No Longer a Mystery!

“…of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.”Colossians 1:25-29 (NKJV)

When I was first being drawn to the cross of Calvary – I was already a college graduate. I had done reasonably well – and fancied myself well-informed about a great many things. My in-laws and their extended family were always talking about the Bible, and I tried to see what it was in it that was so significant. I opened it at various places and to be honest, I didn’t understand any of it. It was a mystery to me. It didn’t take much for me to put it down and resume watching my soaps!

One of the reasons we have so much trouble reaching the lost via the church is because we often try to as my father-in-law used to say, “skin them, before we catch them.” We assume that because the Bible is “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth” – that everyone understands what is in it – and that they really do understand what sin is. It’s been nearly forty years – but I can remember like yesterday – I was a sinner who didn’t know I was a sinner. I was worldly and I enjoyed (no I really didn’t enjoy) doing worldly things.

There are many people that say they enjoyed being a sinner – well I for one did not enjoy it. I was a party animal – I went to many parties, I did social drinking, I fooled around – but by 21 I was tired of all that – and that is really true. I longed for the stable kind of family that I never had. Many of my friends in my sorority were getting married and I wanted to get married too! I didn’t really understand what all that meant – but there was a longing nonetheless.

When I married, I came into a strict pentecostal family that did none of the things my friends and family did. I felt that they looked upon me as being different – and suddenly acquiring a very rebellious nature – I celebrated my differences – even though they were no longer any fun. I didn’t know their prayers were drawing me – all I knew that I didn’t want what I had – but I certainly was not convinced I wanted what they had. More on that later.

This passage of scripture from Colossians is a wonderful passage of what God is doing in heaven for us rebellious ones down here on earth. I love the King James version of this passage, but meditate on this same passage in the Message and we’ll continue on tomorrow.

“When I became a servant in this church, I experienced this suffering as a sheer gift, God’s way of helping me serve you, laying out the whole truth.
This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.” Colossians 1:25-29 (MSG)

• generic viagra by fedx