Give And Take – May 8, 2024 (129/365) – JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter

Let me go ahead and let out a quick one before I go forth and conquer.

Actually, funny that I say that, considering that last March 15 I wrote, definitely out of worry of my turning 40 years old: ‘Is anything that I’m doing going anywhere? (Am I going) too slow?

I’m not sure what else was going on in my mind as I was writing that, but I will definitely say that it was said, without the constant awareness of Romans 8:28 in mind. In other words, I may, at this moment, now that I have turned 40, not be making as much progression as I’d like with all that I’m up to. I may not be gaining as much ground as I’d like, and I may not be going as fast as I’d expect…

…but in all things – right things, wrong things, slow things, fast things, and I dare say, even in the nothing – God is faithful – Yes, the same God who is, through Christ, for us and not against us – He IS faithful to make ALL things work for the good of those who love Him (me included), and are called according to His purpose.

And with that said, I guess let me rephrase: Let me go ahead and let out a quick one before I go forth, and Christ conquers. Amen.

At one point, our senior Pastor Oscar openly and publicly expressed his personal cringe at the bridge of that one nice praise song we used to lead, ‘Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord’.

He didn’t like how we would lead the congregation to sing, ‘You give and take away’, insisting that God never takes away, and further suggesting that if we WERE going to be singing this song, we’d rather amend that bridge to lead the congregation to sing, ‘You give and GIVE away’.

I’m not going to disagree with that latter suggestion, but I would also like to voice out the disagreements we had with his personal cringe… saying that God DOES take something away from us, and not necessarily from the viewpoint of how everything was taken away from Job (who originally quoted the line from Scripture) – God DOES take something away; Christ became sin and essentially TOOK AWAY our sin.

Christ gave us righteousness, and took away our sin.

I only bring this up because of today’s reading from the Daily Bread, where the author of today’s post shares that he is in a constant battle with the deer in his neighborhood; He plants sunflowers, and the deer eat the leaves and stems.

He shares this to express that, like the deer, the enemy of our being also takes away from us.. But even though this does happen to us, Scripture in Colossians assures us:

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Colossians 2:6-10

First, though our leaves and stems may be taken away, we are ever reminded to continue to walk in Him, because we are ROOTED and built up in Him. Indeed, everything above ground may be ripped away, but the roots will always remain, and we will keep growing back.

Second, regardless of what we possess, what matters even more is the truth that we have been FILLED in Him; We always enjoy and express how Christ is in us, and we are in Christ, but we see here that the WHOLE FULLNESS of deity dwells in our bodies, or how I understand ‘bodily’.

I suppose we could stop here and just say, clarify, that if we do see and feel anything ‘taken’ away from us, the Holy Spirit reminds us especially in these times of what we DO have, and shall never be taken away from us: We are absolutely, permanently (1) established in faith, and (2) filled by Christ, and filled in Him.

Though the enemy takes away, He gives. And even in the times when the enemy gives (distractions, addictions, attacks), we ought to remember that God STILL gives.

Sure as we are alive in Him, and He is alive in us, He gives. All that’s left is to receive, and give thanks.

Not sure if I made any sense here, but I just wanted that out of my system and into the interwebs.

God bless us all.

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