Colossians 4:2-4
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.”
“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim the message as clearly as I should.”
Thanksgiving in tough times is hard but is the beginning of God’s work in that moment. Regardless the misery, look for even the smallest thing to thank God for. It turns our eyes from the problem to the solution.
The spread of the gospel is mysterious. The Spirit of God weaves himself throughout the world in wonderous ways. It is his work, and I am only an assistant. All I need do is follow instructions. That means staying close enough to hear them.
Paul believed God could make all his words witness to Christ, even words related to everyday living. We are called to be so saturated with the Spirit that even speech about daily life points to Jesus.
Lord give us a thankful spirit right now. We need your help. Fill me so all my words point to you even when in the pit of despair. Choke off the enemy’s effort to destroy us. Keep us safe in the shadow of your wings, especially while we are so vulnerable. Show us the path up out of the mire.
Colossians 3:15
“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing.”
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.”
Dancing is a good illustration of how believers should live together. Where our partner is strong, we follow, where weak we take the lead, always ready to act according to our gifts and place in God’s ballet. Dance class has two parts, solitary time at the bar and center stage work in ensemble. We prepare for the dance by time alone at the prayer-bar with God and practicing with each other. The ballet, and the Church, inspire and awe when undergirded with good preparation.
Instruments in a musical ensemble must be in tune with each other for their music to be enjoyed. Tuning up means everyone listens care-fully to their neighboring instruments and the entire ensemble. Listening is an essential private and interpersonal spiritual discipline. How well do we listen, to God, other believers and the world?
Doing our own thing is easier. But humans were made for companionship, with God and each other. Learning to dance and sing together is eternally worth it.
Colossians 3:12-14
“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”
“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tender-hearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
When dressed in Christ-chosen clothing we become the salt that savors and preserves society. This is not a call to be a passive nice guy. Our new clothes enhance our true self and we become more of who we were created to be. This is power and Christ who gave it would have us use it. Exercised with love it is a powerful force for change. Imagine is all people could function as their true self. What a rich world it would be!
Colossians 3:1-2
“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
“Since you have been raised to new life in Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”
To think about the things of heaven does not mean those that are out of this world. It is a call to view the happenings on earth from the viewpoint of heaven. Always ask, “What is God doing here?” then try to figure things out. This simplifies life enormously and understanding the Bible, people, culture and history is easier. The key is knowing God. Who is he as a person? How does he describe himself? What are his feelings and desires? The answers are called the attributes of God. Learning these begins intimacy with him and growth in wisdom.
Lord I need you and your wisdom. I want to know it and live it. Thank you for your Word and speaking personally to me through it. Please continue. You are my life. I want no other.
Colossians 2:18-19
“Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession with angels and that you seek out visions. They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are. They’re completely out of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece, whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us.”
“ Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.”
Each believer has a tiny, sub-atomic, place in Christ’s body. Christ the head provides protection and nourishment needed for growth into our eternal destiny. We need only work with neighboring particles to do our part. The headship is critical. Other people and things and even other believers try to put their head in Christ’s place. And don’t forget our self. This is the litmus test when confused about spiritual things. Whose head s truly on top?
Lord, it is so very easy to put my head up there. It is an insidious process and I fear it. I am weak here. Please be my strength.
Colossians 2:6-7
“My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.”
“ And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.”
School’s out can mean two different things. In childhood it was glorious with promise of a free and lazy summer. During college years it meant finding summer work and then, after the senior year, beginning a career path. What kind of ‘school’s out’ is meant here?
Our spiritual birthright is freedom. We embrace it like summer vacation. When school ends for good we quit studying and start adulting. It is hard. The way forward is Christ and even more of him. Eyes on him and his word find complexities dissolve and clear direction for the next step. Our burdens lifted we choose God’s path. Freedom and sometimes terrifying adventures await.
Lord, prepare me for the next adventure. Make me faithful to you and others. Keep my eyes on you.
Colossians 2:3-4
“All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we’ve been shown the mystery! I’m telling you this because I don’t want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or “the Secret.””
“ In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am telling you this so no one will deceive you with well-crafted arguments.”
Man’s religion always has secrets. Learn them and life will be good. Then there are more secrets and more. Secret seeking becomes a bondage. Eventually the one behind the secret seeking leads the seeker to himself. Darkness and destruction ensue.
But God’s way is full disclosure! Joyfully, it is simple. Christ alone. Destruction’s way is increasingly shallow, narrow and bleak. Christ’s way is rich, meaty, utterly beautiful and free. It may be simple, but it leads to a delight-full and wide-open but secure life of joyful discovery.
Lord, I am so grateful for your leading in my life. You have directed, provided, healed in many ways. Thank you for joy, freedom and discovery you bless me with. You are everything to me!
Colossians 2:2
“ I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.”
“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself.”
I love the metaphor of tapestry describing our relationships in the body of Christ. According to Merriam Webster a tapestry is “a piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving colored weft threads or by embroidering on canvas, used as a wall hanging or furniture covering.” It is generally not woven “row by row” across the width of the piece but, rather, by shapes or colors as the design progresses.
The warp threads form the structure upon which the colored yards are placed. Christ is our warp. The threads are placed according to an intricate design. Some colors are center stage. Accent colors appear seldom but are critical to enhancing the work. Some colors by nature catch the eye. Others form the background. Groups of colors complement one another accomplishing much more than one color by itself. Each believer is a unique color with an assigned place. God alone knows the pattern he weaves with us. We do know its name. It is The Bride of Christ. For the first time I can imagine the stunning beauty of the church on her wedding day.
Lord, make me able to do, and be, my part in the great tapestry you are weaving. I don’t care what it is. I just want to do it well.
Colossians 1:28-29
“We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That’s what I’m working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me.”
“So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.”
God is infinitely big, infinitely small and now I know he is infinitely simple. All the truth in the universe is wrapped up in one person, Christ. He is good news. Christ heals all and solves all. His power sustains subatomic particles and therefore all creation. All hope points to Christ who puts all things right. Christ is the only one able to reveal the Father. He is the center of creation and time.
Lord, I want to single-mindedly dwell on Jesus. I want him to be the center of my heart, my life, my spirit and my body. I want more of him and need more of him. Please, help me!
Colossians 1:18-20
“From beginning to end he’s there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so expansive, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies…”
“He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth…”
Paul is speaking of Christ. This describes the promised fulfillment of the hope we believers have, that in Christ everything broken will be fixed and shine in fulfillment of its eternal destiny. I cannot imagine anything more beautiful and cannot wait to see it.
Lord, keep me grounded in hoping for healing for every bit of creation.
Colossians 1:11-12
“We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.”
“We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.”
I’ve found there is a sense of dread given by the Spirit when I head in a direction out of his will. It is not fear. Perhaps it could be described as a lack of joy. Joy is the settled peace of knowing I am in God’s place in his time. If we lack joy in a task and face a thing with gritted teeth we should ask again for God’s direction, lest our efforts come to nothing. Joy is not a warm fuzzy. It is the peace of certainty. God customizes our yoke. It is lighter than air, a bright and beautiful thing. He makes us strong to pull the weight of his will. He rewards us with thanksgiving and joy. Dread has no part in any of this.
Lord, keep me tuned to this kind of dread. Help me grow in discerning the difference between it and the dread evil casts. I long to be ever more certain of you until the gates of Hell will not stand against me.
Colossians 1:9-10
“We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work.”
“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.”
It always begins with God. Seeking, knowing and enjoying him must be primary. All of life flows from it. Incorrect ideas of God’s nature spawn bondage. Knowing him gives freedom and understanding of how to work his way.
Lord, it has taken me a lifetime to feel like I know you. How I wish it could have been so sooner. Thank you for healing me bit by bit, bringing me to this point. Let my progress shine into other lives, illuminating your glory.