallel the verse, section, or word but do not directly reference it are marked by brackets, for example [1 Peter 2:9-12]. Cross references of similar themes will be designated by the word “See”.

[3] See 2 Corinthians 7:4 – I am acting with great boldness toward you; I have great pride in you; I am filled with comfort. In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy.

[4] [2 Timothy 1:8] – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God….
[2 Timothy 2:10] – Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

[5] See 2 Corinthians 1:5 – For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

[6] [Ephesians 4:12] – …to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ….

[7] ch. 1:23 – …if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

[8] See Ephesians 3:2 – …assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you….

[9] Ephesians 3:9 – …and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things….
See Romans 16:25-26 – Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith….

[10] [ch. 2:2]

[11] Ephesians 1:18 – …having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints….
Ephesians 3:16 – …that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being….

[12] 1 Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope….

[13] ch. 1:22-23 – …He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

[14] See Matthew 5:48 – You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

[15] 1 Corinthians 15:10 – But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain.
1 Timothy 4:10 – For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe.

[16] ch. 4:12 – Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.
[ch. 2:1]

[17] See Ephesians 1:19 – …and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might….

[18] Philippians 1:30 – …engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

[19] ch. 4:8 – I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts….
Ephesians 6:22 – I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.

[20] [ch. 3:14] – And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

[21] v. 1:27

[22] Isaiah 11:2 – And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
Isaiah 45:3 – I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
1 Corinthians 1:24 – …but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption….
1 Corinthians 2:6-7 – Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
[Luke 11:49] – Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’….
[Ephesians 1:8] – …which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight….

[23] Romans 16:18 – For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.
[Ephesians 5:6] – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
[2 Peter 2:3] – And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

[24] 1 Corinthians 5:3 – For though absent in the body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.

[25] 1 Corinthians 14:40 – But all things should be done decently and in order.

[26] 1 Peter 5:9 – Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

[27] ch. 1:10 – …so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God….
1 Thessalonians 4:1 – Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

[28] Ephesians 3:17 – …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love….

[29] Acts 20:32 – And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
Ephesians 2:20 – …built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone….
See 1 Corinthians 3:9 – For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

[30] Hebrews 13:9 – Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.

[31] Ephesians 4:21 – …assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus….

[32] ch. 4:2 – Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:20 – …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 25, 2023

Greetings Sojourners!

Early in 2022, we began a study on the epistle of Colossians but were unable to complete it at that time due to my schedule. Over the next month or so, we will finish that study: Jesus Over All!

Rather than diving in right where we left off, it is important that we refresh our memories – definitely necessary for me – so that we keep our study in context. We will revisit Colossians 1^[1] today, Colossians 2 next week, and then revisit each of the two sections of Colossians 3 after that. This will poise us to be able to finish the study and to grow by God’s Spirit in the study of His Word as He intended when Colossians was written – to the church then, now, and until the return of Christ. Furthermore, I will be including the biblical cross references^[2] in the footnotes so that those who are interested can see what the Bible says about itself.

Colossians 1 is important for understanding Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae not only because it is the first chapter but because it contains the beautiful Christological hymn (vv. 1:15-20) which illustrates Jesus’ preeminent position over everything that is – over all creation, and especially over us. God has graciously revealed this to us so that we can see Jesus appropriately – high above us and worthy of all worship. Yet, despite our own sinfulness and unworthiness, He offers us “redemption” (v. 1:14) and the opportunity to be delivered “from the domain of darkness” and to be transferred to His Kingdom (v. 1:13). What a beautiful opportunity to recognize Jesus is Lord and above all else and to move our hearts to believe in Him (Romans 10:9-10)!

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Introduction (vv. 1:1-2)

¹Paul, ^[3]an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[4]by the will of God, and Timothy ^[5]our brother,

²To the ^[6]saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
^[7]Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
Colossians 1:1-2

The book of Colossians is an epistle written by the apostle Paul to the church in Colossae, which was established by their pastor, Epaphras. It highlights the importance of everyday individuals like Epaphras in spreading the gospel and emphasizes the significance of Jesus in our lives and churches.

One of the main themes in Colossians is the preeminence of Jesus Christ over everything. Paul teaches the Colossians deeper truths about Jesus to build upon the gospel they received from Epaphras. The whole epistle highlights various aspects of Jesus and warns against false teachings that damage His church.

False teachers and distractions continue to challenge the Church today, but the good news is that Jesus is our shepherd who offers abundant life and eternal security. His grace and love – the opposite of what we deserve – provide us with peace. The goal of studying Colossians is to recognize Jesus’ supremacy, deepen our faith, and display Him as sufficient in the face of all difficulties, those that come from within and from without.

Throughout this epistle, Paul urges us to focus on Jesus, trust in His work, and guard ourselves against false teachings. Jesus is the center of our faith, offering hope and salvation to all who believe.

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Thankfulness and Prayer for the Church at Colossae (vv. 1:3-14)

³^[8]We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, ⁴since we heard of ^[9]your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, ⁵because of ^[10]the hope ^[11]laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in ^[12]the word of the truth, the gospel, ⁶which has come to you, as indeed ^[13]in the whole world it is ^[14]bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you ^[15]heard it and understood ^[16]the grace of God in truth, ⁷just as you learned it from ^[17]Epaphras our beloved ^[18]fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf ⁸and has made known to us your ^[19]love in the Spirit.

⁹And so, ^[20]from the day we heard, ^[21]we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that ^[22]you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all ^[23]spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰so as ^[24]to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, ^[25]fully pleasing to him: ^[26]bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹^[27]being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for ^[28]all endurance and patience ^[29]with joy; ¹²^[30]giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in ^[31]the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³He ^[32]has delivered us from ^[33]the domain of darkness and transferred us to ^[34]the kingdom of ^[35]his beloved Son, ¹⁴^[36]in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:3-14

In this section, Paul offers a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the church at Colossae. He expresses gratitude for their faith in Christ, their love for one another, and the hope they have that comes from Christ. Despite facing false teachings, Paul prays for their continued growth in knowing God and walking with Him. He highlights the significance of faith, love, and hope within the church, emphasizing that faith in Christ is the foundation, love for fellow believers comes from God’s Spirit, and their hope is centered on Jesus and their eternal inheritance.

Paul also celebrates the effectiveness of the gospel, the Word of Truth, which is bearing fruit and growing. He emphasizes the importance of continually embracing and sharing the gospel message, which centers on Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Despite his own circumstances, Paul finds encouragement in knowing that the gospel is still being preached and producing faith, love, and hope. He recognizes that the gospel’s power lies in Jesus, who is living and active.

Paul expresses admiration for Epaphras, who has shared about the Colossian church and its faith, love, and understanding of God’s grace. Both Paul and Epaphras celebrate what God is accomplishing through the gospel and the Holy Spirit’s power. They demonstrate humility and joy, desiring Christ to be exalted above themselves. Paul refers to Epaphras as a fellow servant and faithful minister of Christ.

This section concludes with a call to reflection and prayer. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their relationship with Christ and to offer prayers of thanksgiving for hearing the gospel, having faith in Christ, and the hope of eternity. They are also urged to express gratitude for their faith community, the impact of the gospel, and the opportunity to be part of God’s work. Additionally, there is a call to thank God for the privilege of sharing the good news and to pray for those who have not yet heard and need the opportunity to embrace faith in Christ. Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers encompasses their faith, love, and hope, and he prays for their growth, endurance, and thankfulness for their salvation and inheritance in Christ.

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

The Preeminence of Christ (vv. 1:15-20)

¹⁵^[37]He is the image of ^[38]the invisible God, ^[39]the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, ^[40]in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether ^[41]thrones or ^[42]dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created ^[43]through him and for him. ¹⁷And ^[44]he is before all things, and in him all things ^[45]hold together. ¹⁸And ^[46]he is the head of the body, the church. He is ^[47]the beginning, ^[48]the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For ^[49]in him all the ^[50]fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and ^[51]through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, ^[52]making peace ^[53]by the blood of his cross.

This section is a hymn that exalts and explains the identity of Jesus Christ. Throughout these six verses, the importance of understanding the true nature of Jesus in response to false teachings that had infiltrated the early church is clearly emphasized. Jesus, God in flesh and the Truth, is the only way to salvation and surpasses any distorted versions of the gospel presented by false teachers. This section points to the historical context of heresies and the recurring need to affirm the biblical understanding of Jesus throughout church history.

This passage presents scriptural evidence for Jesus being fully God and fully man, emphasizing his divine nature and his humanity. Jesus is described as the “image of the invisible God,” representing the visible representation of God and embodying His glory and nature. It needs to be clarified that the term “firstborn of all creation” does not imply that Jesus is a created being, but rather emphasizes His authority and position as the King of kings.

The passage further establishes Jesus as the creator of all things, both visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. Jesus is credited with the power to bring everything into being and sustain the universe. He is described as being before all things and encompasses the entirety of existence. These verses highlight the divinity, authority, and creative power of Jesus, establishing Him as the preeminent and sovereign ruler over all creation.

The significance of Jesus and the beliefs surrounding Him for believers and non-believers is consistently emphasized here. This stresses the importance of recognizing Jesus as the ultimate authority and helps one not be swayed by false teachings or idolatry. Jesus is clearly shown to be the head of the Church, guiding and leading believers through His Word and Spirit. Furthermore, there is also an emphasis on Jesus’ role in reconciliation. Jesus is referred to as “the firstborn from the dead,” signifying His role as the origin of everything and the one who has conquered death. Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus made a way for humanity to be reconciled with God. His sacrifice on the cross and subsequent reconciliation of all things to God demonstrate God’s grace, mercy, and love.

The significance of understanding the true nature of Jesus Christ and the importance of holding onto the biblical depiction of Him cannot be emphasized enough – His divinity, authority, and creative power, as well as His role in reconciliation between God and humanity. Let us reflect on the magnitude of Jesus’ sacrifice and the love of God in reconciling humanity to Himself and worship Him!

For more, check out the original Bible studies from this section:

Wrapping Up (vv. 1:21-23)

²¹^[54]And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, ^[55]doing evil deeds, ²²he has now reconciled ^[56]in his body of flesh by his death, ^[57]in order to present you holy and blameless and ^[58]above reproach before him, ²³^[59]if indeed you continue in the faith, ^[60]stable and steadfast, not shifting from ^[61]the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed ^[62]in all creation under heaven, ^[63]and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Colossians 1:21-23

The way Colossians 1 wraps up gives an invitation from God to the readers and hearers of the epistle – the original audience and even today – to respond to His Word and Spirit. Throughout the Bible, there are invitations extended by God to humanity. Examples include God inviting Noah and his family into the ark, inviting Israel through His prophets, and Jesus inviting all who labor and are heavy laden to find rest in Him. Through the work of His Spirit through the reading, hearing, and preaching of His Word, God offers the same to us today.

Reconciliation is offered by God through Jesus, an offer that acknowledges that humanity, due to sin, was alienated and hostile toward God, described as being dead in trespasses and sins. This challenges the notion that all people are inherently good and highlights the need for Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. God, in His love and mercy, reconciled humanity through Jesus’ death, offering salvation and presenting believers as holy and blameless.

It is my prayer that all of us recognize our need reconciliation with God, and that if any have not that they respond by repenting of their sins and believe in Jesus. Remember, this invitation emphasizes that salvation is by grace through faith, not based on deserving it. It is also an invitation for those who believe to continue in the faith, remaining stable, steadfast, and rooted in the hope of the gospel. Re-reading Colossians 1 has led me to examine my own life. I pray it does you, too.

^[1] All Scripture references unless otherwise noted are from the English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 1:1–2.

[3] See 2 Corinthians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia….

[4] See 1 Corinthians 1:1 – Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes….

[5] See 1 Thessalonians 3:2 – …and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith….

[6] Ephesians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus…. | See Philippians 1:1 – Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons…..

[7] Romans 1:7 – To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 1 Corinthians 1:3 – Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[8] Ephesians 1:15-16 – For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers…. | Philemon 4 – I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers….

[9] See 1 Thessalonians 1:3 – …remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

[10] v. 23 | See Acts 23:6 – Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” | Titus 1:2 – …in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…. | Hebrews 3:6 – …but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

[11] 2 Timothy 4:8 – Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. | 1 Peter 1:4 – …to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you….

[12] See Ephesians 1:13 – In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit….

[13] [v. 23] | [Psalm 98:3] – He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. | See Matthew 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

[14] John 15:5 – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. | John 15:16 – You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. | [Philippians 1:11] – …filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

[15] [Romans 16:26] – …but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith…. | [Ephesians 4:21] – …assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus….

[16] See Acts 11:23 – When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose….

[17] ch. 4:12 – Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. | Philemon 23 – Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you….

[18] ch. 4:7 – Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.

[19] [Romans 15:30] – I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf….

[20] v. 4

[21] 2 Thessalonians 1:11 – To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power….

[22] [Ephesians 1:17] – …that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him….

[23] ch. 4:5 – Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. | Ephesians 1:8 – …which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight…. | [1 Corinthians 12:8] – For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit….

[24] [Psalm 1:1-3] – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. | See Ephesians 4:1 – I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called….

[25] [2 Corinthians 5:9] – So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. | [Ephesians 5:10] – …and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. | [1 Thessalonians 4:1] – Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.

[26] v. 6

[27] See Ephesians 3:16 – …that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being….

[28] Ephesians 4:2 – …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….

[29] See Matthew 5:12 – Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

[30] ch. 3:15 – And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. | Ephesians 5:20 – …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ….

[31] See Acts 26:18 – …to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

[32] 1 Thessalonians 1:10 – …and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

[33] Luke 22:53 – When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” | Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

[34] 2 Peter 1:11 – For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[35] [Ephesians 1:6] – …to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

[36] See Ephesians 1:7 – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace….

[37] See 2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel for the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

[38] See 1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

[39] [Psalm 89:27] – And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. | See Romans 8:29 – For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

[40] Ephesians 1:10 – …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

[41] [Ezekiel 10:1] – Then I looked, and behold, on the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim there appeared above them something like a sapphire, in appearance like a throne.

[42] Ephesians 1:21 – …far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

[43] Romans 11:36 – For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. | 1 Corinthians 8:6 – …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

[44] [John 8:58] – Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” | See John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

[45] [Hebrews 1:3] – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

[46] See Ephesians 1:22-23 – And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

[47] Revelation 3:14 – “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write, ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.

[48] Acts 26:23 – …that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” | 1 Corinthians 15:20 – But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. | Revelation 1:5 – …and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood….

[49] ch. 2:9 – For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily….

[50] See John 1:16 – For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

[51] See 2 Corinthians 5:18 – All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation…. | See Ephesians 1:10 – …as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

[52] See Ephesians 2:14 – For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility….

[53] [Ephesians 2:13] – But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

[54] See Ephesians 2:1-2 – And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience…. | See Ephesians 2:12 – …remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

[55] [Titus 1:16] – They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

[56] [Romans 7:4] – Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

[57] Jude 24 – Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy…. | See Ephesians 1:4 – …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. | See Ephesians 5:27 – …so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

[58] 1 Corinthians 1:8 – …who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[59] See John 15:4 – Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

[60] ch. 2:7 – …rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. | Ephesians 3:17 – …so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you, being rooted and grounded in love….

[61] vv. 5-6

[62] Mark 16:15 – And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. | [Acts 2:5]

[63] See 2 Corinthians 3:6 – …who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023

¹Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, ²to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. ³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.^[1]
Titus 3:1-7

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

From when we began these Bible studies, it has always been our goal not only to get the Word out to people but to do, as Nehemiah says, read the Bible “clearly” and give the “sense” so that people can understand the reading (Nehemiah 8:8). And in trying to make it clear, there is nothing more important that what it means to be saved – born again – have new life in Christ.

Some in the area of the United States where I live would say that most people they know are Christians because the southeastern region of the United States has been known as or referred to as the “Bible Belt”. Many – far too many – would start their description of what it means to be a Christian with walking an aisle or a this-one-time-at-Vacation-Bible-School story. Others might reference a decision or membership to a church or the family they were born into or their particular political party or social organization. But the Bible has much more for us than those meager (and easily incorrect) descriptions.

What the Bible offers us in Christ is so much more! And, in the places the Bible talks about what it is to be saved, it shows that we go from being lost to being found (Luke 15), from being in danger of eternal condemnation to being saved (John 3:16-17), from being dead in our trespasses and sins to eternal life in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10). When the Bible talks about salvation, it lifts up the Savior and makes much of Him! It lays out clearly that salvation comes by grace through faith in Christ alone through the hearing of God’s Word (Romans 10:17).

Salvation comes to those who are sinners – folks who need to be saved. It does not come for the best or the most worthy but the opposite (1 Corinthians 1:20-31) – folks who need saving. Folks like you and me. We were all born into sin and by our own works and merits are full-blown sinners.

By looking at Paul’s letter to Titus, a young pastor called to the church on the island of Crete, we can see what the Bible tells pastors they are to remind God’s people to be, take a good look at and into ourselves to either remind us what it is to be saved (or what we need to be saved from if we are not), and to make sure we all clearly understand the rescue that God has provided by grace through faith in the mercy of Christ and the power of His Spirit.

A Reminder to God’s People Through Pastors (vv. 1-2)

Paul begins the section serving as our passage today with the command “remind them” (v. 1). The word translated “remind” here would be like jogging one’s memory “perhaps after hints or suggestions” or to “put in mind of [or] bring to remembrance”.^[2] The list that follows is something that the church at Crete would have known but either 1) forgotten (or functionally forgotten), or 2) need to keep these things in their minds because they are important.

The list is not exhaustive, but it covers a general spectrum of behaviors that are part of the Christian life. It is important to note here that none of these earn salvation nor do the actions by themselves produce eternal life. No, the behaviors associated with being a Christian are results of being born again – fruit of Christ making dead men and women alive and filling them with His Spirit (John 15:1-8).

The list, ultimately, will contrast with the before Christ stage of the lives of the believers there, but it gives a picture of what God knew the Cretan church needed a reminder to do. Being “submissive to rulers and authorities” reflects a trust that God is sovereign even through earthly leaders and that obeying them when they work for the general good reflects trust in God (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13). Being “obedient” – to the Word and the leading of the Spirit – shows the same trust in God; Jesus says that obeying His commandments is a result of being loved by Him and loving Him (John 14:15). Hopefully, you are noticing how these reminders are flowing out of one another – just as the fruit of the Spirit comes from being saved and having the Spirit indwelling in the believer (Galatians 5:22-23).

In the same way obedience leads to readiness for “good works” which the Bible teaches that God has prepared for those who He saves (Ephesians 2:10). The “good works” do not produce salvation, and they are unnatural (opposite of the way sin comes all too naturally to us). Examples of how unnatural good is to humanity is how we have a reminder here to “speak evil of no one” and to “avoid quarrelling” – two characteristics that are all too natural (at least to the human sinner writing this). Those seem like prohibitions for bad behaviors, but they really illustrate what “good work” Christ is calling His people to: gentleness. Why? Gentle, along with “lowly”, is how Jesus described Himself as He invited those who were or are “weary and heavy laden” to come to Him (Matthew 11:28).

So, ultimately, the Cretan church was being reminded to be like Jesus (Philippians 2:5). And nothing shows “perfect courtesy toward all people” like treating them as Jesus would treat them to point them to Him and share His gospel with them!

Recognition That God’s People Have a Past – That Should Be Passing Away (v. 3)

Paul’s reminder of what they should be doing shifts in v. 3 to reminding them what they “once” were like – not just the Cretan believers but Paul, Titus, you, and me, too. It is similar to Paul’s telling the church at Corinth that “such were some of you” before they were “washed”, “sanctified”, and “justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). In fact, until one has been saved there is no “once” – only still is and continues to be. Sometimes when we look at lists like the one found in the previous section (vv. 1-2), we get a glimpse of – as stated above – what some would say it is to act like a Christian. But we need to be reminded that Christianity is not an act.

My pastor, John Goldwater, has had to clarify to our church, Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, at various times the difference between acting like a Christian and being in Christ (Ephesians 4:17-21). At various times in recent years, we have had children and youth who had no church background or knowledge of Christ acting like – well, acting like children and youth really do. Some of those instances found people remarking and even requesting that the children be taught how to act in church. Now, I am sure that these requests were docile enough and likely well-meaning. But John brought up a good and valid point: some people learn how to act like a Christian, put on an act, and never come to know Christ. If we have such a limited time with these children and youth, many of whom have no parents or grandparents to do the discipleship and instruction needed to point people to Christ (Deuteronomy 6), and our time is better spent teaching them the Word and what it is to be in Christ rather than helping them learn out to act. After all, those who are dead in their trespasses and sins are not made alive merely by acting alive.

Any behavior change that occurs in saved people is not because of some sort of behavior modification discipleship or Sunday school rehabilitation. It is because of the work of God’s Spirit making dead sinners alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10, Colossians 2:13-15, Ezekiel 36:26-27). Every saved sinner has a past, which is why Paul gives this flock reminders so that 1) they remember what God has done for them in Christ and has redeemed them from, or 2) wake them up to the realization that their sinful life is not in their past because they have never passed from death to life.

That’s the funny thing about the differences between the list in v. 3 and the one in vv. 1-2: they are opposites! The contrast either reminds people of who they are supposed to be in Christ or who they ain’t and can’t be without Him saving them! Without Christ – or before He saves you, you are “foolish” (1 Corinthians 1:20, 26-31), “disobedient” (Matthew 7:24-27), “led astray” (John 8:44), “slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy” (Ephesians 4:17-19), and “hated by others and hating one another” (1 Peter 2:12, John 13:35). You can only be reminded to do and be the things from vv. 1-2 if you are in Christ. If you are not in Christ, the qualities in v. 3 are your reality – and there is no act convincing enough to make a corpse capable of genuine life.

The Rescue God Provided Through Faith in Christ by the Power of His Spirit (vv. 4-7)

The next phrase is the most important in the passage, especially considering the stark and damning reality of the previous statement: “But when the loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us”! The conjunction “but” takes everything that comes before it and cancels it out, replacing it with what comes after. In this case – and the case of all humans who are sinners and dead in their sins, the “but” cancels that out when they become saved by grace through faith in Christ! The death is canceled and replaced with life! The lostness is canceled and replaced with being found! That’s good news – the best!

As I stated above, I live in a region of the United States where people have the false impression that everyone is saved or that all the good folks will surely not be shut out of heaven (even though the Bible clearly states that “none is righteous” in Romans 3:10 and that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” in Romans 3:23). One of the best things – one of the few benefits other that Jesus’ return growing ever closer – to happen as the effects of the Fall grow worse and seemingly darker is that the Bible Belt is (or has been) unbuckled. I know that sounds frightening to some, but the Bible Belt was never truly what it seemed to be. There was a lot of acting and not a lot of being.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it. Billy Graham once said that potentially 85% of those who claim to be Christians are not actually born again. W.A. Criswell, a well-known pastor of a few generations ago, said that he was afraid that only 25% of the members of his church were actually genuinely saved. Even at Christ Community, a few years before the pandemic, it became clear that despite faithfully preaching week in and week out, somehow, we had people who did not know how to be saved. So, we had to intentionally teach and “remind” our people what the Bible says about it. And the way the remainder of today’s passage helps us see it clearly.

Paul writes that salvation through Christ is “not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy” (v. 5). As stated above, “none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Not only do we “fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23) in our sin, but the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) – our best not only does not save us but earns our death. Until that but God moment when He, “being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us”, makes us alive by saving us by grace through faith in Him (Ephesians 2:4-5), there is nothing we can do to change our position. Dead people can not raise themselves – except for Jesus, of course.

Salvation occurs “by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). I want to make a point here to help this be clearer. There are some big words in this section, and it is easy to try and make it complicated but 1) these are Bible words (not church-words or Christian-ese), and 2) they help us clearly see what God has done for those He saves! That word translated “regeneration” here is talking about being born again^[3] (John 3:16)! The “renewal” of the Holy Spirit is describing the new life in Christ which is accomplished by the power of His Spirit – which has been prophesied since the Old Testament:

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27

Those He saves are given new life by Him and continually renewed because His Spirit is within them. And His Spirit is “poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (v. 6). This is not some religious hocus pocus but the reality that God Himself indwells those He saves – not parlor tricks but the power and presence of God!

And the most beautiful aspect of this is when Paul winds up his long, run-on sentence in v. 7 by saying that those he saved are “being justified by His grace [that] we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life”. Because He loves us and is merciful and gracious to us, God not only takes those who are dead in their sins and makes the alive, but takes those who were His enemies in their sin and reconciles them (Colossians 2:19-20) and adopts them into His family as His own children (Galatians 4:4-5)! Such love and cost transcends an act because such actions display great truths.

Wrapping Up

What a beautiful phrase: “we might become heirs”….

Little that there is to leave them when I die, my kiddos will not have to wonder whether or not they are my heirs. They know who they are in regard to me. I am their daddy. They are my children. There is no “might become” with them. They are mine. Much to my chagrin, you can see me in them and on them. They share mannerisms with me – ears with me – corny humor with me. We share blood. They have my name.

What do you share with God? Is His Spirit in you? Are you cleansed by the blood of Christ the Son? Do you bear His name? If you do, you share mannerisms with Him – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). And there is no act capable of imitating such fruit – maybe one or two aspects some of the time, but not all of it. Only God’s Spirit can produce that fruit.

No one is name-dropping “Keith Harris” to share in the inheritance my kids await, but being saved is more than labeling yourself with His name. It is laying down your life and picking up His. It is recognizing that the only way for a dead man or woman to have life is through the one who raised Himself from the dead. It is trusting and having faith in Who He is and what He has done and all that He has promised to those who believe in Him.

Every service at Christ Community closes with the following verses because, as I said earlier, we are committed to making sure we tell folks how to be saved every week. We know only God can save and that He tells us clearly in His Word how:

Romans 10:9-10 – …because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

It is my hope that in reading this week’s Bible study that you either have become sure that you are saved or that you are able to see clearly that you are not. While I hope the latter is not true, I am thankful that you get to read God’s Word and see the salvation – the hope – He offers. May His Word and His Spirit do their work in your life!

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Tt 3:1–7.

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023

¹I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. ³And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— ⁶though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.^[1]
2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

It has been quite a while since I have been able to write (for pleasure instead of school), and I am ecstatic!

For those of you who have been keeping up with my grad school journey, it is finally at an end! I passed my oral exams last Friday and graduate tomorrow. I have learned a lot and been stretched in ways I did not expect, but by God’s sufficient grace, Candice’s perseverance, my kiddos patience, and prayers of my family, friends, and fellow Sojourners, I can now breathe and begin applying all that I have learned. And I cannot express how thankful I am that the application of it kicks our Refresh & Restore Bible studies off once more!

Another reason I am ecstatic is that I am getting to revisit this particular devotion. When I began 2023, I intended to hit at least forty devotions – ambitious considering how much of the year would be teaching school and going to school. Needless to say, I did not hit that mark. Far short, actually. This is the second devotion of 2023.

The first draft of this was unfinished, and I had no idea. In January 2023, my world was full of anxiety. I had allowed work and life to weigh on me heavily. More than a decade of the roller coaster of anxiety and depression, along with highly stressful jobs/careers had taken its toll. I tried my best to hide it (even though I have learned the hard way that such things are as damaging as they are foolish), but my health had begun to be affected by it worse than ever. Daily panic attacks and anxiety had invited painful inflammation in all my joints. I honestly did not know how I would keep it all going. My family – home family and church family – were my only solace.

And amid all that, I wrote the January 11 version of this devotion. Looking at it now, I am thankful that I did. The hope that I knew I had in Christ Jesus alone was there. The sufficient grace that He was continually pouring into my life was there, and I knew it. I just did not realize how much farther I had to go in this leg of my journey, and, thankfully, today I can edit it from the vantage point of God having carried me through that season of difficulty.

A Thorn in the Flesh (vv. 1-7)

The content of verses 1-7 are widely debated, and I do not intend to wade into that debate today. When it comes to Bible interpretation, I tend to take the Alistair Begg approach: in Scripture, the main things are the plain things. Chas Rowland puts it a little clearer: in Scripture, the important things are clear, and the clear things are important. There are parts of this passage that are clear and parts that are purposefully left unclear.

When I say purposefully left unclear, I mean that the Holy Spirit obviously did not decide to give us the specific details regarding the content of the “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1), what it means to be “caught up to the third heaven” (v. 2 – and which Paul himself did not know whether it was “in the body or out of the body”), what it means to be “caught up into paradise” (v. 3 – which Paul states only “God knows”). If I were to give my best and most theologically sound interpretation of these things, it would be two-fold: 1) I don’t know, and 2) it cannot be (fully) known because the Bible clearly does not provide the information, we need to know these things.

It is okay to say “I don’t know” when it comes to Bible interpretation. That does not mean we do not need to study or that we should not dig into God’s Word to search for answers. Those are good and valuable things – things that we should be doing and doing regularly. But it is important to be honest about what we do not know or understand in the Bible, especially if the alternative is to teach or proclaim things that may be untrue or dangerously heretical. All too often pastors and church folks will fill in what they perceive as gaps and try to make clear what the Bible does not. At best, this practice might lead people to check the Bible to see whether what is taught is true or accurate, but unfortunately, people are all too willing to take people’s opinions, views, and best-guesses at what unclear passages are talking as gospel truth at the expense of the actual truth of the gospel.

Some might balk at my saying that there are things in Scripture that cannot be fully known, but we are limited to what God has given us in His Word – and rightly so! The Bible contains everything that can be known about God. There are commentaries galore, but they are written by men. Peter’s second letter deals with this subject at length in the section of 2 Peter that leads to his teaching on how dangerous false teachers are. Look at this passage from 2 Peter 1:19-21 which talks about the importance of the special revelation^[2] of God found in His Word versus the direction men (or women) may take it:

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Peter is talking about the illuminating value of God’s revelation through Scripture. Man’s interpretation can be helpful, but it is the Word that is a lamp for our feet and light to guide our path (Psalm 119:105)!

So, here is what is plain and clear in verses 1-7 and therefore main and important.

Paul was given visions of “surpassing greatness” (v. 7). Based on the context (“third heaven” and “paradise)”, he was given some sort of glimpses into heaven.
These visions were so great that Paul wished to boast about them, and it took great pains to keep him from boasting. Paul had written earlier to the church at Corinth about the dangers of such boasting, explaining that is why God chooses “what is low and despised in the world…so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29) and reminding them – and apparently himself – of the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.”
Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to “keep [him] from becoming conceited”. There are three main categories that interpretations of this “thorn” fall into: “(1) spiritual or psychological anxiety (such as anguish over Israel’s stubborn unbelief); (2) opposition to his ministry or message; and (3) a recurring and tormenting physical malady”.^[3] Scholars and theologians find reasons in the text for all three. I have speculations but find no value in sharing those with you here. What is clear is that God allowed this “messenger of Satan to harass” Paul just as He allowed similarly with Job – just for different reasons. It is the same God who decided not to give us more information in this section of Scripture. I trust Him and His wisdom.

If you are uncomfortable with not knowing more about this, let me give you a little guidance on how to proceed. First, I would tell you to dig into the biblical cross-references (those little letters that point you to other places in the Bible that talk about similar things/topics that connect you to Bible verses – almost like little biblical footnotes). Limit yourself in your searching to what can be known in the Bible. Second, be careful about letting your favorite Bible guy or gal tell you fully what the Bible limits. Our Father knows best, and if He has not fully revealed something, be wary of a “preacher” who touts full revelation. That means what has been revealed to him (or her) did not come from the Bible. I am scared of those people. I would rather be a Bible-guy, satisfied with what is in it, than a popular preacher spreading my own words. Furthermore, if God had waited nearly 2,000 years for your favorite preacher to shed light on His Word or even needed them to make clear what His Word could not, that God would neither be loving nor sovereign.^[4] Who loves you more: the God of the Bible who revealed Himself through His Word, or someone who claims to have more or better knowledge than what the Bible offers?

The good news, especially for us in this Bible study is that what comes after verses 1-7 is clear and plain and, therefore, important and main!

Sufficient Grace (vv. 8-10)

Whatever the “thorn in the flesh” was, it was so bad that Paul says that he “pleaded with the Lord” about it three times that it would “leave” him (v. 8). The word translated “plead” means to “call for or upon someone as for aid, to invoke God, to beseech, entreat”^[5]. Paul was literally begging God to make this “thorn”, this “messenger of Satan” that was harassing him to go away – because God was the only one who could make it go away! Apparently, Jesus’ answer was different than the one Paul was looking for: no.

I know something of struggling and begging God to take the struggle away. I also know a little bit about the answer being no. Thankfully, Paul’s “no” carried with it an explanation. Paul’s “no” got a verbal answer from Jesus (notice the red letters). Rather than taking away this thorn (which again was allowed by God) Jesus – the King of kings and Lord of lords – told him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Rather than immediate – or eventual since we do not know if this thorn was ever removed – relief, Jesus told Paul that He would supply the strength to endure the thorn, that sufficient grace would be provided in his moments of need.

This may not seem like good news since we live in an era where immediate gratification or immediate relief are what many people are seeking, but this really is good news. You need to understand that I am not saying this out of some sense of religious obligation. When I cry out for God to rescue me from a struggle that has plagued and harassed me, I want immediate deliverance, too! I begged Him for relief daily for most of the last year and earnestly hoped my “thorn” would leave me right then and there. But it didn’t. It didn’t immediately go away, and it will likely be back. Paul’s “thorn” would not go away, but neither would Jesus! Jesus – Emmanuel (“God with us”) – met Paul’s weakness and provided sufficient – enough to overcome and get through – grace and strength to carry him! Jesus meets me in my struggle and stays with me and will meet you, too. He provides the same sufficient grace for you and me today.

Paul pleaded and begged for relief received the presence of Jesus and the full strength of God Himself to overcome the struggle! I hate my struggles. I hate being weak. More often than not, I find myself feeling hopeless when the struggles linger and return. But I am so thankful that despite the struggle, I find the presence of God. I find His strength. I find grace sufficient to do more than survive but to live and thrive in Christ. I find new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). Like Paul, I find Jesus, time and again.

The good thing for us is that we do not have to wait for an audible word from the Lord to intervene in our times of despair. The words from our passage today – those red letters –are spoken to us as well. We don’t have to wait for God to speak because He has spoken!^[6]

Paul just thought that the visions he had were of surpassing greatness, but through the sufficient and continual grace of Jesus he grew to understand that the presence of Jesus was better than the loftiest visions. At the end of Paul’s life, shortly before his death (by martyrdom), he wrote to the church at Philippi. He did not talk to them of a thorn or visions. He spoke to them of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ [his] Lord” (Philippians 3:7). He explained to them and to us that everything he had previously boasted in – his Hebrew heritage, his Pharisaical pedigree, his exorbitant education, and even his most-valued visions – was equivalent to and counted by him as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8) – literally “refuse…of dung, and figuratively of the filth of the mind”.^[7]

I want you to think about what these visions likely showed Paul and what this statement means. Paul’s vision was one of heaven – of paradise! But it paled in comparison to the “surpassing worth” of Jesus! Heaven, without Jesus, (pardon the crass language here) is crap. Read that again. A Jesus-less heaven is worthless – as the kids today say, “straight trash”. Does that seem odd to you? If it does, you are boasting about the wrong things!

Paul was at risk of boasting in the wrong things in our passage today, but by the grace of God, he received a “thorn”. The Lord allowed something bad to bring about the grace that helped Paul boast only in Christ. What did not seem like a blessing – and would not have been had it not been for Christ – blessed Paul because of the grace it gave him. The question for us, and honestly the question I must ask myself often, is whether or not I can be satisfied with the grace and presence of Christ in the face of continued difficulty.

Wrapping Up

I am thankful that Jesus is better than my struggles. His power is enough to withstand. His Spirit never leaves me nor forsakes me. And, just as He promised, He is with me always, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). But I need constant reminding.

If I am not careful, I can be so boastful. God’s power becomes eclipsed in my mind by my pride. His grace gets masked by my desire to be my own man and get through in my own steam. Thankfully, I have the Word of God and passages like ours today to remind me of the gift of God’s sufficient grace!

In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this devotion, I was boasting relief when the thorn was just digging into me the deepest. But I couldn’t even record the podcast for it because I was in tears every time I started. During the months since, I have been brought low, depressed, and more anxious than I have ever been in my life. I have desired to quit just about everything in my life. But God’s grace has been, is, and always will be sufficient. So, now being on this side of that rough patch leaves me boasting only about Him – I can surely testify that the strength provided and victory were His because all I had in me was quit.

What about you?

Are you satisfied with the idea of heaven apart from Jesus? Would you rather have a mansion and immediate release from your earthly troubles rather than be in the presence of God and experience His sufficient grace? These are difficult questions, but they are necessary ones. God is big enough and strong enough for our questions. His loving-kindness can withstand and carry us through our darkest days and nights. His mercies and sufficient grace are enough to get us through whatever thorns tear at us. That’s good news! And I needed to hear it today – as much or more than when I first studied it four months ago. I hope it helps you as well.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 12:1–10.

^[2] General revelation “about God’s existence, character, and moral law is given to all people; it is seen through nature, God’s historical works, and an inner sense that God has placed in everyone” and “called ‘general revelation’ because it is given to all people in general”. Special revelation is “God’s revelation to specific people”. “The Bible is special revelation and so are the direct messages from God to the prophets and others as recorded in the Bible’s historical stories.” (Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 18)

^[3] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2096.

^[4] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 68.

^[5] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[6] Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 19.

^[7] Zodhiates

Refresh & Restore — January 11, 2023

¹I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. ³And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— ⁶though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.^[1]
2 Corinthians 12:1-10

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

This week’s devotion is for me. I have been looking at this passage for a couple of weeks now and am so thankful that it exists! I need this.

But it is for you, too! We all need to be reminded of Jesus’ words here.

And there’s even better news: I aim to be brief in this week’s Bible study! The spring semester of school is well underway, and my classes at William Carey are back in full swing. So, I have several irons in the fire at the moment. This is important, though – too important to go unsaid, too necessary for me to say.

I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

A Thorn in the Flesh (vv. 1-7)

When I say purposefully unclear, I mean that the Holy Spirit obviously did not decide to give us the specific details regarding the content of the “visions and revelations of the Lord” (v. 1), what it means to be “caught up to the third heaven” (v. 2 – and which Paul himself did not know whether it was “in the body or out of the body”), what it means to be “caught up into paradise” (v. 3 – which Paul states only “God knows”). If I were to give my best and most theologically sound interpretation of these things, it would be two-fold: 1) I don’t know, and 2) it cannot be (fully) known.

It is okay to say “I don’t know” when it comes to Bible interpretation. That does not mean we do not need to study or that it is not okay to dig into God’s Word to search for answers. Those are good and valuable things. But it is important to be able to be honest about what we do not know or understand, especially if the alternative is to teach or proclaim things that may be untrue or dangerously heretical.

Some might balk at my saying that it cannot be fully known, but we are limited to what God has given us in His Word – and rightly so! The Bible contains everything that can be known about God. There are commentaries galore, but they are written by men. Peter’s second letter deals with this at length in a section that immediately precedes a section on how dangerous false teachers are. Look at this passage from 2 Peter talking about the importance of the revelation of God found in His Word versus the direction men (or women) may take it:

And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:19-21

So, here is what is plain or clear in verses 1-7 and therefore main or important.

Paul was given visions of “surpassing greatness” (v. 7). Based on the context (“third heaven” and “paradise)”, he was given some sort of glimpses into heaven.
These visions were so great that Paul wished to boast about and that took great pains to keep him from boasting. Paul had written earlier to the church at Corinth about the dangers of such boasting, explaining that is why God chooses “what is low and despised in the world…so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29) and reminding them – and apparently himself – of the Lord’s words in Jeremiah 9:23-24: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.”
Paul was given “a thorn in the flesh” to “keep [him] from becoming conceited”. There are three main categories that interpretations of this “thorn” fall into: “(1) spiritual or psychological anxiety (such as anguish over Israel’s stubborn unbelief); (2) opposition to his ministry or message; and (3) a recurring and tormenting physical malady”.^[2] Scholars and theologians find reasons in the text for all three. I have speculations but find no value in sharing those with you here. What is clear is that God allowed this “messenger of Satan to harass” Paul just as He allowed similar with Job – just for different reasons. It is the same God who decided not to give us more information in this section of Scripture. I trust Him and His wisdom.

The good news, especially for us in this Bible study is that what comes after verses 1-7 is clear and plain and, therefore, important and main!

Sufficient Grace (vv. 8-10)

Whatever the “thorn in the flesh” was, it was so bad that Paul says that he “pleaded with the Lord” about it three times that it would “leave” him (v. 8). The word translated “plead” means to “call for or upon someone as for aid, to invoke God, to beseech, entreat”.^[3] Paul was literally begging God to make this “thorn”, this “messenger of Satan” that was harassing him to go away – because God was the only one who could make it go away! Apparently, Jesus’ answer was a different one than Paul was looking for: no.

I know something of struggling and begging God to take the struggle away. I also know a little bit about the answer being no. Thankfully, Paul’s “no” carried with it an explanation. Paul’s “no” got a verbal answer from Jesus (notice the red letters). Rather than taking away this thorn (which again was allowed by God) was: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Rather than immediate – or eventual since we do not know if this thorn was ever removed – relief, Jesus told Paul that He would supply the strength to endure the thorn, that sufficient grace would be provided in his moments of need.

This may not seem like good news since we live in an era where immediate gratification is what many people are seeking, but it is truly good news. I am not saying this out of some sense of religious hocus pocus. When I cry out for God to rescue me from a struggle that has plagued and harassed me, I want immediate deliverance, too! I begged Him for relief earlier today and earnestly hoped that the malady would leave me right then and there. But it didn’t. It didn’t immediately go away, and it will be back. Paul’s “thorn” would not go away, but neither would Jesus! Jesus – Emmanuel (“God with us”) – would meet Paul’s weakness and provide sufficient – enough to overcome and get through – grace and strength to carry Paul through! Jesus meets me in my struggle and stays with me. He provides the same sufficient grace for you and me today.

Paul pleaded and begged and received more than a response from Jesus; he received the presence of Jesus and the full strength of God Himself to overcome the struggle! I hate my struggles. I hate being weak. More often than not, I find myself feeling hopeless when the struggles linger and return. But I am so thankful that in the midst of struggle, I find the presence of God. I find His strength. I find grace sufficient to do more than survive but to live and thrive in Christ. I find new mercies (Lamentations 3:22-23). I, like Paul, find Jesus.

The good thing for us is that we do not have to wait for a word from the Lord to intervene. The words – those red letters – in today’s passage are spoken to us as well. We don’t have to wait for God to speak because He has spoken!

Paul just thought that the visions he had were of surpassing greatness, but through the sufficient and continual grace of Jesus he grew to understand that there was something better than even the best visions. Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi came at the end of his life, shortly before his death (by martyrdom). He did not talk to them of a thorn or visions. He spoke to them of the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ [his] Lord” (Philippians 3:7). He explained to the church at Philippi and to us that everything he had previously boasted in – his Hebrew heritage, his Pharisaical pedigree, his exorbitant education, and even his most-valued visions – was equivalent now and counted by him as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8). For context, the word translated “rubbish” was the word used to describe “refuse of grain, chaff, or of a table, of slaughtered animals, of dung, and figuratively of the filth of the mind”.^[4]

I want you to think about what these visions likely showed Paul and what this statement means. Paul’s vision was one of heaven – of paradise! But it paled in comparison to the “surpassing worth” of Jesus! Heaven, without Jesus, (pardon the crass language here) is crap. Read that again. Heaven without Jesus is nothing. A Jesus-less heaven is worthless – as the kids say, “straight trash”. Does that seem odd to you? If it does, you are boasting in the wrong things!

Paul was at risk of boasting in the wrong things in our passage today, but by the grace of God, he received a thorn. The Lord allowed something bad to bring about the grace to help Paul boast only in Christ. What did not seem like a blessing – and definitely would not have been had it not been for Christ – was a blessing because of the grace given to Paul to withstand. The question for us, and honestly the question I have to ask myself often, is whether or not I can be satisfied with the grace and presence of Christ in the face of continued difficulty.

Wrapping Up

What about you?

These are difficult questions, but they are necessary ones. They are questions that I struggle with as I plead for relief. But God is big enough and strong enough for our questions. His loving-kindness can withstand and carry us through our doubts. His mercies and sufficient grace are enough to get us through whatever thorns tear at us.

I pray that I can boast like Paul did at the end of today’s passage that he was able to be “content” – to “be well–pleased”^[5] – in “weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities” because when he was weak, he was strong because of Jesus’ sufficient grace. I am not there yet, but there is sufficient grace to get me there eventually. That’s good news! And I needed to hear it today. I hope it helps you as well.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 12:1–10.

^[2] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2096.

^[3] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[4] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[5] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022

¹⁷ Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
they will see a land that stretches afar.
¹⁸ Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
¹⁹ You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
²⁰ Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
²¹ But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
²² For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
the Lord is our king; he will save us.^[1]
Isaiah 33:17-22

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

It’s that time of year again. Lord willing, a new year approaches. We have just moved out of a time of eating and gathering, and now, we move on to a time of resolutions and restarts.

For some, this is a time of regret, looking back over a year that just did not seem to go their way. For others, it is a time of remembering loss. And for some, although this seems to be the smallest group, this is a time of looking back at achievement and growth while looking forward to whatever challenges and victories await them on the horizons of 2023.

I am not quite sure which group I fall into regarding 2023, but I do know that my outlook regarding the future is changing.

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, I had big plans. I was with the love of my life, and anything seemed possible. We were setting out to achieve our goals. She was going to be a pharmacist. I was going to be a teacher. We would get married and use her (much higher) income to pay off whatever student loans we incurred in pursuit of our goals while living off my salary. Once the loans were paid off, we would buy a nice house, fill it with kiddos, and I would head towards my Ph.D. and becoming a principal. From there, the sky, and my ambition, would be the limit.

Out of that list, I am blessed to get to still be with the love of my life, and we have filled a much smaller and less nice house with two kiddos. I cannot fathom what my life would be like with out them. I did eventually become a teacher, but neither a Ph.D. nor becoming a principal are ambitions anymore.

There was a time when these changes were regrets, like ghosts of Christmas future. But God’s plan has been much better than mine. My wife did not become a pharmacist because she got to realize she was a gifted teacher. Her impact on children (with math, no less) is incalculable. I became (and quit and became again) a pastor. My time in the classroom, although it took a decade to get there, meant and means more to me than any of the hypotheticals or the draw of being wealthier ever had. The allure of such things is no longer there.

I get to be a husband. I get to be a daddy. I get to serve the Lord as a teacher, pastor, and even a writer. If the Lord tarries His return, I look forward to whatever He lets me do, and I am excited to follow Him – an excitement that was missing in my earlier ambitions. But more than all those things, I look forward to His return. I look forward to that day when the clouds will part and Jesus will return for His bride, the Church. I anxiously await the return of the King!

The King is Coming (vv. 17-20)

In Isaiah 33, God was using His prophet to deliver the promise of some woes against Israel’s foes and peace to His people. Assyria was and had been waylaying Israel, but God was coming to their rescue. It is important to note that this rescue is not because of the righteous way in which Israel worshipped and followed the Lord. No, this rescue is in spite of their unrighteous rebellion against Him. Much of Isaiah is written prophesying the eventual downfall of Israel and Judah and their eventual capture by and captivity in Babylon. Even with that future coming, this rescue is a picture of the love that God had for His people – and has – despite their rebellion and idolatry.

Isaiah 33:1-2 set the stage and give context for our passage for today:

¹Ah, you destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed,
you traitor,
whom none has betrayed!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.
²O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.^[2]

Isaiah was declaring this on behalf of the Lord over Assyria, but He was also praying on behalf of the people to the Lord that they would receive grace in their time of need.

The problem is that Israel did not take the words of God’s prophet warning them of their own future seriously. God had told them through Isaiah what was coming. They knew what the Lord said about sin and what His Law said about it. Isaiah’s ministry telling people “Thus saith the word of the Lord” lasted thirty-nine years and was filled with calls to repentance and pleading with God’s people to listen to what God was saying and look to Him. All that got Isaiah was a martyr’s death (Hebrews 11:32, 37) at the hands of His people, at the hands of God’s people.^[3] Yet here, he asked God to give them grace. He asked God to be their strength “every morning” and to be their “salvation in the time of trouble”. And, consistent to who He is, God was “gracious and merciful” to Israel while pouring out His strength on Assyria; He was “slow to anger” toward His people despite their idolatry because He is always “abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 145:8).

Isaiah’s prophecy here stretches beyond the conflict with and rescue from Assyria. It even stretches beyond Babylon, which was only a few decades away on the horizon. He told them what their eyes “will behold” despite what their heart will “muse” on and their eyes could currently see. Their hearts were musing – meaning their thoughts were absorbed – on terror because that is what they were currently experiencing. They failed to look toward what Isaiah was telling them because their eyes currently beheld the “insolent people” who rained “terror” down on them. Isaiah wanted them to “set their minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2) and see what came beyond their field of vision. He wanted them to “behold the King in His beauty”!

Isaiah was not talking about any earthly king of Israel or Judah. The people would have long since been over the allure of their earthly kings because they had suffered – and would suffer again – because of their foolish and idolatrous pursuits. The best of their kings was plagued by the same sin and faults as the people. David, Solomon, and Josiah all suffered injuries and loss at the hands of their enemies, too, with no ability within themselves to turn the tide of battle. And David, “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), was still a sinner who fell “short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) just as all men do. Isaiah was talking about the King!

While Isaiah did not know fully what He was talking about, we can now. He was talking about the “Child” who would come to shine a “great light” on “the people who dwelt in a land of deep darkness” (Isaiah 9:2, 6). He was talking about the “man of sorrows” who would bear “our griefs”, carry our “sorrows”, get “pierced for our transgressions”, and be “crushed for our iniquities” – the one whose “wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5). He was talking about the Savior who was coming in their future, Him who would be “gentle and lowly” (Matthew 11:29) and “give His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He was talking about the King who would enter Jerusalem, greeted by palm branches and cries of “Hosanna!” and “King of Israel!” (John 12:13) a week before He “died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures”, who “was buried”, who “was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). In fact, it was because God’s Holy Spirit spoke through Isaiah that Paul spoke of when He said, “in accordance with the Scriptures” (Isaiah 53)!

Neither Israel nor Isaiah could understand then, but God used Isaiah to point them to a greater hope in Jesus than they could imagine – greater than the threat the Assyrians were that day or than Nebuchadnezzar would be in their near future. The eyes of God’s people will eventually see “the King in His beauty”. Their eyes will a new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-11) that will be “untroubled” (v. 20) and truly a city of peace because it will be graced with the presence of the “Prince of peace” and because of whom “the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:7).

Those who trust in Christ today need to keep in mind that our “eyes will behold the King in His beauty”. We “will see a land that stretches afar”.

The King Will Save Us (vv. 20-22)

Verse 21 starts with the phrase “But there”, speaking of the Jerusalem of the future. The conjunction “but” carries in it everything that comes before and cancels it out in favor of what comes after it. In this case, the before is different than the descriptions of this new Jerusalem found in vv. 20-21. What it says would be “there” will cancel out what is there at the time Isaiah was written.

Israel, namely Judah, during the time of Isaiah 33, could celebrate all the “appointed feasts” in Jerusalem, but there would be a time coming after Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem that no feasts – not Passover, the feast of tabernacles, etc. – would be observed. For a few centuries after they returned from Babylonian exile, they could observe the appointed feasts, but they would gradually morph into celebrations that are pale imitations of what is laid out in the Bible. Even today, there is much turmoil in Jerusalem and many who claim to be children of Abraham but who have denied His Christ, His Messiah. But there will come a day when a greater feast will be celebrated – the “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9)!

Isaiah speaks of the future Jerusalem as being “an immovable tent”. In the wilderness, God’s people did not have a temple but a tabernacle. It was portable and crude compared to Solomon’s temple – even the temple after Babylonian captivity or Herod’s temple. When God moved His people around in the wilderness, they would take up its stakes and cords and move it, too. Later, Israel rejoiced greatly when the tabernacle was replaced with the temple. The temple was not meant to be portable and did not need cords or stakes to hold it down.

Both the tabernacle and temple represented the presence of the Lord. Both held the holy of holies hidden behind a veil where the ark of the covenant – and the Mercy Seat – was kept. This was the representation of the throne of God where atonement was made for the sins of Israel. Yet the temple turned out to be as movable as the tabernacle. It was destroyed by the Babylonians, rebuilt after the return from exile, and destroyed again in 70AD. There is currently no temple. Well, a temple does reside on the temple mount, but it is the Dome of the Rock and devoted to Allah instead of Yahweh.

That is the sad reality of those looking to the current Jerusalem to be their hope. There is no hope in Jerusalem today nor has there been in nearly two millennia.

What Isaiah was talking about here in Isaiah 33 was better than the tabernacle or temple because he is pointing to what the holy of holies pointed to: the presence of God in Jesus! In Jesus, God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). That phrase “dwelt” (Gr. eskenosen) can be translated “to have one’s tent” or to tabernacle.^[4] God left His throne on high and came to tabernacle with His people! Look at the significance of this in Matthew 27:50-51:

⁵⁰And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

⁵¹And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.^[5]

When Jesus – God become flesh – died on the cross, the curtain (veil) separating the holy of holies from the rest of the temple was ripped “from top to bottom” (see footnote [6] for some cool word-nerdiness). Man had access to God as never before because God came to them! That’s good news! Jesus tabernacling with His people means that He is the “immovable tent”!

But there’s greater news yet! Look at the way Revelation 21:1-5 describes the Day we will “behold the King in His beauty”:

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”^[7]

That is the place Isaiah spoke of where “there the Lord in His majesty will be for us”. It is a land where none of the troubles of the earth can reach us – even the most advanced and dangerous “galley with oars” or “majestic ship” of the most terrible enemy – because the King will have already struck down the nations and “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15)! This is the Day when all of the sad things of this earth come untrue because God will be dwelling with His people. The eyes that were once blurry with tears will be able to look upon the King face to face!

Wrapping Up

I do not know if these words were a comfort for Israel during this time. I know the Assyrians were sent packing and were unable to overtake Israel. By Isaiah’s day (which was also Jeremiah’s, Amos’, etc.), their idolatry had already reached a point of no return. The Father had promised punishment for their sake and was to fulfill His word to them. They, just like our children, had a penchant for ignoring warnings of punishment until it is too late or forgetting former punishments after their sting has faded. What about us?

There is no shortage of troubles. And no matter our plans or hopes for 2023, the only sure hope is that there will be a day when we “behold the King in His beauty”. But we have yet to deal with v. 22: “For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver; the Lord is our King; He will save us.” If we belong to Him – if we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus, that is good news for us.

When He comes to judge, He will see Jesus’ righteousness instead of our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 2:1-2). Jesus came to fulfill the Law because we cannot (Galatians 4:4-5), so our faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:2-4).

When Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords on that glorious future Day (Revelation 19:11-16), His enemies will fall, but those who have been redeemed – purchased – and reconciled by the death of Christ will no longer be enemies but part of His Kingdom (Romans 5:9-10)!

I am reminded of the words of one of my favorite hymns that is based out of today’s passage:

“I know I shall see in His beauty / The King in whose Law I delight / Who lovingly guards my footsteps / And gives me songs in the night // Redeemed, redeemed / Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb / Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it / His child and forever I am!”

So, today’s Bible study can either be good news for you or bad – not both. Just as there will be days in 2023 that are good or bad, the Day of the Lord will only be good if you can look forward to the coming of the King. If you have been redeemed, then you can look forward to seeing “the King in His beauty”, but if you do not know Him, you get the rider on the white horse – the full wrath of God in His might and strength. A few decades after today’s passage, there were people who understood this more than they had hoped. They stopped receiving grace and mercy and experienced wrath. The saving and powerful hand of God was lifted, and Nebuchadnezzar was allowed into Israel. What will it be for you?

But for those whose boast is in being redeemed by the King…. Their entire life is altered changed because of what He has done for them and in them. His Spirit dwells within them, and He is on the throne interceding on their behalf. And His return is promised.

But just because He has not yet returned does not mean He is distant. Just as God became flesh and tore the veil that separated us from Him, He is still approachable today! No other king on the face of the earth gives access to all his subjects. Even the prime minister of England cannot waltz into Buckingham Palace, roll into King Charles’ private quarters, and merely ask him for whatever he needs. There are protocols. He is the king of England, after all. But the King gives His people access.

In Hebrews 4:16, we are told: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We can fix our eyes upward where He is and look forward to His return, but in the meantime, He gives us access to Him on His throne! The grace Isaiah prayed for is available to us today. All we must do is approach.

That is my prayer for you and yours, me and mine, in 2023. I want every day that the Lord tarries to be one of anticipating His return. I want my actions, hopes, and desires to be dripping with longing for Him and obedience to His great commandment and commission. I want my life to exude gospel at every opportunity. But I am so thankful that the King is available in my waiting.

I know there will be days when I will fail and be filled with doubts and fears, but I also know that I can approach His throne with confidence because I know it is not empty.

The King who sits there cares for me. He is approachable. He has the grace and mercy I need and will give it to me when I need it.

The King redeemed me, loves me, and is coming again. Hallelujah! And amen!

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 33:17–22.

^[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Is 33:1–2.

[3] Donald E. Hartley, “Isaiah the Prophet,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

^[4] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 27:50–51.

[6] But wait, there’s more! In case you like interesting tidbits (or are nerdy like me), there is another layer to this. In Hebrews 9, the writer of Hebrews is describing the elements of the tabernacle/temple in order to show how Jesus is the substance to their shadow. The mercy seat was on the lid of the ark of the covenant and was representative of the throne of God. It is where the priest would sprinkle the blood each year on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement). The word translated “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5 (hilasterion) is only used in that form one other place in the NT. In Romans 3:25, it is translated “propiatiation” – the sacrifice made to trade our sins for Jesus’ righteousness! Written right into the fabric of Scripture by God’s Holy Spirit is the beautiful truth of Emmanuel – God with us – showing us that Jesus is the mercy seat and He is the sacrifice!

^[7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Re 21:1–5.

Refresh & Restore — November 23, 2022

¹¹On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance ¹³and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”^[1]
Luke 17:11-19

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

It’s been too long! But I’m glad to be back studying God’s Word with you!

I’ve been writing – just a different sort of writing. As I have said before, I am blessed to be a part of the Masters of Christian Theology program at William Carey University. It has not been easy, but it has been a blessing to me. As bad as I hate to admit it, I have lost a step or two since I was last in school (as a student), but it has been good to grow in my understanding of the Word of God and in theology; it’s even been good to grow as a writer through the (many) research papers.

While I have, unfortunately, been a little more hit-or-miss in the writings here, that is something that I hope will be remedied between now and when I graduate – and definitely beyond if the Lord allows. I have enjoyed our time spent studying Colossians, but we are going to pause that study for the time being. In the meantime, I will shift the writings between now and graduation to dive into passages that fit into and overlap with passages I am diving into either in personal devotional time or in my studies for Christ Community or at Carey.

Even as I look at how to better maximize my time and strategize to use it more effectively, I am thankful to get to be a part of all I get to do. I get to be a follower of Christ. I get to be a husband. I get to be a father. I get to teach and write and serve. I am even thankful for the time I must schedule all these aspects of my life.

This week is a time set aside in America for one to be thankful. The fourth Thursday in November is supposed to be a holiday devoted to celebrating all we have to be thankful for. Since the invention of social media, some challenge themselves to find and commemorate something they are thankful for every day in the month of November. Part of me thinks that it is sad that we need to be reminded to be thankful, but the rest of me knows just how selfish I am and that, left to my own, I will neglect to be grateful. Maybe you don’t need reminding, but I find that I do.

Today, I would like to look with you to God’s Word at a passage that reminded me to be thankful and convicted me of my own lack of thankfulness.

Meeting the Master and Finding Mercy (vv. 11-14)

Any time I study a passage in the latter half of Luke, I cannot help but think of Luke 9:51: When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. That phrase “set His face” could also be translated “he steadfastly set his face to go”^[2]. This describes Jesus’ attitude and mindset when the end of His life was drawing near, knowing full well that the cross is why He was headed to Jerusalem. You see, He was not caught off-guard by His crucifixion. Luke’s gospel records this as the moment of Jesus “turned to Jerusalem to complete his work through the predicted betrayal, death, and resurrection.”^[3]

This is important because it highlights that His sacrifice was willing. The fact that “He set His face” illustrates that He was resolutely focused on getting there. It brings to mind the sort of focus that an Olympic athlete has when preparing to compete. They focus only on things that are necessary to carry out that goal. Jesus, however, did not stop doing what He came to do – seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10), which is what He was going to the cross to do! So, the encounters He had with those who needed saving were not random encounters or detours, they were part of His mission.

Jesus and His disciples were, as we saw in Luke 9:51, still “on the way to Jerusalem” (v. 11) when they encountered ten lepers. Leprosy meant that these men would have had to declare that they had leprosy when approaching other people by crying out “Unclean, unclean!” (Leviticus 13:45-46) so that 1) people would not come into contact with the infected person^[4] and 2) those concerned with being clean according to the Law would be made aware so they would not become unclean.

Leprosy was a catch-all term in the New Testament that referenced any skin disease from the period, but it is safe to say, regardless of the level of severity, that these men had been ostracized and at a distance from society for some time. They would have been unable to work or socialize with others, even family. They would feel isolated and alone. More than that, they were isolated and alone. When these men saw Jesus, they respectfully kept their distance, but they ceased their cries of “unclean” to cry out to Jesus: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (vv. 12-13).

Time and again, those who are outcast and downcast found their way to Jesus seeking help from Him. These particular outcasts asked Him for mercy. The word translated “mercy” here meant “to have compassion or mercy on a person in unhappy circumstances” or “to be gracious toward [or] bestow kindness”.^[5] This request for mercy would have been the same whether they were asking for charity or alms or to be healed, so it is difficult to tell exactly what they were seeking. They found more charity than they could have ever hoped to receive.

No matter what they were seeking, they were likely confused by Jesus’ response. He did not toss them a coin or lay hands on them for healing. He didn’t even make mud and rub it on them (John 9:6) or tell them to bathe in the Jordan (2 Kings 5). He simply told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” If they had been familiar with the Law, they would have recognized that this was what those who were cleansed of leprosy were told to do in Leviticus 14:1-32 – to go and show themselves to the priest so that he could confirm they were clean and make an offering for their guilt and atonement for their sin. When the text says, “as they went” (v. 14), it shows that the men – all ten of them – departed to go to the priest. They had faith. Or at the very least belief or held to 1^st century Judaism.

Nothing miraculous had happened to spark their journey, merely the command of Him from whom they sought mercy. But after they headed out on their journey, the miracle happened. They were cleansed. The sores on their skin were healed, yes, but something more happened. They were cleansed. Those who had just moments before needed to cry out “unclean” when they approached others were made clean by Jesus. They did not need lengthy washings or offerings by a priest because they had been cleansed by the God those priests served. Those ten men’s lives were changed in a moment. But the heart of one was touched more than the other nine.

Gratitude and Grace (vv. 15-19)

I cannot imagine what those men must have felt in their hearts – and in their bodies! It is important for us to look at the distinctions between the one and the nine in this narrative. Before we judge the nine too harshly, it is important to note as we did in v. 14 that they likely were heading exactly where Jesus had told them to go – to the priest. They were being obedient to Jesus and to the Law. The one who turned back would have had a hard time fulfilling that command, though, because he was a Samaritan.

All my life, I have heard the issue with Samaritans oversimplified to say that there was simply a sort of racial tension between Jewish people and those from Samaria. They have a long history of division. The Samaritans are largely the descendants of people brought in to colonize the region when the Assyrians conquered the land.^[6] Those inhabitants were later educated in the Law after God had sent lions into the land to attack them (2 Kings 17:25-26) and some intermarrying occurred with the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.^[7] They claimed the same or at least similar beliefs as their Jewish relatives, but they had different holy places and places of worship. So, the tensions over ethnicity are accompanied and highlighted by the religious differences. The Samaritans were not accepted by Jewish people.

A leper would have been ostracized, but a Samaritan leper would have been a total outcast. So, for the Master (v. 13) to show such grace apparently made quite an impact. Ten lepers were cleansed. Nine Jewish former-lepers went to show themselves to the priest like Jesus commanded them. But only one stopped to thank Jesus. In fact, saying that he stopped to thank Jesus is an understatement. Look at what the text says. He saw that he was healed, turned back to where Jesus was, praised God, fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, and thanked Him (vv. 15-16).

Imagine what led this man to have such a reaction – a potentially incurable and infectious skin disease, seeking charity in a foreign land that is hostile to you and your people. Then, he encountered the One from whom mercy could be found. Imagine the feeling when looking down at your hands, expecting them to be covered in sores and boils but seeing clear skin. You would still have to go to present yourself to the priest, but Jesus was still standing there. Being cleared by the priest would mean you could go back to your life, but the One who healed you is right there.

What we see as a display of thankfulness was an act of worship for this man. What does that say for our thankfulness for what God has done for us?

Jesus asked the man some important questions: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” What can he ask of us?

Jesus knew the man’s heart. He knew what he meant when he asked for mercy. And He knew what drove the man to his face at His feet in praise and thanksgiving. Rather than showing himself before a priest, this man laid himself down at the feet of the Great High Priest. Jesus told the man, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Amen.

Wrapping Up

I asked you to imagine what the man must have been feeling, but, if you are in Christ, you know. If you are in Christ, you were formerly outcast (Ephesians 2:12). You were formerly not His people (1 Peter 2:10). You were His enemy (Romans 5:10). And you were dead in your sin (Ephesians 2:1-2, Colossians 2:13). Any of those are hopeless, but all of them leaves one desperate and despondent. Or it leaves one callous and defiant (Ephesians 4:17-19).

If you are in Christ, that means that you have been saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). You did nothing to save yourself (Ephesians 2:9). In fact, you were and are completely incapable of saving yourself (Romans 3:10-12). Jesus did it all (Titus 3:4-5). When you respond to Christ by believing that He died for your sins and was raised again and confessed Him as your Lord (Romans 10:9-10), a transformation takes place (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). The outcast is brought near (Ephesians 2:13). Not-His-people becomes His people (1 Peter 2:9-10). His enemy is adopted into His family (Romans 5:8-11, Galatians 4:4-6). And the dead is made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:13-14).

If that is true of you, does it move you to worship? Does it move you to gratitude? When is the last time that you cast yourself on your face before God and thanked Him for His love and grace and mercy?

Religion does not produce such a reaction.

When John the Baptist sent His disciples to Jesus to make sure He was the Messiah, Jesus answered them by paraphrasing Isaiah 29:18-19 and 35:5-10: “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the good news preached to them.” This answer satisfied John, and it points us to who Jesus is and what He does. He is the God who saves! One thing is for sure, dear Sojourner, the ones who can now see or walk who couldn’t before, the ones who were cleansed from their leprosy or given the ability to hear, those who were dead and are now alive – they are grateful! What does it say for me if I am not?

I needed this reminder. It is so easy to forget sometimes what it was to be lost, what it was to be dead in my sins. But there is a Savior who has earned my gratitude. He is worthy of better worship than I can offer.

I urge you to examine your heart – not because tomorrow is the fourth Thursday in November but because encountering Jesus produces a response. Encountering Him either drives us to repent of our sins and put our trust in Him or to vehemently deny Him. There is no middle ground. The good news is that if you find that you are not saved, He is still the God who saves! And I would love to help you encounter Him today.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Lk 17:11–19.

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

^[3] Trent C. Butler, Luke, vol. 3, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 151.

^[4] Brenda Heyink, “Leprosy,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

^[5] Zodhiates

^[6] Robert T. Anderson, “Samaritans,” ed. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 941.

^[7] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Samaritans,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1886.

Refresh & Restore — September 8, 2022

⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.^[1]
Colossians 3:9-11

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

When we first started in these devotions a few years ago, all we had was an opportunity to help people dive more deeply into God’s Word and a desire to make that possible. We have, for the most part, been able to keep that going on a weekly basis, but for the next little while that will not be possible. Our desire has not changed. We still want to give opportunity to help people study God’s Word. The study that makes it possible sometimes requires a bit more time than life offers.

Part of that study will be completed in May. As I have mentioned before, I am getting to be part of a Master of Theology program at William Carey University. I began this past February and am thankful for all I have learned, am learning, and will learn before it is over (as well as continue to learn as these skills are applicable for the rest of my life). But that level of study, especially as a husband, father, teacher, pastor, and aspiring writer, takes time – time that takes me away from writing Bible studies like these, but time that also better equips me to write them.

Please, do not take this as complaining. I am thankful to get to do everything God allows! However, I am definitely learning my own limitations as He grows me more into who He is making me to be.

Having said all that, I am glad to be back in our study of Colossians, especially as we transition out of what we once were in our trespasses and sins (dead) and into looking at what new life in Christ is meant to look like.

When a person comes to Christ, more happens than simply joining a church or walking an aisle. Everyone who is not in Christ is dead in their sin (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1-2) no matter their religious affliliation. So for us to say that we have new life in Christ recognizes 1) that the old has gone/died and 2) there should be a marked difference in the new because that which was dead now lives through Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5)! When Paul transitions in our passage today from taking off the sins of the old life to putting on Christ, he is doing more than talking about behaviors; he is showing the Colossians what the new life in Christ is supposed to be like (and what it is not).

Seeing That You Have Put Off the Old Self with Its Practices (vv. 9-10)

The last of the sins Paul told the Colossian believers to “put…away” in verse 8 was to put away “obscene talk from [their mouths]”. In verse 9, he tells them not to “lie to one another, seeing that [they] have put off the old self with its practices” (emphasis added). You can see here that this is more than morality and the monitoring and modifying of behavior – it is about the “new self” (v. 10).

Too often, Christians and church-folks^[2]put either too much or a wrong emphasis on behavior, so, for us to understand what Paul is talking to them about, it may be helpful for us to first clarify what we are not talking about.

Church-folks worry a lot about the way behaviors look. They hurry up and stop arguing as they pull in the church parking lot. They have expectations about the way that people carry themselves while at church, too. They think no cussing should occur in the church building; no obscene talk in there. If a lost person comes into the building, they want them to learn how to act and behave because the image of being sanctified or reverent or holy is more important than being sanctified, reverent, or holy. They are a caricature of Jesus said the Pharisees were like: “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). Basically, they want to look like they have been changed by Jesus – look like they have new life – when they are actually still dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-2, Colossians 2:13).

If they were to repent of their sins and seek Jesus, everyone would know that they are not perfect. Everyone would know they are sinners. If this describes you, I hate to tell you, but people already know. Church-folks ain’t fooling anyone.

What Paul is telling the Colossians when he says “you have put off the old self with its practices” (v. 9) is a reminder that they have encountered Jesus. It is a reminder that they do not have to live like dead men and women because Jesus has made them alive! That would be like Jesus coming back to Bethany to visit Lazarus after he had been raised (John 11, 12:1) and finding him hanging out back at the tomb. That would be foolish, right? No, after Lazarus had been called out of death and hopped out of the tomb, Jesus found him in the house reclining at the dinner table (John 12:2). He was eating and hanging out. He was alive and no longer dead because Jesus made him alive (John 11:43-44, Ephesians 2:4-5)!

What about you?

Has Jesus made you alive, or are you still dead in your sins? Are you trying to convince others that you are not a sinner or yourself?

Paul wanted the Colossians to be reminded that they have “put on the new self” – that who they are after coming to Christ is “being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (v. 10). Everything that sin has done, is doing, and will do since the Fall (Genesis 3) has effectively marred how man bears God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). When Jesus saves us – when He brings us from death to eternal life in Him, He begins correcting that image. We go from looking like the world, little-by-little and day-by-day, to looking like Him again. The longer we walk with Him the more significant the change!

That’s good news!

Here There is Not…. (v. 11)

Think about all of the categories and labels that Paul lists in verse 11 and how that compares to the image of God: Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free. Each of those words was a worldly description of somebody in the church at Colossae. Some of those categories were even Biblical or are part of the unique and beautiful way that God created that person. Others came from the way that other men had labeled them to either belittle or marginalize them. But none of them compare to what it is to be in Christ!

Those who are in Christ are His (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Titus 2:14). They have been adopted into His family (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:5). The labels and categories that are so emphasized here on earth just cannot compare to belonging to Him – to being alive in Him. That is why Paul tells them that their ethnicity, their religious affiliation and practices, their nationality, or even whether they are free or owned by another person pales in comparison to “Christ [being] all, and in all” (v. 11).

There will not be a gate for entrance into heaven for American Christians, Evangelical Christians, Catholics, or Protestants. Their will not be gates per ethnicity or culture. Those are qualifications sinful people make up to either lift themselves up, tear others down, or some mixture thereof. No, in heaven there will be none of that foolishness! I love the beautiful picture from John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 7:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
Revelation 7:9-10

Everyone will be together. All those who are in Christ will stand before His throne. He will be the focus. Amen!

He is either “all, and in all” – or He ain’t. To paraphrase Ricky Bobby: if Jesus ain’t first, He’s last.

Wrapping Up

Since today’s verses are transitioning from our last passage to what comes next, I am afraid that this might have come across a bit disjointed, so I want to clear things up a bit. To do so, there are two statements my pastor John Goldwater has made at Christ Community Church recently that stand out in my mind as I write this. Let me paraphrase them for you:

There was a Sunday a while back where we had a noticeably large group of visitors. During the announcements, he told them that if they had come to Christ Community looking to see their social status raised by attending or are looking for some sort of worldly benefit they had come to the wrong place. He told them all we had to offer was Jesus and His gospel and that those looking for social capital would never find it with us.
He is preaching through Matthew and was going through the passage where the Pharisees were angry at Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:1-14). As he talked about how the morally-elite and religiously-superior Pharisees were lecturing God Himself on what He should and should not have done, he reminded us that we do not have time to teach people how to act in church because that is all they will learn (acting). No, he reminded us that if we point them to Jesus – if we share His gospel with them, they can learn Christ, be saved, and Jesus will change their lives. All acting will do is teach lost, dead sinners how to hide how dead they are.

What Paul was doing for the Colossian church, and for believers today, is helping them to see that there is supposed to be a difference between those who have been saved – those who are in Christ – those who have been made alive by grace through faith in Christ alone – and those who are still dead. I hope you can see, beloved Sojourner, that there should not even be a comparison here much less confusion. We should be able to easily tell the difference between death and life. We should not be satisfied going back to the cemetery when Jesus is preparing a room for us in the Father’s house (John 14:1-6)!

But, sadly, we allow ourselves to be. “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” (Ephesians 4:20)

If someone taught you to act like a Christian but you have not been born again (John 3), you are dead in your trespasses. No amount of service or behavior or the Academy Award quality acting that even has your grandmama fooled will get you through the gate. Those who are not in Christ will not hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) because they are not His servant. They will cry out that they had preached in the name of Jesus, done mighty works in the name of Jesus, and had even cast out demons in the name of Jesus (Matthew 7:22), but they had never believed in Jesus (Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9-10) – they had never called upon His name to save them (Romans 10:13). No, all acting will get is this declaration from Him: “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

On the other hand, there are those who have called upon Him and have been saved. They have been convicted in their hearts of their sins (Psalm 73:21), repented (Psalm 51), and confessed Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). They were dead, but Jesus made them alive.

They may not always act right, but Jesus is still working on and in them. They need to be reminded like their Colossian brothers and sisters of old to stop doing the sins of the old self and put on Christ and His new life. They need to be reminded to get out of the cemetery and come to the table. They need to be reminded that Jesus has more for them than this world. He has given life and His Spirit to help them live it.

Which describes you?

John was right. No amount of social capital can compare with an encounter with Jesus. And no amount of acting will earn heaven when the credits roll.

I am reminded of my son Xander when he got saved about a month ago. He had asked questions for months and months. He understood that everyone is a sinner and that those who die without believing in Christ go to hell. He knew lots of information and details. The more he asked, the worse he acted. There were times where he was so worried over acting this way or that – over trying to seem like he did not sin at all – that his behavior was worse than it had ever been before. He seesawed between trying to earn salvation and acting like hell until he finally changed his question. Mid-sermon one Sunday morning, he turned around and, instead of asking how to be saved, he asked, “How do you know God will save you?” He was shocked at how simple the answer was: “You do what the Bible says to do to be saved, and you trust God will do what He promised for them.”

He was relieved. None of it depended on him. It all depended on Jesus. I imagine the Colossian church was relieved, too. They did not need to be circumcised because they had been saved. They did not need to act this way or that, or celebrate this religious festival or another, because they had been saved. All they needed was Jesus. And, dear Sojourner, that is all you need as well. If you do not know Him, I would be glad to talk to you or help you find a pastor or believer where you live to sit down with you. If you are part of a church that gives acting lessons over the gospel, I would love to help you find one where the Word of God is open and His gospel offered freely. As always, know that I am praying for you and thankful that the Spirit works through His Word!

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:9–11.

[2] When I say church-folks, I mean religious people who go to church who use the name Christian without actually having been saved. The area of the southeastern United States where I live is inundated with church-folks. Even within my denomination, Southern Baptist, which prides itself on regenerate church membership (fancy seminary term for you must be saved to join the church), there are people who are allowed to join the church for what they bring to the table – for their gifts, talents, or, sadly, the size of their bank account – instead of having been made alive in Christ. This is important to clarify because, despite how it looks to the outside world, a church building full of dead people is not a church. It can’t be because the church is a people not a building or organization. Christ’s church is made up of those He has made alive. Church-folks are something else entirely.

Refresh & Restore — August 18, 2022

⁵Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶On account of these the wrath of God is coming. ⁷In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.^[1]
Colossians 3:5-11

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

What a whirlwind year this has been. I guess it has really been whirlwind season for the past two years! So much has changed – but so much remains the same. Some things have gotten worse, others better, and a whole lot of things have gone from worse to better and back! One thing is certain, the Fall (Genesis 3) is still falling, and those who belong to Christ (Nahum 1:7, Galatians 4:4-5) are feeling the pains and crying out that this world is not our home (Philippians 3:20) and “Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20)!

For all that changes in our lives, unfortunately sin still lingers. For the past two Bible studies in our Jesus Over All study (July 21 and July 28), we have been dealing with the subject of sin and how the Bible teaches that we are to put it to death and take it off. I know that this is not a popular subject, but, if we profess to believe that what the Bible says is true, we need to know what it says and especially know what we do not want to hear from it. Stick with me as we move from today looking at what we need to take off (negative) to walk with Christ to next week when we look at what we need to put on (positive) to be the Church!

We had our introduction to this in the last study, so we will just dive on in today.

As with verses 5-7, we are going to rely on a single lexicon/dictionary (Spiros Zodhiates’ The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament^[2]) and lay out the definition and verses that contain the same word so that we get the full picture and context.

Now You Must Put Them All Away (v.8)

In verses 5-7, there are specific sins listed that were plaguing the church at Colossae (and likely its sister church Laodicea), but the sin in verse 8 seems to be more of a heart-set and mind-set than specific actions. Each of these things can lead to sins like those listed in vv. 5-7 but evidence more of what is going on within a person rather than what is visible in their lives. Also, these are the sins Paul says are sins in which we “too once walked” and lived in but have no place in the new life in Jesus Christ. This is because those who are in Christ have been brought from being dead in their trespasses and sins – again “in which [we] once walked” (Ephesians 2:1-2) – to being “made alive…in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

Those who believe in Christ and confess Him as their Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10) are saved from their sin and the wrath that accompanies it. But it is not a new or a New Testament phenomenon; it goes all the way back to how God showed it would work back in the Old Testament prophecies (Ezekiel 36:26-27):

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

It was made abundantly clear – and continues to be made clear through God’s Word – that one’s life matches one’s spiritual standing. Those who are dead in their trespasses and sins live that out. Jesus Himself clarified in Matthew 15:18 that “what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person”. What is inside will come out! It will come out because the life that comes from believing and learning Jesus (Ephesians 4:20-21) is not a learned set of skills and cannot be faked. Like Ezekiel said above, God puts His Spirit in His people. His Spirit causes His people to walk in His ways. Even the desire to do good comes from Him.

So often the world says, “Fake it ‘till you make it.” Well, dear Sojourner, that just will not cut it with the Christian life because what God does is the genuine article. Just as sure as turkey does not make tasty bacon and tofu will never satisfy like a ribeye, only the divine power of God by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ will produce the genuine article. And we need to be sure that if we are not taking off these things that Paul talks about here and are content to live in them, we are more likely to make a convincing turkey than being a child of God.

Here are those things that the Holy Spirit (through Paul) is telling us does not belong in our lives.

The last in this list is “obscene talk” which essentially goes back to what Jesus said in Matthew 15:18 – what comes out of our mouths evidences what is really in our hearts. And, ultimately, it is the heart that matters. Works do prove faith (James 2:17), but there are those who appear to do good works that fall away.

Wrapping Up

There was a man named Demas who Paul mentions at the end of Colossians. In Colossians 4:14, he tells the church at Colossae that Demas “greets” them just like Luke did. In Philemon (which was mailed with the letter to the Colossians), Paul calls him one of his “fellow workers” (Philemon 24). Yet in 2 Timothy 4:10 when Paul was in his final years and a prisoner in Rome, he reported that Demas, “in love with this present world”, deserted him and went to Thessalonica.

There is a saying in contemporary America that is used to justify whatever a person wants to do, especially things that someone might call sinful: “The heart wants what the heart wants.” It is the verbal equivalent to shrugged shoulders and communicates that people cannot help what they want to do. This is right and wrong. For those who do not know Christ, it is right. They want what they want and can do what they want. One cannot get more lost. Those who are dead in their sin are dead and cannot get dead-er. But the Bible does not leave room for those who profess Christ to take that path.

Demas was able to act like a Christian convincingly. He even convinced Paul and Luke! But he could not hide his heart – eventually he did not want to hide it. 1 John 2:19 tells us that the enduring mark of faith in Christ is whether we continue in the faith – that those who “went out from us” were not “of us” because those who are in Christ continue in the faith until the end. Pretend does not endure. Acting does not endure. But what Jesus does on the inside is long lasting.

So, Sojourner, we have some soul-searching to do.

Jamie Harrison has been teaching through the book of Revelation at Christ Community, and right now we are in the letters from Jesus to the seven churches. One thing that Jamie has done consistently through this section is remind us that Jesus is speaking to us and our churches by His Spirit through the reading and hearing of His Word. And He points to where the Bible gives us application. That is fitting here because we may be tempted to work our way out of any of these sins that are present in our lives. That will not work. We need to fix our eyes on Jesus and repent, trusting in His Spirit to give us what He promised back in Ezekiel 36.

Let Psalm 139:23-24 be our prayer as we look at our own lives and seek to take off these sins – as we desire to love and follow Jesus and not allow our love for our sins draw us away like Demas:

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!

I am praying for you as always and want you to know that you are not alone in the struggle against sin. Sometimes it seems harder to take certain sins off than others but know this: Jesus has paid the penalty for our sin and made a way – the only Way (John 14:6) out of death and into His eternal life. Will you trust Him or continue in sins? Do you love Jesus, or are you in love with this present world? I pray He helps you see which and draws you to Himself.

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:5–11.

^[2] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[3] The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament in the 3^rd-2^nd centuries BC by Jewish scholars who understood Hebrew (and Greek) better than anyone who has lived in the last 1,800 years.

Refresh & Restore — August 11, 2022

²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
²⁸ My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word!^[1]
Psalm 119:27-28

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

I have written in the past regarding struggles that I have, so I will not revisit that here today. In fact, it is my plan to be brief.

It is not often when I am found at a loss for words, but there are a few things that are on my mind as I write this that I want to say – and I hope that it is helpful to someone.

First, it is okay to struggle. It is. The idea that any one of us can be self-sufficient and manage to never have anything overwhelming happen is on one side a pipe-dream and on the other utter foolishness.

I spent too many years in my twenties trying to give the impression that I had it (whatever it is) together. And, in all of that time putting up a façade of strength and resolve, I became more and more prideful, grew to try to rely more on my own strength (which was lacking in the first place), and forgot that complete and total surrender and reliance upon God is the bedrock of faith. We trust in Him because He is God. When we are weak, He is strong. When we are drowning in whatever this fallen world throws on us, He sets our feet on the rock (Psalm 40:2) – He is even the Rock!

Second, there are many people who are struggling. Sometimes, I pride myself in getting to be the guy God uses to help struggling people. I am not so foolish to think that I can fix people’s troubles, but I enjoy getting to point people to the Christ who is my hope – to the God who saves (eternally and in present times of trouble). Over the past few weeks, a sister and some brothers in Christ reminded me that it is good to be helped and not just try to help others. In the midst of some angst, exhaustion, and despair, they helped me like I have helped others. They pointed me to Jesus. They prayed for me. I rejoice that God is not only my Savior but that He has not left me alone. His Spirit never leaves me. And He moved in the hearts of these helpers to help me.

Lastly, there are varieties of struggles that I could not begin to enumerate. But the existence of those struggles does not mean that God is not there. He is. It does not negate the hope that is in Christ for us to struggle. The trials and tribulations of this life is why we “take heart” in the One who “has overcome the world” (John 16:33)!

I know have a dear sister in Christ who has gone through many sorrows and trials over the past few years than many will ever go through in their lifetimes. She has consistently reached out for people to pray and lift her up to the Lord. He hears those prayers. He loves her.

He loves me and you, too.

The verses above appeared in my quiet time yesterday, specifically verse 28, and reminded me of what I do when I find myself overwhelmed. I meditate on God’s Word – not ohmmmmmm with legs crossed, but listening to or reading chunks of God’s Word and let my mind dwell on Him rather than whatever has me bogged down in the moment. As I say this, I feel it necessary to say that this is not a magic cure. His Word is not a series of incantations that force my struggles into submission. This ain’t that. But fixing my mind upon Him, like we have been looking at in Colossians, means that my struggles are in perspective correctly with eternity.

Yesterday when I read verse 28 – “My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to Your Word” – I was reminded why I do what I do, both in personal pursuit and relationship with God and in getting to write these devotions. I seek to be strengthen by God through His Word. And I want to help you, dear Sojourner, to receive the very same thing – to point you to Him through His Word and receive the help and salvation you need.

I told you I wanted to be short and will live up to that. My feeble words are over, but I want to give you something so much better. I want to share with you some passages from the Word that help me when I am struggling. There is no better place to turn when our souls are melting away with sorrow that the Word of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Passages for Meditation

⁷ The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7

⁶[Humble yourselves], therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7

¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
²⁰   My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
²¹   But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:

²²   The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
²³   they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
²⁴   “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in Him.”

²⁵   The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul who seeks Him.
²⁶   It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:19-26

⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10

²¹   Do you not know? Do you not hear?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
²²   It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
²³   who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

²⁴   Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

²⁵   To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
²⁶   Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.

²⁷   Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my right is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸   Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
²⁹   He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
³⁰   Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
³¹   but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:21-31

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:4-9

²⁸Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthews 11:28-30

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 119:27–28.