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“There is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11).   Have you ever wondered why in America we have black churches, and Chinese churches, and Korean churches, and Hispanic churches, and white churches? Why is it that our churches only seem to reflect people of similar ethnic background?   We need more ministry to minorities, especially from ethnic groups to their own ethnic groups. In today’s passage the Apostle Paul famously said that, “Christ is all, and in all.” In Christ we are all one. The basis of our salvation and sanctification is not based on race or cultural heritage, but on the person and work of Christ. But might it surprise you to learn that even Paul needed people around him of his own cultural heritage? Even the great Apostle Paul needed to be ministered to by his fellow Jews.   In the same book of Colossians, Paul also said, “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me” (Colossians 4:10-11). “Men of the circumcision” was a way of saying, “Jews.” Yet, noticed what he said about them. They gave him great, “Comfort.”   Paul was comforted in his affliction by his own people. It does not mean he didn’t receive comfort from gentiles, but that the comfort of his own people held a special place in his heart. Every missionary has experienced this. Working among people so different from them, most missionaries value time spent with other missionaries who are of their own heritage. And this is true for more than just missionaries, but for everyone. Perhaps you have too? This is why we must make room in our hearts for minorities ministering to minorities and for ethnic churches ministering to their own. Just like Paul, it is not only Christian, it is human.   Memory Verse   “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:28).   Application   Have you looked for opportunities to minister to ethnic groups apart from your own? How can you express love and devotion to people who are of a different culture or ethnicity that you? How can you encourage people like you who minister to people different than you?

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”If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).   Have you ever taken a spiritual inventory of your average day to see what it is that you spend the majority of your time not only doing, but thinking? Most people work outside the home and so they are bound by their employer to give all their attention to the work that they do. If this is you, then the work that you do serving another honors God “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men…You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23,24). But what about a spiritual inventory of what you think? This is a harder exercise because we usually forget what we think about. Nevertheless, if you note what occupies your thoughts, especially during your “down time” you might be surprise how often your thoughts are not on spiritual things.   Focusing our minds on spiritual things is a discipline and takes work. It means we must fill our thoughts with the things that please the Lord. Such as Paul says when he encourages to, “Seek the things that are above.” But not just heavenly things, but the things, “Where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” This is an important statement. Because mentioning the right hand of God is a reference to authority. There is no higher authority than that of God’s throne. So, to seek the things above, at God’s throne, is to seek the authority and influence of God’s kingdom, to seek its establishment in our lives and on the earth. Isn’t this what Christ told us in the Great Commission? “All authority has been given to me, on heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). So, we must seek God’s authority in Christ, to have it established in our minds and hearts, and in our actions, what we do.   Memory verse   “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).   Application   Do a spiritual inventory of your thoughts for one day. Keep paper and pen with you and write down the occasional thoughts you have as they come to you. At the end of your day take a look at what you have. How often were spiritual things a part of your thought life? How can you increase your time setting your mind of spiritual things?

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“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).   Sometimes it seems that Christianity is under attack from all fronts. Our social media feeds reveal terrible persecutions happening in places like Nigeria, China, Nepal, and elsewhere. We are urged to pray for our brothers and sisters living in such terrible conditions. Yet, in the Western world we are also hearing of persecution, but something known as soft persecution. Demands by officials to stop meeting in home Bible studies, forcing Christian teens to turn their Gospel t-shirts inside out, bakers punished for not make gay wedding cakes and so on. Persecution was no stranger to the early church. Some suffered soft persecution, some hard. But the response of the Apostles was always the same. Endure.   Jude, Jesus’ brother, urged a defense of the Gospel. The persecution he discussed was less physical, but rather intellectual and from the heart. The very beliefs of the faith were under attack by those who would redefine Christianity into something that it was not. Or to deny the historical truth about Jesus.   How hard it must have been for Jude to endure the attacks against the faith that his very own brother had launched.   “Contend for the faith,” Jude said. To put it simply, tell the story about Jesus. Tell the true story, correct the errors, let the real Jesus and what he taught be known. Do not remain silent against those who would redefine the faith out of existence.   How do you defend your faith in an increasingly hostile world determined to see it die? How do you help your children to stand firm in the faith, contending for it, defending it? And to do so with humility, kindness, and love?   Memory Verse   “Contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).   Application   Do you attack others who attack your faith in Jesus? How can you defend your faith with humility? How can you “Bless those who persecute you?” What good can you do for your enemy today?

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Do you ever get tired of the spin? It even affects the language that we use. John Ortberg has noted how our language has changed a little bit over the last several years. For instance, when a company fires people now they no longer say, “You’re fired.” That would sound way too harsh. Companies no longer “down size” because that seems negative. Companies are now calling it “right sizing.” Guys are no longer “bald,” they are “follicly challenged” or “comb free” as one guy said. It’s no longer “road kill” – it’s “maladaptive compressed life forms,” or in some states in America that will remain unnamed, “road kill” is dinner. Do you ever just wish someone would tell you the truth instead of "spinning it" to sound better than it is? James does. He’s a no nonsense kind of guy. James, in chapter 1, teaches us about how to face trials and temptations. Strange. James is brutally honest. James tells us is to choose to rejoice. He encourages us to choose to rejoice when we face trials and difficulties in life. By the way, when we find ourselves in the middle of a tough time, that is also a time when we face temptation to give up, to think that God has deserted us. James says, "When you face trials and difficulties in life, choose to rejoice." James 1:2 NIV James says, “Consider it pure joy in the midst of trials, in the midst of struggles, and the midst of temptations because you know God is going to do something out of that.” It’s not pure joy at the trial, but it’s pure joy in the of the trial because you are rejoicing in who God is. That is a lot easier to say than to do. The word for “face” or “encounter many trials” is the same word Jesus used when He told the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke twelve. This poor guy was going about his day, just walking down the road. He fell into the hands of bandits who robbed him and brutally beat him, then left him bleeding by the side of the road. Like Jesus' story of the unfortunate man, James is saying whatever trials you face, no matter how great or small, choose to rejoice in the midst of it because God will bless you in that trial, that difficulty. Tim Hansel was an award-winning rugby player and loved sports. He was a mountain climber as well. In fact, he earned the nickname , because of the way he aggressively climbed a mountain. At one point Tim was on the Sierra range climbing a 14,000-foot glacier. Suddenly, he lost his footing. He fell at thirty-two feet per second. When he hit the ground, all of his friends thought he was dead. They found him in a ravine. To their amazement, he woke up. He was able to function and talk. He didn’t have any bones broken, he was just shaken up. He said he felt a little shorter. He hiked out of the mountains and went all the way home. Tim never told his wife what happened. For three whole days he functioned normally. The fourth day, he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. His doctors told him his body had been in complete shock for three full days. Every joint in his body began to throb. Now he exists with constant, chronic pain in every joint of his body. Sometimes he can’t sleep for ten weeks at a time. Days that go by that Tim can’t reach down and put his hands below his knees because of the pain. He talks about the time he tried to play tennis. He lightly threw the ball up and hit it to a friend and broke all his ribs. His body is absolutely falling apart. If anybody has the right to be miserable it would be Tim. Yet he wrote a powerful book called, YOU GOTTA KEEP DANCING . What an impact his words made in my life. Tim confessed,  “I’ve prayed hundreds if not thousands of times for the Lord to heal me and He finally healed me of the need to be healed. I discovered a peace inside the pain. I’ve survived because I’ve discovered a new and different kind of joy that I never knew existed. A joy that can co-exist with uncertainty and doubt and with pain, confusion, and ambiguity.” James teaches that joy can co-exist with pain, confusion, and struggle. He’s saying rejoice even in difficult times because God will do something great in the midst of it. Persevering through pain produces character and dependence on God. We don’t rejoice at the trial. We rejoice in the trial because through this hardship and difficulty God is doing a work in our lives to form us and mature us so we become the kind of people that He desires for us to be. Taken from " Temptation Uncensored" by Jud Wilhite.

One of the reasons we minimize being on the wrong path is we say to ourselves, “It won’t happen to me.” We think,  I’m in control. I know better. I’m not going to end up in the same place that other people end up. If you’ve been to Niagara Falls, you’ve seen the powerful Niagara River, coming down and dropping hundreds of feet. Over the years people have fallen into the Niagara River and gone over the falls. Thirty people have intentionally decided to go over the falls. They got into a barrel, a boat or they wrapped themselves in bubble wrap – they did something – to try to go over the falls. Of those thirty that went over the falls, only 16 survived. They thought,  It won’t happen to me. I can make it. I’m going to be okay. Many people are doing ONE THING, but it’s the wrong ONE THING, taking them to the wrong place. As you think about what it means to live an intentional life in Christ, the question to ask yourself is, “Am I on the right path, pursuing the right ONE THING?” Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (ESV). It got me thinking that if you can be on a path to destruction and death, and it seems right, then isn’t it possible you and I can be on a path every day that doesn’t necessarily lead to death, but it leads to pain, mediocrity and regret? It could lead to just a life that we live but doesn’t lead to where we really would like to be in what God intends for us. It’s possible for those of us as Christ followers to be on the right path to heaven, but the wrong path of our daily lives. Being intentional is going to help you have a better life, be more fulfilled and bring glory to God and be a benefit to yourself and others. Solomon wrote the words to our verse today. And I think it’s important to circle the words  seems right  because there’s a perception that can happen in our own minds. The relationship seemed right. I’ve heard that in counseling over the years. It seemed right. We know statistics about fifty percent of marriage in the divorce, something wasn’t right. New businesses seem right when they start. And yet the stats are that after one year, twenty percent have failed after ten years, two-thirds of all businesses have failed. The investment seemed right. The habits seemed right. The decision that I made at that time seemed right. I’ve been around long enough to know that you and I could be on a path that seems right, but we may not know if the path we’re on is right until a few years down the road because we live in a fallen world. The message today isn’t to say, “Hey, I’m always going to be on the right path,” because you’re always going to be on a path at times, and you look back and say, “I shouldn’t be on this path.”

Please click on url to view video: https://youtu.be/uulqsIWEFpI Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices! O night divine, O night when Christ was born! He is a light to reveal GOD to the nations, and he is the Glory of your people Israel! Luke 2:32 NLT In the midst of so much imperfection, the night Christ was born can be considered one of the most perfect nights ever in the history of mankind. God used imperfect circumstances and an imperfect location in the form of a humble manager to bring His perfect and holy Son into the world. God could have easily made Jesus’ birth triumphant, but He chose not to. It is through all that imperfection that made this night so holy and so perfect. The way God brought His son into the world is much the same way He works within our lives. Oftentimes God takes the imperfections in our lives and uses them to perfect us. God loves to take the physical and emotional scars and use those to grow us into stronger people. He also desires us to take what we learned from our imperfections and help others who may be struggling with the same things. Just as Jesus was a light to reveal God to all the nations, we can be that same light as well. Don’t let your imperfections hold you back. Instead, allow God to use them to shape you into the person He designed you to be, which is a light in a dark world. Give God your weaknesses so that He can turn them into your greatest strengths. Questions: What weaknesses do you need to give God so that He can perfect you? In what ways do you see yourself as being a light to reveal God’s truth to others?