Tag Archive | grace

Colossians 3:13, my take…

Jun24
Couple hugging with eyes closed in a warmly lit living room

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 NLT


The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Colossae around AD 62 while imprisoned in Rome, addressing a church threatened by false teachings that diminished Christ’s supremacy and the new identity of believers in Him (Colossians 1:2, 28; 2:9–10) Historical context…

The book of Colossians reads as if it was written for our present day world. So much so that I feel it beckoning to me often lately. Most recently the 13th verse of Chapter 3. I’m familiar with the part of the verse that reminds us to forgive others as God forgave us. But you know what grabbed my attention in recent days? The phrase, “make allowances for each other’s faults…” caught my attention like other translations hadn’t.

What does ‘make allowances’ look like? In order for my readers to not miss what making allowances looks like, I am just going to have to resort to copying and pasting what my research turned up:

Practically, it looks like:

  • Patience in the face of mistakes – When someone does something wrong, you resist the urge to dwell on it or to make them pay. Instead, you “bear with” them, meaning you endure their shortcomings without condemnation BibleRef.com.
  • Choosing grace over condemnation – You recognize that everyone makes mistakes, and you respond with kindness and compassion, even when you’ve been wronged biblerepository.com.
  • Forgiveness without holding grudges – Forgiveness here is not about excusing harmful behavior, but about letting go of resentment and not using the offense to hurt someone again biblerepository.com.
  • Reflecting Christ’s forgiveness – The verse ties this to the fact that God forgave you completely when you were undeserving. “Making allowance” is living out that same mercy in your relationships Heartlight.
  • Active reconciliation – It can involve speaking gently, offering help, and restoring harmony when conflict arises BibleRef.com.

Sometimes our familiarity with terms like ‘forgiveness’ can cause assumptions that hide the practical applications. Assumptions that trick us into thinking we understand when it’s only a surface perception. I realized after returning to ‘make allowances’ time and time again, I had not grasped what that looked like.

And I regret that at 77 years of age, my focus is just now diving deeper. Now, when I ask myself, “What does making allowances look like?” I shift from what I thought I knew to plunging into a deeper understanding of forgiveness! Using the Bible as my point of reference.

After a lifetime of repetitive mistakes, I am compelled to make the effort of applying the 5 practical principles listed above. Goodness, this isn’t going to be easy. But ‘just telling myself the right thing to do is to forgive’ but not blending it with what the verse leads out with is incomplete obedience.

Well, dear readers, may my ingrained incomplete response over most of my life confession, become for you (and for me) a wake up call. Do whatever you feel compelled to do to add the above practical applications to what ‘making allowances’ looks like as you forgive others. It won’t be easy but it will be doable!

Sin is greater than Grace?

Apr22

Yesterday, a young lady sang a song (who has by the way a voice gifted by God. a natural innocently beautiful voice) during our morning worship service entitled:

Grace will always be greater than sin!

This special music performed by this young lady (who was masterfully accompanied by our choir) reminded us that grace always wins out over sin.  So does Romans 5:20,

 Romans 5:20, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

But I’m sure you have noticed a discrepancy in the title of my post and the title of the song! Well, this is a blog that deals with fiery darts so hang in there with me while I elucidate! (Okay, I could have said ‘explain’ but where’s the fun in that!)

As my young friend sang her heart out, my mind began pondering the duel between grace and sin in my own life.  My mind turns against me often in self-condemning thoughts (or should I say fiery darts!) And even though I believe that Grace is always greater than sin, sometimes my mind’s thoughts reveal the opposite–that sin is greater than grace!  That’s the fault of my focus.

Now let me clarify something here.

Yes, I wrestle with self-condemning thoughts BUT they do not rule me because I do not focus on them.  A deliberate effort has to be made to focus on Christ instead. Since my Heavenly Father unveiled the Enemy’s plan of attack in the use of fiery darts, I’ve grown in my skill to focus on Christ.

Once Satan’s intentions were exposed and the tactics he was so skillfully using to produce such defeat in my life were revealed, then my instruction on how to counter these attacks began in earnest.  p.3, Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice.

You see, my dear readers, those negative thoughts, fiery darts, or self-condemning thoughts use to send me spiraling downward.  And excerpt from p. 15 of my book illustrates this.

What we think determines how we feel and what we feel influences our actions.  A negative action is often the result of negative thinking.  Understandably, if Satan can negatively influence our thinking then temptations to act negatively will be harder for us to resist. 

My plan is to apply what I have recently learned (yep, you keep learning as long as you are alive, right?) from the verse Philippines 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such thing.

Since negative thoughts pop into my mind so speedily (I mean they are usually the first to arrive), I have learned that the most practical means of slamming the door in their faces is to create an uncomfortable greeting for them the moment they arrive.  That’s where Philippines 4:8 comes in.  For I am learning that if I fill my head with the kind of thoughts this verse refers to, then the self-condemning thoughts don’t really want to hang around.

Philippines 4:8 leads to the next step in fighting fiery darts which is taken from p. 79 in my book.

Afterword

Here are five simple steps to keep in mind when you are faced with a fiery dart:

 1.   Examine the negative thought.

 2.   Ask yourself this question:  What is the purpose of this thought?

 3.  Acknowledge it as a fiery dart, if the purpose is to pull you down in any way.  Then, personalize this prayer based on Isaiah 54:17, “May this weapon formed against me not prevail.” (Keep in mind that conviction brings restoration, a fiery dart brings condemnation.)

 4.  Search your concordance for a Scripture that addresses that issue, after determining the TRUTH you need to combat the lie of the fiery dart.

 5.  Call upon the TRUTH of the Scripture from Step 4, every time you are tempted with the fiery dart.  

Now I’ve come full circle.

Focusing on the fiery darts, (self-condemning or negative thoughts) more than you do on on the TRUTHS that contradict those thoughts is a sin and will result in stealing your joy. (We are thinking thoughts that attribute more power to sin than grace; so be careful here.)

Focusing on God’s TRUTHS instead will fill your mind with hopeful thoughts.  Knowing that His grace is always sufficient and is always greater than our sins, pulls us out of the mire those fiery darts have condemned us to, and the light of God’s grace fills us with hope.

Here’s the wrap up!

Some happy thoughts that I’m focusing on at present  (Philip. 4:8, remember) is that God does not ignore my needs,

Philip. 4:19, He supplies ALL of them

and that He doesn’t condemn me

Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:28, AND that all things work together for my good, 

AND (drum roll…….)

His Grace is ALWAYS greater than sin!