Made and re-made in the image of Christ

Colossians 3:9-11 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 
As Paul continues to exhort us to be willing recipients of the transformation process, He builds upon one of the most cardinal truths: our creation in the image of God.  We are to treat one another with honor, in both speech and action, because we are all made in the image of God. This is doubly true of how we are to treat one another in the body of Christ - not only are we all made in the image of God, we are re-made, born anew, in the image of Christ.  As believers we have twice as much reason to treat others with honor in our speech and actions.  We also have double reason to revere and honor God with our words and actions: He is our Father that we should resemble - both as our Creator, and as the one who had made us new through Christ.  It is not a list of external rules, but it comes from who we are within.

Wrath for wrath...

Colossians 3:5-8 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 
The transformation process which God has begun in the believer's heart is to be pronounced.  It is to show in how we use our bodies, and how we use our mouths.  Using our bodies for whatever makes us feel good, with no regard for God or others makes those things our idols - we worship them instead of Him.  As for our mouths, using them as offensive weapons against the holiness of God or the honor due another human being is also wrong.  The short sentence that should jump off the page is nestled in between: "On account of these the wrath of God is coming."  God's wrath is coming because of man's sinful wrath - our unleashed words and actions that occur as if He did not exist.  His wrath is just; ours is not.  He is holy; without Christ and His transforming power we are not.  May we put to death and put away what does not please Him today.

A new way to look...

 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. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4 ESV)
As Paul calls on us to examine the progress of the transformation process in our lives, He begins with our minds, our perspectives, the way we view things.  Having Christ as King means we think totally differently about the past, present, and future.  We died to our old life and were raised to a new one. We are now citizens of heaven, where Christ is, and that is where our minds should be. We also are to view our future differently: Christ is coming back and we will join Him.  Everywhere we look - past, present and future, Christ is there, and that makes all the difference.

Twisting the truth...

Matthew 28:11-15 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. 
The soldiers, not knowing what had happened to them, nevertheless went to share the facts with those who had hired them.  They, in turn, took the facts and reshaped them into a new story to fit their view - they were unwilling to accept Jesus for Who He said He was, because that would mean saying that they were wrong.  We have a hard time admitting we are wrong, and often re=interpret the facts to fit our self-defense.  Let us be committed to the truth that Christ is King, He is truth, and we need to be changed to fit those facts, not twist the facts to fit our "story".

Greetings!

Matthew 28:8-10 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” 

The Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ intersect in so many ways.  Both events were filled with both fear and great joy.  Both times an angel brought Greetings.  And both times people end up coming to worship Jesus Christ.  That is what today is all about; worshipping Him as Savior and King. but it does not stop with a one-day joyful event.  In both cases again those who worshipped then went and told: the shepherds told everyone they could find, the women who witnessed the risen Christ told the disciples who then were instructed to go and make disciples. Today, may we too receive the greetings, the invitation to come and see, bow and worship, and go and tell.

Come and See...

Matthew 28:5-7 Responding to the women, the angel said, “Stop being frightened! I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee, and you will see him there. Remember, I have told you!” 
At both His incarnation and resurrection, the invitation of the angels was to "come and see".  The shepherds were invited to go and see the newborn King, while here at the resurrection the women were invited to come see where he had been laid.  May this day be a day when we stop and see, and recognize Who He is laying there, what He has done, and what it means that He no longer is laying in the tomb.

Word of the day: Catatonic

Matthew 28:1-4 After the Sabbaths, around dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to take a look at the burial site. Suddenly, there was a powerful earthquake, because an angel of the Lord had come down from heaven, approached the stone, rolled it away, and was sitting on top of it. His appearance was bright as lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. Trembling from fear, even the guards themselves became catatonic. 
Many of us are familiar with the old King James translation of this last word: "became as dead men." The dictionary definition of "catatonic" is: being characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor." In other words, one cannot move or speak.  This experience was so stunning, they could not function as normal.  That was the effect of the resurrection of Christ.  A similar effect was seen at His Incarnation, when the shepherds were "sore afraid" or "feared a great fear."  Intense fear immobilizes;  you do know know what to do, so you do nothing.  But this state cannot continue, it must be broken.  These two greatest days of human history demand a proper response. We must go, we must speak.