Let us remember Romans 8:1 and that we have no condemnation if we are in Christ Jesus. 

The Apostle Paul describes our journey to become more Christlike as in running a race. Being in such a race, we train, we learn, we grow, to run the race well. 1 Corinthians 9:24

Truth-

Colossians 2:7 (being rooted in Christ)

“Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” Colossians 2:6-8 

Extra credit: read all of chapter 2 of Colossians. It’s rich. 

• “…so walk in Him.” – You may have heard it said; where you spend your money, your time, and attention, shows what is important to you. Scripture would tell us that the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. We can replace mouth with actions quite easily. There are many people, places, and things clamoring for our time and attention. If you are married, it is your spouse. If you have children, it is them, and both rightly so. But not to the extent it inhibits your walk with Jesus, Seeking Jesus, drawing closer to Jesus. Not all good things we do are God things. If your marriage is suffering because of serving the church, more than you serve your spouse, that is a problem. If you do not spend more time with your family, than you do your church, that is a problem. Remember what your marriage represents. Jesus took time for Himself and His Father. He took time for those relationships He was entrusted with, the disciples. And He only had twelve disciples.

• “having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith”- Faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of God. Romans 10:17 There is no substitute for Scripture. There are no short cuts. Now, you can take short cuts if you want, but you are really only shorting yourself. In the book of Revelations Jesus speaks about being Luke warm and spitting the Luke warm out of His mouth. Revelations 3:16  Our life is compared to the building of a house, and the foundation we are building it upon. Matthew 7:24-27

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (a tree by the water that does not fear drought)

“For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

There are a lot of solid, good biblically based books out there that can help our walk with Christ. None, however, are better than or should take precedence over Scripture. John 16:33 tells us that we will have trouble in this world, but to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Restating, Jesus Himself telling us about what to build our house, our life, upon, the rock, which is His Word, His promises, ultimately Him, the Word made flesh. There is no substitute. Our time in the word should be greater than any other resource. 

• “and overflowing with gratitude” – 

Ephesians 3:17 (roots growing down into God’s love for inner strength)

“from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:15-19

The deeper our understanding and knowledge of Scripture, the deeper our understanding and knowledge of Jesus. The deeper our understanding and knowledge of Jesus, the deeper our love grows for Jesus. The deeper our love for Jesus, the deeper our gratitude, trust, and faith in Jesus.

• “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

With the state of our society and our government, 1 Thessalonians 5 19-22 grows in it’s importance and application. Artificial Intelligence makes telling fact from fiction, even more difficult. The ease of being bombarded with peoples own thoughts, feelings, philosophies, only grows as times moves forward. To run our best race, we must create filters and boundaries.

Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

If we are running the human race, we are running the wrong race. The reward for running the human race pales in comparison to the inheritance and reward our Lord Jesus Christ promises us. 

In the beginning and end of the day, it isn’t about the left, the right, or even right in the middle. It is about our faith and the foundation that it’s built upon. Filtering all things through Scripture, prayer, ensuring we are in community with Jesus seeking, bible devouring, Christ seekers and followers. Realizing the power of pack mentality and being careful we do not get placed on a path that takes us away from Jesus. 

1 John 5:18-19

We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

• His good, pleasing and perfect will. – There is no better place to be than in the will of our Father. It reaps the fruit and benefits that bring us joy, but not just us, those around us. It doesn’t mean we need to like what we see and hear going on. It doesn’t mean running the race is going to be easy, but as much joy as it may bring, it may be quite hard. 

John 16:33

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Take heart, accept the peace of Christ, and know whether in the valley or on the mountain, God is good, He sees you, knows you, and has your best interest in the depth of His heart, focusing on eternity, and not necessarily tomorrow, but know, His mercies are new every morning. Lamentations 3:23