June 27. Colossians 1
This great chapter in the Bible contains more lessons in prayer and one of the richest descriptions of Jesus ever written. Paul wrote to the Colossians from a prison cell. He had heard that they had false teachers among them who were denying the deity of Jesus. It’s hard to grasp, but Jesus was both fully human and fully God. All through history people have erred in either thinking he was all God with no humanness or merely human with no deity. The truth is Jesus is fully both. It’s a mystery because we are finite beings with tiny brains, but it’s true. Paul wants the Colossians to know and believe this and not stray from the truth of it.
We get another great example of how Paul prays in the first section of this chapter. It’s just like we saw yesterday. His heart is always that Christians know God more and more. Our little slogan here at Sweet Selah Ministries dovetails so nicely with these prayers. Our ministry is all about Taking time to know God and love Him more and more.
The middle section of the chapter is a glorious, poetical statement of the wonder and deity of Jesus Christ. Make no mistake. Christ is God in bodily form. Paul declares it and amplifies on it beautifully. If you have time, go back to it and read it out loud with a reverent heart. THIS is the God you worship! Jesus, the Mighty One, always existing, very God and very man. I love this section so much! You can’t read it without going to a place of worship in your heart.
The last section urges the Colossians to not stray from these great truths. Paul is suffering and in chains because he believes the truth of this that much. Paul had a pretty cushy life, ya know, before Jesus met him on that road to Damascus. He was a Roman citizen and probably wealthy. He was a perfect Pharisee, obeying the rules, studying Torah, and doing it all well. He threw away prestige and power and comfort and wealth for the sake of the One who met him on that road that day. Paul never looked back. He served Jesus wholeheartedly, and he wanted his followers to serve Jesus in like manner, not drifting from the truth. May it be so for us as well.
My verse: Colossians 1:10 “Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”
My response: This is so rich. Paul’s desire for his converts should be mine for all those I love:
- That they will love and please the Lord
- That they will produce every kind of good fruit in their lives
- That they will grow in their faith
- That they will know God better and better
Father, I pray too often for lesser things. Help me to pray for the souls and hearts of those I love that they will draw ever closer to You!
2 Comments. Leave new
My verse is 27 NLT
For God wanted them to know that the riches and
glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the
secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance
of sharing His glory.
Dear Father God, I thank You and praise You for the
privilege of Jesus living in me. Please help me to be
Christ-like in every area and aspect of my life. Thank
You for the comfort of Your assurance that I am able to
one day share in Your glory. In Jesus precious name
I pray. Amen
Amen. Prayed that right along with you, Candie. It is, indeed, an incredible privilege!!