Full article at: Colossians 3 Commentary | World Events and the Bible
We learn we’re all one under Christ, love is akin to perfection, about the family, and removing worldliness from our lives. Never lying, instead be as the elect of God.
4 Likes
Amen, ‘let it be’ no arguments from me.
This is a little off topic but when you said this it reminded me of when I let something become an idol, so I thought I would share my story.
“Idolatry is anything that gets in between you and God. However, if you start slipping up and trying to please men that means you’re going with the world. You cannot do that if you’ve truly become a new man or woman of God. So don’t slip up, and if you find yourself in that situation, stop, pray, and ask God to help you get back on track.”
There was a time when I realized my old tractors were not the proper equipment for many of the jobs I had to do around our property and what I really need was a bulldozer. I didn’t know a thing about bulldozers, other than I needed one. As luck would have it, I noticed just the size dozer I need was available at a farm auction near us. I went to the auction and bought the dozer and hired a guy to haul it the 50 miles back to my place. When he was delivering it, his trailer hitch broke and his trailer along with my dozer ended up in a swamp. That was my first clue that this wasn’t going to be as smooth as I had hoped. At any rate, it was finally delivered, and I started it up and tried doing a little work with it only to discover I had purchased a piece of junk. In fact, I think I may have been able to buy a better machine at a junkyard. This was one of those times when I really didn’t want to face my wife!
However, since this machine was perfect for my needs, I decided to rebuild it. I pulled the engine and sent it off to be overhauled, and then I tore everything else down and replaced all the worn parts and put it all back together and gave it a nice new paint job. It was really looking good! In fact, it was all I talked about; I even gave it a name— Lazarus, after all I did raise it from the dead. In other words, it became my idol.
At long last I got the engine back and all hooked up and ready to roll. However, when I started it up the pistons sounded like they were going to come through the side of the engine. I quickly shut it down and called the mechanic that had overhauled it. He came out and checked it over and was at a loss for what the problem could be. (Believe me guys, it was more than just the timing being off by 180 degrees.) I thought oh boy, thousands of dollars later and I have to face my wife again!!
Anyway, I was sitting around all bummed out and feeling sorry for myself when I realized what I had been doing; I had put God on hold through all of this and I think he may have been sending me a message. I repented and asked for God’s forgiveness and for his help.
Now here’s the good part. The very next day and out of the blue, my nephew called me to see how I was doing. He happens to be an excellent mechanic and his main job is to maintain all the equipment for a very large farming operation he owns with his brothers. I told him about my problem with the dozer and he said he knew exactly what the problem was and that he would be at my place in the morning. He lives 150 miles from me, but he was there in the morning with a truck and trailer. He hauled the dozer back to his farm shop and got it purring like a kitten and brought it back and he wouldn’t accept a penny from me.
God got my attention, no more idols!
1 Like
@Oldman
Now THAT just made my night. This story was the best thing I read all day…well except for the Bible. And yes, I believe we have all been there. And I know for a fact I was in that same place many times before I got myself together. Thank you for sharing a fantastic part of your story.
Now I have to ask…Do you still have that dozer??
About three years after the dozer was restored, we sold our home and business and moved just down the road from the nephew in the story. I had no need for the dozer, so I listed it on eBay and sold it to a guy in Kentucky.
This was a dark time in our life because we had no intention at the time (10 yrs. ago) of selling our place or retiring. We loved our home and land; it was a very peaceful area with lots of wildlife. However, that all ended when a motorcycle club from the Twin Cities (120 miles south) bought several hundred acres behind us and build motocross trails, with the intention of holding motorcycle rallies on the weekends. Need I say more? In the end it turned out well and we are very happy where we ended up.
I guess I could have just answered your question with a “no” Kay. 
Oh well, I’m old— my mind wanders.
I’m glad you didn’t just answer with “no”. But I must admit, that is an interesting twist to your life story! I would have left as well…that type of stuff is happening around us as well. Not an actual “motorcross” or “speedway”, but just too many people leaving Milwaukee and heading up our way.
While reading this I immediately wondered…Did God put all of this into action bc you needed to be closer to your nephew? God sure works in mysterious ways that sometimes we will never know…at least not now anyway.
P,S, I know all too well how the mind wanders. I start typing and my mind goes every direction - many times I’m deleting a lot of the extra stuff I’m saying! But again, I’m glad your mind wandered!
Without a doubt he did!
1 Like