Father God, I am so excited to hear what you have to say to us today. I thank you for your peace and your provision and your hope. I thank you that you are already answering our prayers. I thank you for the confirmation you bring and for the signs you send to point us toward your plans for us. I know that the truth you are going to share with us today and in the coming days will profoundly change our hearts and renew our minds. I thank you for this opportunity to grow together with you. ~Amen.
2:1 "I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally."
Once again, this word "struggling" gives me pause. I have read this many times in the last year, and I am never sure what it means to struggle. At different stages of my walk I've felt that this meant different things. I used to read this and think I had to contend...work hard in prayer and petition to God for what He was trying to do in others. Now, I'm so focused on learning to rest from my toil and my labor. I think the verses before where he talks about how he struggles in God's power must be the key for us. Verse 29 says he struggles with God's power. I'm pretty sure I've only just begun to understand the difference between suffering under my own power and struggling under God's power.
Aha!!! I didn't look this up before, but I just looked up verses 1:29 and 2:1 in the NAS Bible. It uses the word "labor." That must be it. Travailing...productive. Like I said when I talked about verse 29, I really believe that when I view all pain and all difficulty as the means to an end, then I have a different view of it. I know it will be as temporary as labor if God is in control. If the enemy is oppressing me, then I know God is working on behalf to free me and to the extent that I can allow Him to work in my heart, I know the suffering will come to an end. He is the God who heals. He is the God who provides. He is the God who does not hide His plans from His people. He will reveal to us His greater works and He will reveal to us the lies of the enemy that keep us shrouded in darkness. There is a big difference for me between a shroud of darkness and a shroud of mystery. God does hide things from us, but only for us to search and seek them out. He does not hide things to keep us from making progress in our lives. If we are stuck, it is by the hand of the enemy.
Jesus, I pray that you will reveal the truth about every place where we feel trapped, stuck, oppressed, or depressed. If there are changes we need to make, I pray that you would give us courage to fight against the lies and push into the truth. I pray that you would reveal the solutions and the keys to our struggle and that we would be eager to push against the lies and false fronts the enemy has placed in front of us to define who we are. Thank you for the power of your word and your Holy Spirit, who reveals to us all truth!
2:2 My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ..."
Looks like I got ahead of myself a bit in my last paragraph. The mystery of God...Christ. Encouraged in heart. We both need a lot of that right now. Unity in love, too. I used to think that unity meant we would all agree and get along perfectly with no struggles. Now I understand that it's a different unity Paul was after. He was after a unity in pursuing Jesus; a unity in loving the way Jesus loves. When we love the way Jesus loves, without judgment and without condition, we become unified in a far deeper way than when we agree. We create a space for everyone...those who are different, those who are on the outside, those who are believers and those who have yet to believe. When I love other people from the love of Christ, I see them...I see their potential instead of their lack. I see what they are capable instead of what they have yet to accomplish. This is a unity that defies the world; a counterculture that defines true Christianity and destroys the works of Satan.
And this type of love can only manifest itself through us when we have complete understanding of God's love for us, which He demonstrated in Jesus. Jesus was always saying that He was a perfect representation of the Father. He was always saying that He only did what He saw His Father doing. There seems to be a subtle, yet insidious doctrine out there that says Jesus loves us, but if it weren't for Him, God would burn our butts just like He did Sodom and Gomorrah. I don't see Him that way anymore. Our Father in heaven loves us with a passionate, undying love. He gave a part of Himself to us in a way that we may never truly understand, but if we can begin to understand even just a little bit of the Love that He has had for us from the moment He conceived of us, we will never see anyone else through our own stained lenses again. I have tasted a bit of this confidence, this understanding that Paul speaks of, and I can't get enough. He loves me. He loves me. He likes me. His affections are always for me. I can always approach Him, and He will act on my behalf the minute I ask. As I understand His affection, I realize that I can never make a mistake that He can't help me overcome. I can't go wrong. As I understand that I can't go wrong, the worst doesn't happen. I don't just go out and make more of a mess of my life because of my freedom. I begin to see other people through that same lens. I begin to see that other people are caught in their sins and their cycles just like I am. I begin to see that all they really need is a taste of Daddy's love. I begin to see that I can offer them that taste because I've tasted it too. I don't have to worry about whether they receive it or not. I don't have to worry about whether I know how to disciple them all the way. I know that all I need to do is love them the way He loves me, and He will take care of the rest!
2:3 "...in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
In Jesus! In Jesus all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, which is prized higher than rubies, which I know are sometimes even more valuable than diamonds in our worldly system of value. In Jesus. We are in Jesus. He said this. That we are in Him. Our lives are hidden in Him. Our souls are hidden in Him. This means that our souls are hidden in the same place as the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Is it possible that we are the repositories of His wisdom and knowledge? That we are the vessels He has chosen to hide His wisdom and knowledge within? He has definitely chosen to reveal Himself through us, and He is wisdom! He is knowledge. He is everything that is ever worth experiencing, knowing, understanding. And He is in us. We have the wisdom and knowledge of the ages at our fingertips. I pray that we will begin to grasp just a little bit of the big things that He wants to reveal to us in our lifetime. I pray that the mystery of Christ will sink so deeply into our souls that we will see this wisdom and knowledge springing up in the most unlikely places...solutions to problems in our families, ideas for our cities and governments, creative ideas for bringing in provision for our families, solutions to world hunger and disease. These ideas could very well rest inside you and me. One of us may be harboring the key to the AIDS epidemic, or the child sex trafficking industry issues, or the perhaps the starving orphans in other countries. I'm so excited to see what He is waiting to unleash from within each of us.
2:4 "I tell you this so no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments."
Somehow I think I have been deceived in my life by fine-sounding arguments. They go something like this...you are wicked, you are depraved, the promises of God are for you but not until you die and go to heaven. They go something like this: God is upset with you because you never get it right. He can't use you because you're so broken and He doesn't even know how to fix you. There's no cure except for Him to wait for you to die so He can start over without your soul. These are harsh statements that I've culled down from fine-sounding arguments over the years. I have been truly looking at the things I have believed about God over the years...like that He's always mad at me, waiting to smack me upside the head whenever I do something wrong; like that He wishes I would just finally surrender my addiction to food and sugar and get on with my life...get skinny so I can be a better witness for Him. And there is the real deception...that God loves me only for what I can do for Him. I was taught this! I was taught that if I'm not ministering for Him, then I'm not living up to my full potential. That I'm only valuable to Him when I'm mature, fully serving Him and finally giving back. He's put so much into me and He's just waiting and waiting for me to finally get it so I can give it all back to Him with abandon.
I don't buy this deception any longer. God loves me just like I love my son. Am I eager for him to grow and be able to contribute to the family? Yes, but not because I want a slave. I'm eager for that because I know how proud he's going to feel when he can finally feel the position he has grown into in our home. I love Orion because he is Orion...nothing more and nothing less, and that will never change. Can Orion disappoint me? Yes. Can he let me down? Yes. Do we let God down? I don't know. I don't think he worries over us the way we worry over our children. He is not afraid for us. He knows what is inside of us, and especially those of us who have already chosen His Son. The burden is not on us to remain. Jesus says that it is God who kept the disciples in safety. God is responsible for our well being. I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. This doctrine of God being angry with us makes me really angry, if you didn't notice. Hehe.
2:5 "For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is."
I am comforted to know that even though we are separated in body, you and eye are together in spirit, Tina. I am delighted to hear your heart as you share your thoughts on God's word in these blog entries. I have so longed to have this connection with you again. I am amazed that we are united in our pursuit of Jesus once again in a way that will have tangible results for both of us; we will see Him move and work within us and we will also get to delight in each others' faith and actions as we walk this leg of our journeys together.
Father, I thank you for Tina. I thank you that you have comforted her with the reminder of the dreams you gave to her for her girls. I thank you that deep down you can encourage her with trust in You to take care of Kiah and Echo. I thank you that that's what those dreams really meant to convey to her...that she is powerless, but you are not. Nothing is going to snatch Kiah out of Your hands. I thank you for the opportunity you gave me the other day to speak into Kiah's life on Facebook, and I thank you for the angels you are posting around her to help her and protect her. I thank you for the inspiration and the ideas that you are going to give Mark and Tina to navigate these next few months with her, and I thank you that Tina is reading the acting out correctly...that Kiah is just crying out for attention. I thank you that Tina will follow your leading on how to reach out to her and let her know that she is loved, accepted, and appreciated for who she is and not what she does or does not do right/wrong. I thank you for this family. I thank you that the obstacles they see right now in front of them are nothing compared to the love and plans you have for them. I see them standing strong, holding hands, united in their differences and their purposes because they love you. I see the differences creating an unbreakable circle from which will flow streams of living water. I see them jumping up for joy and celebrating together, holding hands and celebrating your goodness, which you are just about to unleash from heaven over them. I thank you for the joy that will begin to well up from within as you begin to unload them from all their burdens. I thank you for my friends and am so glad that you've given me such a hope for them that I can pray from. ~Amen.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Colassians 2:1-5 Tina
Dear God, Thank you for your word. Fill us up today on your word and truth. We wait patiently until the day we can look upon your Son's face and worship you in your kingdom. Amen
2:1 I want you to know how much I have agonized for you and for the church at Laodicea, and for many other friends who have never known me personally.
Paul is working for the church and for believers he has never met. I am struck by the fact that he continuously, tirelessly works with all his might for people he does not know. He knows them through their communion with Christ and the good news. We indeed are brothers and sisters through Christ.
2:2 My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God’s secret plan, which is Christ himself.
Paul’s purpose if for the people to have a full understanding of Christ and be united with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ’s plan. Paul wanted each Christian to be mature (1:28). But he also wanted each church to be mature. In 1:4, Paul had already praised the Christians at Colossae because they loved other Christians. This united them. They also needed to know and to believe the complete truth about Christ. They did not need the secret knowledge and wisdom that the false teachers had. Christ gives to Christians all that they need. This should encourage them, as they trust Christ.
2:3 In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
In Christ lie everything that we needed to know, all the wisdom, knowledge and power. I wish sometimes that I could have been one of the believers back then to sit and look upon Christ’s face. I know that someday I will look upon his face and see all of that wisdom and knowledge; we will truly know our savior one day. This is an amazing thing to hope and wait for!!! I can’t wait to have all those questions answered and completely understand the mystery of this world and humanity.
2:4 I am telling you this so that no one will be able to deceive you with persuasive arguments.
When a person knows the truth, he will recognize lies. And he will recognize anything that is false. The false teachers were clever in the way that they discussed things. They could reason well. They wanted to persuade people. They wanted people to believe them. Therefore, the Christians at Colossae had to know more truth about Christ. Then they could recognize what was false.
2:5 For though I am far away from you, my heart is with you. And I am very happy because you are living as you should and because of your strong faith in Christ.
What a encouragement from Paul. He loves them and his heart is with them. And the people in Colossae were standing firm in their strong faith. Paul’s letter is like a pep talk for this church, a gentle reminder of the truth while all around them false teachers were preaching false doctrine, trying to lead them astray.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Colossians 1:26-29 Angela
Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to read the written expression of your work and words to us. Thank you that you are so eager for us to know your plans and understand your ways. I thank you that each day we draw closer to you and that our faith and wisdom increase. ~Amen
1:26 "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints."
The word of God in its fullness--Jesus, the mystery kept hidden for ages and generations. The truth of Jesus has been revealed...the word of the God...the beginning of all things and the end of all things...we have the mystery of God living in us in fullness.
1:27 "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
I am so grateful that I am privy to this mystery...that the One who created me and the entire world has chosen to make His home in me. This indeed is hope. That everything I need...His power, His peace, and every other gift of His Spirit has taken up residence within me. I really don't know what more I can say. I am nearly speechless at this simple and outstanding truth!
1:28 "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."
I want to teach with all wisdom! Paul says EVERYONE! This is God's heart. God wants that no one will be separated from Him. And isn't it interesting that Paul says he will present them perfect in Christ. Does this mean he presents them to God? to Jesus? This is like what they say about Jesus interceding on our behalf...presenting us to God through the blood.
1:29 "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."
I love that Paul struggles with all of God's energy. I never want to struggle again outside of God's energy! I am eager to see how God works in me in the coming months, as I know He is honing and giving more clarity about the destiny I will walk in, the ministry I will do in days to come, and the ministry I'm already doing. I pray that I will never forget to lean into Him and gather my strength and courage only from Him. I've suffered enough by struggling in my own power, and I'm seriously so done with that!
Father God, I ask that you would reveal to us the true mystery of Christ dwelling within us. I pray that we would both receive revelation of what it means to have the hope of glory dwelling within us, empowering us and encouraging us in every moment of our lives. I pray that you would continue to increase our discernment in hearing the difference between our voice, your voice, and the voice of the accuser. I pray that you would cement within us a certainty of your favor and affection toward us, that we would begin to experience what it means to admonish and teach with all wisdom! I thank you for Paul's example and for the clear and true message of your sovereignty, your hope, and your great gift of salvation and all that it entails for each of us.
I continue to lift up Tina and Mark and their family. I pray that with each day would come greater clarity about priorities, work, and destiny. I pray for a breakthrough in Mark, that he would begin to hear your gentle voice of encouragement that would be calling him out of depression into certainty of your love for him and your call on his life. Break through the lies and the fears and the disappointments and discouragements. Bring your balm of comfort and peace to the wounds in his heart and give him your perspective on the events that took place at his last church. Wherever he is agreeing with someone or something other than you, I ask that you would bring moments of clarity and truth to diffuse the lies. Wherever he is hearing your truth, but is doubting it I ask that you would speak louder and bring more confirmation of your truth to his heart. Bring people who will encourage him in unlikely places. Give him the hope and trust and faith to begin to dream once again. And seal the promises you've given Tina in the dreams she had just before they moved to Florida.
In your Name, Amen.
1:26 "...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints."
The word of God in its fullness--Jesus, the mystery kept hidden for ages and generations. The truth of Jesus has been revealed...the word of the God...the beginning of all things and the end of all things...we have the mystery of God living in us in fullness.
1:27 "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
I am so grateful that I am privy to this mystery...that the One who created me and the entire world has chosen to make His home in me. This indeed is hope. That everything I need...His power, His peace, and every other gift of His Spirit has taken up residence within me. I really don't know what more I can say. I am nearly speechless at this simple and outstanding truth!
1:28 "We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ."
I want to teach with all wisdom! Paul says EVERYONE! This is God's heart. God wants that no one will be separated from Him. And isn't it interesting that Paul says he will present them perfect in Christ. Does this mean he presents them to God? to Jesus? This is like what they say about Jesus interceding on our behalf...presenting us to God through the blood.
1:29 "To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me."
I love that Paul struggles with all of God's energy. I never want to struggle again outside of God's energy! I am eager to see how God works in me in the coming months, as I know He is honing and giving more clarity about the destiny I will walk in, the ministry I will do in days to come, and the ministry I'm already doing. I pray that I will never forget to lean into Him and gather my strength and courage only from Him. I've suffered enough by struggling in my own power, and I'm seriously so done with that!
Father God, I ask that you would reveal to us the true mystery of Christ dwelling within us. I pray that we would both receive revelation of what it means to have the hope of glory dwelling within us, empowering us and encouraging us in every moment of our lives. I pray that you would continue to increase our discernment in hearing the difference between our voice, your voice, and the voice of the accuser. I pray that you would cement within us a certainty of your favor and affection toward us, that we would begin to experience what it means to admonish and teach with all wisdom! I thank you for Paul's example and for the clear and true message of your sovereignty, your hope, and your great gift of salvation and all that it entails for each of us.
I continue to lift up Tina and Mark and their family. I pray that with each day would come greater clarity about priorities, work, and destiny. I pray for a breakthrough in Mark, that he would begin to hear your gentle voice of encouragement that would be calling him out of depression into certainty of your love for him and your call on his life. Break through the lies and the fears and the disappointments and discouragements. Bring your balm of comfort and peace to the wounds in his heart and give him your perspective on the events that took place at his last church. Wherever he is agreeing with someone or something other than you, I ask that you would bring moments of clarity and truth to diffuse the lies. Wherever he is hearing your truth, but is doubting it I ask that you would speak louder and bring more confirmation of your truth to his heart. Bring people who will encourage him in unlikely places. Give him the hope and trust and faith to begin to dream once again. And seal the promises you've given Tina in the dreams she had just before they moved to Florida.
In your Name, Amen.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Prayer Request
Hi there,
I've spent my whole day looking at rentals and talking with our friends in Redding. I won't have time to complete our study today, so you can take a break for the day and I'll catch up tomorrow. I put the following in a message to my intercessor friends on Facebook today and would love you to pray for us, too. This is good news, but there are a few issues that need to be resolved before we can go for it:
Eric got a job offer today in Redding! We have carefully researched all the areas we've been considering, particularly the job markets/rental markets in them, and we've weighed them against our baseline expenses to discern how much we can say yes to.
Redding has the lowest horticulture wages of all the areas we've considered, and that bears out in the offer he received today. However, there are many things about the Redding area that cannot be valued in terms of economics. The offer he got today sounds great aside from the wage being a tad lower than our "bottom line" wage. Also, there would be the added expense of getting Eric down there for an interview in the next couple of weeks, which they really are pressing for.
We need wisdom, clarity of direction, and peace about this offer. The woman he spoke with (Ellen) is checking with the owner to see how high he would be willing to pay Eric after a probationary period. We're hoping for at least $10/hour, preferably $10.50 OR $11. According to Ellen that is a tall order, but she said, "nothing is impossible." If we can find a rental place for less than our forecasted amounts, that will take the burden off of me a bit.
I welcome your prayers and any words you receive in your prayers.
I also wanted to make sure you read my comments on your post from yesterday. I made several comments and a prayer at the end and didn't want you to miss those. Love you, Angela
I've spent my whole day looking at rentals and talking with our friends in Redding. I won't have time to complete our study today, so you can take a break for the day and I'll catch up tomorrow. I put the following in a message to my intercessor friends on Facebook today and would love you to pray for us, too. This is good news, but there are a few issues that need to be resolved before we can go for it:
Eric got a job offer today in Redding! We have carefully researched all the areas we've been considering, particularly the job markets/rental markets in them, and we've weighed them against our baseline expenses to discern how much we can say yes to.
Redding has the lowest horticulture wages of all the areas we've considered, and that bears out in the offer he received today. However, there are many things about the Redding area that cannot be valued in terms of economics. The offer he got today sounds great aside from the wage being a tad lower than our "bottom line" wage. Also, there would be the added expense of getting Eric down there for an interview in the next couple of weeks, which they really are pressing for.
We need wisdom, clarity of direction, and peace about this offer. The woman he spoke with (Ellen) is checking with the owner to see how high he would be willing to pay Eric after a probationary period. We're hoping for at least $10/hour, preferably $10.50 OR $11. According to Ellen that is a tall order, but she said, "nothing is impossible." If we can find a rental place for less than our forecasted amounts, that will take the burden off of me a bit.
I welcome your prayers and any words you receive in your prayers.
I also wanted to make sure you read my comments on your post from yesterday. I made several comments and a prayer at the end and didn't want you to miss those. Love you, Angela
Colossians 1: 26-29 Tina
Dear God open up your word to me today; send your Spirit to minister to me. I feel my physical body is standing in the way of my spirit and heart. I need your divine intervention. Amen
1:26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to his own holy people.
The secret was kept from man and angels and demons. God secret agent! Again I am reminded that he is author of life, he doesn’t need to give up any secrets or plot details until he is ready. Some translations use the word mystery instead of secret and I looked it up to see what if anything it would inspire.
μυστήριον greek for mystery : hidden thing, secret, mystery
- generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals
- a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding
- a hidden purpose or counsel
- secret will 1c
- of men 1c
- of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly.
I like the last one and think it defines the verse. We know that God’s plan was written out in the Old Testament, people read it and misunderstood the messages God was sending. The message was hidden from the Jews. Only now when we have the benefit of the New Testament and the image of Jesus that we can look back and see that the messages were there all along, Jesus revealed the message to all people.
1:27 For it has pleased God to tell his people that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. For this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.
Christ in you, the hope of glory: This is the Christian's hope of glory. It isn't our own hard work or devotion to God, or the power of our own spirituality. Instead, it is the abiding presence of Jesus: Christ in you. Once we were separated from God through our own sin, Jesus paid for the sin; we are reconciled to Christ and best of all God lives inside of us. I love the picture of Christ inside me, if you believe this one truth then you can’t doubt your faith because Christ is always with you. I use to share this truth a lot with kids that I ministered with, they believed if they did something wrong or made bad choices, thought bad thoughts that Jesus would leave them. I would explain to them that when we accept Christ and ask him into our hearts that once inside our hearts just lock and Jesus never leaves us. He doesn’t like us to sin but he always loves us and takes care of our heart. To the mind of a 3 and 4 year old they understood this.
1:28 So everywhere we go, we tell everyone about Christ. We warn them and teach them with all the wisdom God has given us, for we want to present them to God perfect in their relationship to Christ.
Paul preaches, he does not preach his views or ideas he preaches about Christ. He instructs and teaches about God, through God. Paul’s desire is to mature Christians who are able to stand on their own as believers; he did not want them to lean on him for spiritual strengthening. He wants them to lean on Christ. He wants us to know Christ, understand Christ, Love Christ, and Live for Christ, and have an intimate perfect relationship with Christ.
1:29 I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ’s might power that works within me.
Paul's work was empowered by God's mighty strength. But God's strength in his life didn't mean that Paul did nothing. He worked hard and depended entirely on God for the strength needed to continue. This is something I fear some church leaders and ministers do not do. They acquire their own agenda, use their own will and strength to get moving and then lead others. It is a sad fact of human life, then everyone is following a man’s idea or a man’s vision of where the church should be instead of working hard for Christ doing Christ like things. There is a difference. We are so prideful and want to do everything on our own. We keep striving and pushing and conniving to get what we want. Paul ultimately depended on God for everything from food, shelter, life and strength, lives like his are portraits of faith in action.
I am finding it funny how when I read back over this the subject of strength and wisdom comes up over which we are both needing right now. I feel a little like the folks in the last verse. I keep striving, pushing, straining just to keep up the "normal" aspects of our home. I am struggling with what needs to be done (chores, working at school, cooking, mothering) and whether or not I really can do it. I try not to complain, not to ask for help. I don't want to be the mother who was always hurting, always popping pills or laying down so I keep pushing and staying silent about it. I am not sure if that is a good thing or just a stupid thing.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Colossians 1:21-25 Angela
Father, I thank you that I can run to you in times of discouragement and times of hope. I thank you that today was a day filled with hope and that even with discouraging news I am hopeful that it just means an open door awaits me elsewhere. (Tina, my brother was paying me $800 a month to do some work for him, but it takes me a lot less time than he anticipated, so he cut my pay to $400.) I thank you that I have been following your lead in preparing my resume and getting ready to launch my freelance writing/editing business. I thank you for your encouragement, your courage, and your strength to face each challenge as it comes. Today, I ask that you would boost us both up as we stretch for what is next. I ask specifically right now that Tina's pain would begin to ease, and that she would feel physical strength returning. I pray for a lightness and a joy to fill her in the next couple of days, incrementally as she begins to notice a change in her physical stamina. I thank you for this opportunity to be in your word regularly. Speak to our souls and our spirits. ~Amen.
1:21 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior."
Wow! This struck me hard today. The truth is that I still sometimes believe I'm alienated from God. There has been a pervasive thought pattern in my mind that keeps me afraid to get on His bad side. This has been changing, and I think this is the reason it is ringing so clearly to me right now. I am really coming out of the place where I believe that I can even get on God's bad side. There would have been a time that this particular verse would have made me tremble, really. I would have questioned my salvation because I still participate in "evil behavior," at least according to my own definition. My thought life and actions still seem to resemble the "bad" lists in the Bible more than the "good" ones. I know now, though, that I can't change my behavior on my own. I need Him to reveal it to me, and in confidence I need to boldly confess to Him and ask Him to help me get to the roots of it so I can pull them out with His help. I am so excited about the possibility that there is an end to my "evil" behavior in site. And the guilt and shame have truly been wiped out by His neverending, unfailing, eternal love for me, his daughter.
1:22-23a "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation, if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel."
He--God. My Father God has reconciled me. This is profound to me, too. For so many years I identified fully with Christ, but I was afraid of Father God. Despite the fact that I had read the Bible many times through and been through countless studies, I still believed that if it hadn't been for Jesus, God wouldn't have even wanted to save me. Now, I understand what this verse so clearly illuminates...God chose me, and He gave His Son for me. His Son, in human form, agreed with God about this arrangement, and it was the co-laboring of Jesus with God that brought about my redemption, and now I have the privilege of also stepping into agreement with God to further that redemption upon the earth in my circle of friends and family.
The last part is awesome! This last week I have been wrestling with some accusations a leader made against me a couple of weeks ago. I have been asking God to reveal to me whether what she said had any truth, and He keeps telling me over and over again that He does not accuse me. He does not bring my sin to light in a threatening, shaming way. He does not compare me to another person, and He does not motivate me by fear, guilt, or shame. I am walking in firm faith that His love for me is complete. This last part about our faith hinges upon the first part...that HE reconciled us to HIMSELF. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the beginning and end of each one of us. It is all on Him. I have a part to play, but my faith is in His character, which never changes. It is by His character that I can now way every word spoken to or against me. This means that I can dismiss what she said in accusation, because this is not how God works in my heart. Phew!
1:23b "This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Once again, Paul just summed up the gospel in a few verses. I love this! Passage after passage is reaffirming in every way possible that we are God's chosen children. And I like the part about the gospel being proclaimed to every creature under heaven! Angels, demons, animals, plants, humans. Every Creature!! I have been reading and learning about St. Francis of Assissi, and I have been longing to have an effect in the natural realm...to pray for animals and plants and see them flourish and be at peace with men on the earth...to see the dominion that God promised to mankind restored in all its fullness.
1:24 "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church."
This is a mystery to me. Ahhh...reading it in the NLT makes a little more sense to me: "I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church."
This is part of Paul's gifting as an apostle and martyr for Christ. I understand now that he is saying the Jesus still suffers on behalf of his church, and that as we come into unity with His heart and mind we also will ache and suffer for the ones who are deceived and lost in the world still, even some who profess His name are still in fear of God rather than in awe and intimacy with Him. It is my prayer that all will come to understand His deep and abiding love and how it washes away shame and guilt. That we can come to Him in our filthy rags day after day, and He helps us in our humility and weakness to overcome and conquer the things that have always overcome and conquered us.
1:25 (Continuing in NLT) "God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you."
This is Paul's mission statement. Many times I read that this is everyone's mission statement, but I know we are not all going to do it just like Paul. I think we can have his heart and operate out of our different gift mixes and see the same type of results...lives changed, souls saved, diseases healed, demons cast out, and the creation responding to the release of the glory of God in His sons upon the earth.
Thank you Jesus, for your sacrifice and for the call on our lives to live as you lived and do the works you did and even greater works. Prepare our hearts, reveal the lies and root out the foundations of "evil" behavior in our lives. Remove the footholds that the enemy stands upon to retain ground in our lives. Remove every veil and bring restoration of lost vision, lost ambition, lost dreams, and lost momentum. I pray for restoration of the love of our first encounters with you and the hope that was once a fire igniting our hearts. I pray for a revelation of all that has gone on since then and how some of our experiences and the teachings we have taken into our hearts has turned us aside from the pure love of God and clarion call of the gospel in its simplest and clearest message. Thank you for all you have done! ~Amen.
Tina, we are in need of prayer for our move. We are weighing many different options, and it is very hard for us to decide. Each city seems to have a different mix of positives and negatives, and each day we learn a little more but it is a slow and steady progress. We need direction, clarity, and clear objectives in what we're looking for and what we can afford to do. Thank you so much for these daily visits! I love you.
~Angela
1:21 "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior."
Wow! This struck me hard today. The truth is that I still sometimes believe I'm alienated from God. There has been a pervasive thought pattern in my mind that keeps me afraid to get on His bad side. This has been changing, and I think this is the reason it is ringing so clearly to me right now. I am really coming out of the place where I believe that I can even get on God's bad side. There would have been a time that this particular verse would have made me tremble, really. I would have questioned my salvation because I still participate in "evil behavior," at least according to my own definition. My thought life and actions still seem to resemble the "bad" lists in the Bible more than the "good" ones. I know now, though, that I can't change my behavior on my own. I need Him to reveal it to me, and in confidence I need to boldly confess to Him and ask Him to help me get to the roots of it so I can pull them out with His help. I am so excited about the possibility that there is an end to my "evil" behavior in site. And the guilt and shame have truly been wiped out by His neverending, unfailing, eternal love for me, his daughter.
1:22-23a "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation, if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel."
He--God. My Father God has reconciled me. This is profound to me, too. For so many years I identified fully with Christ, but I was afraid of Father God. Despite the fact that I had read the Bible many times through and been through countless studies, I still believed that if it hadn't been for Jesus, God wouldn't have even wanted to save me. Now, I understand what this verse so clearly illuminates...God chose me, and He gave His Son for me. His Son, in human form, agreed with God about this arrangement, and it was the co-laboring of Jesus with God that brought about my redemption, and now I have the privilege of also stepping into agreement with God to further that redemption upon the earth in my circle of friends and family.
The last part is awesome! This last week I have been wrestling with some accusations a leader made against me a couple of weeks ago. I have been asking God to reveal to me whether what she said had any truth, and He keeps telling me over and over again that He does not accuse me. He does not bring my sin to light in a threatening, shaming way. He does not compare me to another person, and He does not motivate me by fear, guilt, or shame. I am walking in firm faith that His love for me is complete. This last part about our faith hinges upon the first part...that HE reconciled us to HIMSELF. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is the beginning and end of each one of us. It is all on Him. I have a part to play, but my faith is in His character, which never changes. It is by His character that I can now way every word spoken to or against me. This means that I can dismiss what she said in accusation, because this is not how God works in my heart. Phew!
1:23b "This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Once again, Paul just summed up the gospel in a few verses. I love this! Passage after passage is reaffirming in every way possible that we are God's chosen children. And I like the part about the gospel being proclaimed to every creature under heaven! Angels, demons, animals, plants, humans. Every Creature!! I have been reading and learning about St. Francis of Assissi, and I have been longing to have an effect in the natural realm...to pray for animals and plants and see them flourish and be at peace with men on the earth...to see the dominion that God promised to mankind restored in all its fullness.
1:24 "Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church."
This is a mystery to me. Ahhh...reading it in the NLT makes a little more sense to me: "I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church."
This is part of Paul's gifting as an apostle and martyr for Christ. I understand now that he is saying the Jesus still suffers on behalf of his church, and that as we come into unity with His heart and mind we also will ache and suffer for the ones who are deceived and lost in the world still, even some who profess His name are still in fear of God rather than in awe and intimacy with Him. It is my prayer that all will come to understand His deep and abiding love and how it washes away shame and guilt. That we can come to Him in our filthy rags day after day, and He helps us in our humility and weakness to overcome and conquer the things that have always overcome and conquered us.
1:25 (Continuing in NLT) "God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you."
This is Paul's mission statement. Many times I read that this is everyone's mission statement, but I know we are not all going to do it just like Paul. I think we can have his heart and operate out of our different gift mixes and see the same type of results...lives changed, souls saved, diseases healed, demons cast out, and the creation responding to the release of the glory of God in His sons upon the earth.
Thank you Jesus, for your sacrifice and for the call on our lives to live as you lived and do the works you did and even greater works. Prepare our hearts, reveal the lies and root out the foundations of "evil" behavior in our lives. Remove the footholds that the enemy stands upon to retain ground in our lives. Remove every veil and bring restoration of lost vision, lost ambition, lost dreams, and lost momentum. I pray for restoration of the love of our first encounters with you and the hope that was once a fire igniting our hearts. I pray for a revelation of all that has gone on since then and how some of our experiences and the teachings we have taken into our hearts has turned us aside from the pure love of God and clarion call of the gospel in its simplest and clearest message. Thank you for all you have done! ~Amen.
Tina, we are in need of prayer for our move. We are weighing many different options, and it is very hard for us to decide. Each city seems to have a different mix of positives and negatives, and each day we learn a little more but it is a slow and steady progress. We need direction, clarity, and clear objectives in what we're looking for and what we can afford to do. Thank you so much for these daily visits! I love you.
~Angela
Colassian 1:21-25 Tina
Dear God,
Thank you for this time to spend in your word together. Thank you for the free gift of your salvation, help us to stand firm upon your promises. Lord bless our days, give us faith and peace that comes from you. -Amen
1:20And by him God reconciled every to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
1:21 This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions,
In Genesis Adam and Eve brought sin into this perfect world that Christ had made for us to enjoy. We were his friends in the Garden of Eden. God would come down and talk with Adam and Eve and they were blessed by his presence. Once sin came into the picture we could no longer be friends of God, the sin separated us from God. God who is holy and just and sinless could not be friends to us who were so consumed by sin, God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden and we were apart from him. By Jesus we are reconciled with God, through him we are no longer enemies, because of his blood we are made clean.
1:22 yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.
This verse is underlined in my bible because I think this is a point that we somehow miss as Christians. This is the definition of salvation, true salvation. I have known so many “good” Christians who feared there deaths because they believed that they would be severely judged for their sins on earth. Doug Glein did a sermon once that illustrated this verse perfectly, he said when we stand before God we are covered in Christ, in his blood, that when the Father looks on us he will see only his Son. That doesn’t mean we can trample on it and do what ever we want, it simply means that we are free from condemnation. We will mess up, we will sin but Christ completely covers us. Once the gift is accepted we have to learn to forgive ourselves and move forward, move towards God move towards becoming more like Christ.
1:23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
The problem with a gift is it is given freely. We don’t do anything to deserve it, to pay for it. The motto you can’t get anything for free is something we as savvy Americans believe. The fact is salvation is free for us, it is a gift freely given. The true measure of faith is to hold on to the truth that Christ has already paid for the gift, he has already taken the punishment for our misdoings, and then wrapped it around us to mark us as his own family. If you were to believe one thing in the bible just one truth it should be the Christ died for our sins, took our punishment and was raised to life on the 3rd day. God wanted to set us free from sin!!
1:24 I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am completing what remains of Christ’s suffering for his body, the church.
Ok Paul you are a little crazy here. I wish I could rejoice while in suffering pain mode, I can’t. This is a weird verse for me, after all Christ did say it is finished on the cross. No more was needed or added to his crucifixion exit from humanity. Ok so Paul isn’t saying anymore needs to be added but I think what he is saying is I will suffer through because I am doing God’s work to grow his body here on earth, the church. That his suffering is a constant reminder of what Jesus went through on the cross. He might have needed this painful reminder since he was such a Jesus hater while Christ was living on earth. Paul knew that Christ loved the church and his way of loving Christ was to give up his life, his health, his vocation, to give up as much as he could for the church just as Jesus would have done if he had been here.
1:25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his message in all its fullness to you Gentiles.
In the past, God had not told people the complete message; I love this about God he is a secret and yet revealed.He is the wonderful author of life. The Jews could read about some of God’s plan. They thought that his plan was only for Jews and they were completely messed up when it came to the messiah prophecy and redemption aspects. But God showed his complete plan when Christ came, Jesus came as the embodiment of God the Father. He came to show us who God is and what he loves like, how he cares, what makes his cry. Once Jesus was raised to heaven and the Holy Spirit was sent to live in us Jesus lived with Jews and Gentiles or anyone else who accepted his gift. When Christ returns to earth, every Christian will live with him. The Bible promises that Christians will share Christ’s glory. I also think that Christ has a sense of humor here, we can look back and see Saul (Paul) and know that he thought he was just a good upstanding Jewish man, he hated Christians and he hated Gentiles. Jesus completely turned him around, poor Saul did a 360’ degree turn about. He ate with Gentiles, slept in their homes, preached to them, and loved them. God can do amazing things. Paul was the man for the job, we have the evidence throughout the New Testament but I find it funny to watch throughout the bible who he chooses to use.
Angela,
Please pray about some things. I pulled Ioni out of public school today and she is going to do home school. She is miserable and she feels really unsafe at school, there is constant barrage of obscene comments, out of control kids in class and peer pressure. Would you believe her friends were shocked to to hear she was a virgin! In 8th grade! She was so bold and even told them that she has never kissed a boy either. Since we started talking about pulling Ioni out the other girls are expressing a desire to come home too, they have similar problems and issues. I would love to be able to home school the 3 younger kids but I work, and I am struggling through a lot of pain with RA. Kiah and Ruby would need a real teacher present, Ioni is a self studying fool. I am praying for God to give me an answer about this, I know he is capable of anything. I am also looking into the idea of going on disability, I contacted my doctor by mail this week to see if it is a possibility. Great changes are coming here and I just pray for wisdom and composure through it.
Love you,
Tina
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Colossians 1:16-20 Angela
Father, I'm in need of your strength and joy today. I thank you that you are faithful to show us your fingerprints on our lives, especially when we are struggling to see you. I thank you that you do not play games with us, that if you seem distant it is only an illusion. Thank you that each day is a new opportunity to find the gifts of peace, joy, and self-control. These are the things I need today, and I thank you that you are faithful to answer our heartfelt cries. Infuse us both with strength, perspective, hope, and joy today. ~Amen.
1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
This hearkens back to John 1 for me, where John expounds on the nature of Jesus; that he was the Word made flesh. That the Word of God that was spoken and brought forth all things upon the earth also became a created being housed in flesh. This is amazing, mind boggling, and mysterious.
The other part that is amazing is that every throne...every monarchy, every place where men rule was created by Jesus and for Him. In other parts of Scripture it says that the nations are his inheritance. As I've studied the queens, it is clear that the English Royals believed a version of this, though I'm not sure they understood it as God intended. They believed that the monarch was chosen by God, was infallible (much like the Pope), and was sovereign over the State in the same way that God was. I'm sure they used this verse and others like it to secure that notion. Of course, many of them abused that power for selfish gain. I think the lesson of Saul versus David is the best to prove that it isn't men in leadership that God endorses so much as the position of leadership that is aching to be filled.
Then there is the part about visible and invisible. I have a hunger to see more of the invisible things that God created. I know invisible implies that they can't be seen, but at least I want to become more aware of that realm and understand its influence upon my life. It reminds me of myself...the conscious thoughts that I believe govern my day versus the unconscious thoughts that really do govern my day.
1:17 "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Wow! Before all things...to me this means that He came first, that He sits above all things. It denotes order for me. It also reminds me of the verses that talk about Jesus being the head of the body and also about His blood saving us. In our bodies, it's our muscles and ligaments that hold us together. It's our blood that keeps us alive, nourishing and cleansing every aspect of our inner and outer workings. He is like the ligaments and blood of the whole universe. It reminds me of the verse that says it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.
1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
Head of the body...the head holds the brain which gives all the signals for the members and organs to move and work and do their work. And we are the body...I am the church, you are the church. Even if we're not in a church; even if we aren't serving in a church, we are the church. This makes me think of the verse that says we have the mind of Christ. As we surrender our wills to His will, He cleanses our mind from old thinking patterns and reactionary habits. He helps us to make new pathways and follow His leading.
He is the firstborn among the dead. He lived among us, in our sin and depravity. He felt the pull of sin, he was dead to God. And when He rose again, He stood as the benchmark for us. What he did we can do, how he lived we can live, how he loved we can love--to the extent that we surrender our wills, habits, and hurts to him.
He has the supremacy in everything. Even if it looks as though the world is going to hell, Jesus has supremacy. More and more I see God as a Father of the nations, meaning that the nations are immature just like children are immature. I see that he allows them to be in their immature state, just like we allow our children to be in theirs. He doesn't rush our progress. He patiently waits for us to mature and grow and become more and more like him. He doesn't bemoan the fact that we haven't learned how to share yet. He doesn't bemoan the fact that we are still filled with selfish ambition and vain conceit. He knows that one day we will be like him. He is not worried about our progress. He is always cheering us on.
1:19-20 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
God was pleased!!!! This is a verse that I think is often misinterpreted. The Scripture is clear elsewhere that Jesus left His divinity behind. If we don't believe this, then we have no hope that we can ever live as He lived. What I think this verse means is that God was pleased to fill Jesus with His Spirit and release His power into Him and through Him. He was pleased to have fellowship with Jesus even while he was in his fully human form. This means to me that God is pleased also to fill me when I cry out to Him; that He is pleased to commune with me in the same way. That the relationship Jesus and Father God had, the intimate friendship is open and available to me and that by coming into communion with the Father through the spilled blood of Jesus, I have full access to the throne room. I do not have to approach God with fear and trembling as though he will strike me dead. Rather, He is eager to hear from me and lend me His ear. I have the ear of my King, my God, my Daddy.
These five verses have to be the most concise version of the Gospel I can think of! I am filled with hope and wonder at His perfect plan for redeeming all things...visible and invisible; in heaven and on earth. Side note, it says that heaven had to be redeemed as well. Nothing in the created realm was left unaffected by the rebellion of satan and the rebellion of man.
Thank you, Daddy, that we can approach you with confidence even in our sinfulness. Thank you that by the blood of Jesus you have taken our guilt and shame and by giving us the mind of Christ, you have given us hope of a new start, a new life, a new hope for a better future. Thank you that once again your word has given me the faith to smile at my future without fear. ~Amen.
1:16 "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
This hearkens back to John 1 for me, where John expounds on the nature of Jesus; that he was the Word made flesh. That the Word of God that was spoken and brought forth all things upon the earth also became a created being housed in flesh. This is amazing, mind boggling, and mysterious.
The other part that is amazing is that every throne...every monarchy, every place where men rule was created by Jesus and for Him. In other parts of Scripture it says that the nations are his inheritance. As I've studied the queens, it is clear that the English Royals believed a version of this, though I'm not sure they understood it as God intended. They believed that the monarch was chosen by God, was infallible (much like the Pope), and was sovereign over the State in the same way that God was. I'm sure they used this verse and others like it to secure that notion. Of course, many of them abused that power for selfish gain. I think the lesson of Saul versus David is the best to prove that it isn't men in leadership that God endorses so much as the position of leadership that is aching to be filled.
Then there is the part about visible and invisible. I have a hunger to see more of the invisible things that God created. I know invisible implies that they can't be seen, but at least I want to become more aware of that realm and understand its influence upon my life. It reminds me of myself...the conscious thoughts that I believe govern my day versus the unconscious thoughts that really do govern my day.
1:17 "He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
Wow! Before all things...to me this means that He came first, that He sits above all things. It denotes order for me. It also reminds me of the verses that talk about Jesus being the head of the body and also about His blood saving us. In our bodies, it's our muscles and ligaments that hold us together. It's our blood that keeps us alive, nourishing and cleansing every aspect of our inner and outer workings. He is like the ligaments and blood of the whole universe. It reminds me of the verse that says it is in Him that we live and move and have our being.
1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy."
Head of the body...the head holds the brain which gives all the signals for the members and organs to move and work and do their work. And we are the body...I am the church, you are the church. Even if we're not in a church; even if we aren't serving in a church, we are the church. This makes me think of the verse that says we have the mind of Christ. As we surrender our wills to His will, He cleanses our mind from old thinking patterns and reactionary habits. He helps us to make new pathways and follow His leading.
He is the firstborn among the dead. He lived among us, in our sin and depravity. He felt the pull of sin, he was dead to God. And when He rose again, He stood as the benchmark for us. What he did we can do, how he lived we can live, how he loved we can love--to the extent that we surrender our wills, habits, and hurts to him.
He has the supremacy in everything. Even if it looks as though the world is going to hell, Jesus has supremacy. More and more I see God as a Father of the nations, meaning that the nations are immature just like children are immature. I see that he allows them to be in their immature state, just like we allow our children to be in theirs. He doesn't rush our progress. He patiently waits for us to mature and grow and become more and more like him. He doesn't bemoan the fact that we haven't learned how to share yet. He doesn't bemoan the fact that we are still filled with selfish ambition and vain conceit. He knows that one day we will be like him. He is not worried about our progress. He is always cheering us on.
1:19-20 "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
God was pleased!!!! This is a verse that I think is often misinterpreted. The Scripture is clear elsewhere that Jesus left His divinity behind. If we don't believe this, then we have no hope that we can ever live as He lived. What I think this verse means is that God was pleased to fill Jesus with His Spirit and release His power into Him and through Him. He was pleased to have fellowship with Jesus even while he was in his fully human form. This means to me that God is pleased also to fill me when I cry out to Him; that He is pleased to commune with me in the same way. That the relationship Jesus and Father God had, the intimate friendship is open and available to me and that by coming into communion with the Father through the spilled blood of Jesus, I have full access to the throne room. I do not have to approach God with fear and trembling as though he will strike me dead. Rather, He is eager to hear from me and lend me His ear. I have the ear of my King, my God, my Daddy.
These five verses have to be the most concise version of the Gospel I can think of! I am filled with hope and wonder at His perfect plan for redeeming all things...visible and invisible; in heaven and on earth. Side note, it says that heaven had to be redeemed as well. Nothing in the created realm was left unaffected by the rebellion of satan and the rebellion of man.
Thank you, Daddy, that we can approach you with confidence even in our sinfulness. Thank you that by the blood of Jesus you have taken our guilt and shame and by giving us the mind of Christ, you have given us hope of a new start, a new life, a new hope for a better future. Thank you that once again your word has given me the faith to smile at my future without fear. ~Amen.
Colassians 1 16-20 Tina
Dear God thank you for this time to share with you each day. I ask for you to just be with us today, give us your strength and wisdom in all matters. I pray especially for Ioni who is struggling right now with depression, please Lord give me your discernment and knowledge to know what is the right path to take with her concerning schooling. Lord be with Angela, give her some peaceful moments with you today. Thank you Lord for your wonderful creation all around us, without your son Jesus I know that all of creation would fall apart.
Amen
16: Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see-kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him.
This verse is actually underlined in my bible because I love it! Christ existed before there was anything on land or in the sky. The part I love about it is that he made everything on land and in the sky (heaven). He created the things we can see, the physical world and he created the things we can’t see, the spirit world which includes angels. I think this verse is so important because it gives evidence to the verse before it that said Jesus is Supreme. Since Jesus is greatest in power, authority, rank, ultimate and final, this explains why. He is the creator, the maker of heaven and earth. All things were made to give him glory, to praise his name. I reminded of Luke 19:40 Where Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees and he said, “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” The stones which Jesus made would cry out in praise to him!! Every time it rains, thunders, and lightning I can’t help but wonder if the earth is crying out to him.
17: He existed before every else began, and he holds all creation together.
I think these verses are so important!! Whenever we go through times when we feel like Jesus doesn’t care or isn’t watching out for us, when our faith is tested we need to turn back to these verses and understand that Jesus is the glue that is holding everything together, without him every thing would not exist or fall away. Christ maintains the physical world. This is why it works well. The sun, moon and stars stay in their correct places in the sky. Every day has the same number of hours. People in the world live because Christ keeps them alive. Christ also maintains everything that is not physical. Without Christ, everything would break down. Christ is the ruler of everything that he created.
18: Christ is the head of the church, which is his body. He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is the first in everything.
The church is people throughout the world and throughout history all of which have Christ living within them, creating a physical body here on earth. Christ is the head which leads this body; he is our higher brain function. Christ is the first to rise from the dead, other people in the bible were raised too but they only spent a short time here on earth and then they died again for the second time. Christ will never die again, he lives eternally in heaven.
19: For God in all his fullness was please to live in Christ,
Jesus Christ was not just a man. Jesus Christ is God. God lived in Christ’s human body. And God continues to live in Christ for ever. God put everything that he has into Christ. And God put everything that he is into Christ. This includes all God’s character, his nature and his power. Christ was full of God the Father. No part of God was missing from Christ’s life.
20: and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
In the beginning Adam and Eve were God’s friends, when they sinned they separated themselves and all humankind from God. Because we had sinned we could not be united with God, God despises sin. Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Colassians 1 11-15 Tina
Dear God,
Thank you so much for your loving care, guidance, strength, mercy and endurance. This gifts come from you everyday. Lord help us to draw upon your strength daily in order to walk the path you provide for us each day. Lord I ask you to remind us both, of all the things we have to be thankful for, help us not to loose sight of your wonderful gifts. Lord I thank you that you have bought and paid for us both with your blood, that we are now your sisters and co-rulers in a eternal kingdom. Thank you for sending Jesus to earth to connect us to you and to bring a clear picture of who you are. Lord please Angela and her family, shower them with your love and mercies. Amen
1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy,
Is our inheritance the gift of his power? I love the words "always thanking the Father" Sometimes when I pray I try to think of as many things that I can thank him for and just tell him that I appreciate all of the things that he has done or is doing. It is just a good process to go through. It reminds me of all the loving care in my life that I can see he has done, there is so much more that I can not see that he is doing all the time. Whenever I feel depressed or dissatisfied I try to do this more often. When the world feels like it is closing in on me I pray to thank God for as many things as I can.
1:13 For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Thank you so much for your loving care, guidance, strength, mercy and endurance. This gifts come from you everyday. Lord help us to draw upon your strength daily in order to walk the path you provide for us each day. Lord I ask you to remind us both, of all the things we have to be thankful for, help us not to loose sight of your wonderful gifts. Lord I thank you that you have bought and paid for us both with your blood, that we are now your sisters and co-rulers in a eternal kingdom. Thank you for sending Jesus to earth to connect us to you and to bring a clear picture of who you are. Lord please Angela and her family, shower them with your love and mercies. Amen
1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with his glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy,
So the power that is to be given to us through this prayer is to strengthen us and give us patience and endurance and fill us with joy. He is not giving us power for power sake or power to change outward things, he is giving us power to change ourselves and become like him. I am convinced that a life without prayer, without calling on the Father for supernatural power would be doomed to failure. I think sometimes we as Christians do not call on God for his power, strength to aid us when we need it. We think that asking for it is a mute point when he knows we need it. We may be missing out on a wonderful gift her on earth.
1:12 always thanking the Father, who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God's holy people, who live in the light.Is our inheritance the gift of his power? I love the words "always thanking the Father" Sometimes when I pray I try to think of as many things that I can thank him for and just tell him that I appreciate all of the things that he has done or is doing. It is just a good process to go through. It reminds me of all the loving care in my life that I can see he has done, there is so much more that I can not see that he is doing all the time. Whenever I feel depressed or dissatisfied I try to do this more often. When the world feels like it is closing in on me I pray to thank God for as many things as I can.
1:13 For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness, and he has brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
Here again we see the image of the spiritual family. We live in the world of darkness and God came and adopted us into the Royal Family with his son Jesus. I have always loved the image of Jesus being my brother, my worldly brothers are wicked and mean and my new brother Jesus is Holy, just, forgiving, Loving. Some of my favorite people here on earth are my brothers in the church, they are supportive, faithful, and wonderful friends.
1:14 God has purchased our freedom with his blood and has forgiven all our sins.Jesus purchased my freedom with his death on the cross. Satan and sin do not own me anymore, I am a new creation bought and paid for my Christ himself. I am a sister to Christ adopted in the Royal Family with Christ as my brother and God as my father. This is a done deal, sealed in Jesus' blood, it can not be undone or nullified, it is for all eternity!
1:15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. John 1:18 says that nobody has ever seen God the Father. God is spirit. We cannot see him because he does not have a physical body. But Jesus said, ‘If you have seen me you have seen God the Father’ (John 14:9). Jesus meant that he has the same nature and character as God. So, when we learn more about Jesus Christ, we learn more about God. Christ existed before God created anything. And Christ has the place of honor over all that God created. I love the image of Jesus with God before anything was created, I think this gives him more credibility as a Lord. He was there from the beginning, he was in on all the plans, he knew he would come to earth to show us a physical picture of who the Father is, the verse calls him supreme over all of creation.
su·preme (s
-pr
m
)
-prm)adj.
1. Greatest in power, authority, or rank; paramount or dominant.
2. Greatest in importance, degree, significance, character, or achievement.
3. Ultimate; final: the supreme sacrifice.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Colossians 1:11-15--Angela
Thank you, Jesus, for a new day to praise you, seek you, and find you. May our minds and souls be filled with the wisdom and understanding that comes from experience with you, that we might live a life just like yours, pleasing you in every way. ~Amen.
1:11-12 "...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
This is where I believe it's important again to remember that this prayer is specific to the Colossians, who were deemed holy and faithful in their love for other believers in accordance with the gospel of truth. This is a promise for us, too, but we have to examine our ways of loving and make sure they line up with Jesus' ways of loving. I have spent many hours in these last few months taking a good long look at the way I love other people, and I've found that a lot of times what I think is love really has at its roots control, fear, and even downright selfish ambition. I have been asking Him to gently uncover my hidden motives and truly transform my human love into selfless, others-centered love without sacrificing my soul in the process. I know it can be done.
It is in those moments of true love that we experience strength, power, endurance, patience, and joy! When I truly love someone unconditionally, with the gift of His love, I am empowered. I walk away supercharged, and later I get wrecked when they thank me, because I know that it wasn't really me. I know in those moments that God has gifted me with exaltation and glory (James 4:10).
1:13 "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
This is a done deal. If we are oppressed, it's not because God is withholding a key from us. In the healing that I've experienced this past year, I've discovered at the root of much of my oppression, both physical and emotional, are lies that I've believed about God or about myself. It is my prayer for both of us that these lies will be uncovered, exposed, and the foundations of these lies will crumble under the weight of truth that God loves us passionately and has done everything to rescue us and deliver us from the oppression of darkness. I pray for light, revelation, understanding, and wisdom to flood us in the realms of our physical and emotional struggles, and that as we come to truly believe deep within our hearts that God is for us that the enemy will flee from us in defeat.
1:14 "...in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
redemption in Greek = ransom in full, riddance, salvation; translated deliverance or redemption.
This reminds me of the story of the paraplegic who Jesus first told was forgiven for his sins. When the religious leaders scoffed and made remarks about this, Jesus commanded the man to get up and walk as evidence that Jesus has the power to forgive sins. It is the forgiveness of sins that heals us. Forgiveness is far more than just saying I'm sorry and receiving "I forgive you," in return. It is that Jesus wipes the stain away forever. It is that he unhinges the shame cycle that keeps us trapped in our sins. It is that when we begin to truly understand true forgiveness, we are able to get up and walk again. We are no longer paralyzed in the shame cycle, but free to begin to operate outside of our bad habits. We begin to find revelation and freedom from the things that have always plagued us.
1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
This speaks of two things to me. First, that God is exactly and has always been exactly like Jesus. If we wonder about God's motives in the Old Testament, then we must look at His actions in light of the character of Jesus and apply everything we know about Jesus to God even in those Old Testament moments.
Second, that Jesus is the firstborn means to me that we are all in this together. In other places in the Bible it says that Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. We are all heirs. We are all in this together. If His mission becomes our mission, we will be like him!
Thank you, Father, that you have forgiven our sins, wiped them away from the record. Thank you that through the blood of your spotless son, we have also become spotless and now we labor with Christ in the effort to bring all of earth into unity with Your will and plans for it. ~Amen.
1:11-12 "...being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
This is where I believe it's important again to remember that this prayer is specific to the Colossians, who were deemed holy and faithful in their love for other believers in accordance with the gospel of truth. This is a promise for us, too, but we have to examine our ways of loving and make sure they line up with Jesus' ways of loving. I have spent many hours in these last few months taking a good long look at the way I love other people, and I've found that a lot of times what I think is love really has at its roots control, fear, and even downright selfish ambition. I have been asking Him to gently uncover my hidden motives and truly transform my human love into selfless, others-centered love without sacrificing my soul in the process. I know it can be done.
It is in those moments of true love that we experience strength, power, endurance, patience, and joy! When I truly love someone unconditionally, with the gift of His love, I am empowered. I walk away supercharged, and later I get wrecked when they thank me, because I know that it wasn't really me. I know in those moments that God has gifted me with exaltation and glory (James 4:10).
1:13 "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
This is a done deal. If we are oppressed, it's not because God is withholding a key from us. In the healing that I've experienced this past year, I've discovered at the root of much of my oppression, both physical and emotional, are lies that I've believed about God or about myself. It is my prayer for both of us that these lies will be uncovered, exposed, and the foundations of these lies will crumble under the weight of truth that God loves us passionately and has done everything to rescue us and deliver us from the oppression of darkness. I pray for light, revelation, understanding, and wisdom to flood us in the realms of our physical and emotional struggles, and that as we come to truly believe deep within our hearts that God is for us that the enemy will flee from us in defeat.
1:14 "...in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."
redemption in Greek = ransom in full, riddance, salvation; translated deliverance or redemption.
This reminds me of the story of the paraplegic who Jesus first told was forgiven for his sins. When the religious leaders scoffed and made remarks about this, Jesus commanded the man to get up and walk as evidence that Jesus has the power to forgive sins. It is the forgiveness of sins that heals us. Forgiveness is far more than just saying I'm sorry and receiving "I forgive you," in return. It is that Jesus wipes the stain away forever. It is that he unhinges the shame cycle that keeps us trapped in our sins. It is that when we begin to truly understand true forgiveness, we are able to get up and walk again. We are no longer paralyzed in the shame cycle, but free to begin to operate outside of our bad habits. We begin to find revelation and freedom from the things that have always plagued us.
1:15 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."
This speaks of two things to me. First, that God is exactly and has always been exactly like Jesus. If we wonder about God's motives in the Old Testament, then we must look at His actions in light of the character of Jesus and apply everything we know about Jesus to God even in those Old Testament moments.
Second, that Jesus is the firstborn means to me that we are all in this together. In other places in the Bible it says that Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. We are all heirs. We are all in this together. If His mission becomes our mission, we will be like him!
Thank you, Father, that you have forgiven our sins, wiped them away from the record. Thank you that through the blood of your spotless son, we have also become spotless and now we labor with Christ in the effort to bring all of earth into unity with Your will and plans for it. ~Amen.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Colossians 1:1-10--Angela
Thank you Jesus, for my dear friend Tina and the time we are going to spend with you in the coming days in prayer and study of your word. Thank you for the gift of love and friendship that has remained steady between us for all these years, despite the many times of physical separation. I thank you for the internet and for the tools you give us to stay connected and meet together in Your name. I pray that as we begin this study, we will find nourishment, hope, direction, clarity, and excitement about our future. May we be like the Proverbs 31 woman, who smiles without fear at her future.
~Amen
1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.."
Paul and Timothy write this letter together. Paul calls Timothy "our brother." Paul declares his role as apostle, not just disciple. He declares that his assignment of apostle came by God's will/choice.
1:2 "To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father."
Holy and faithful. I want to remember this flavor for the whole book. I see this as the lens through which Paul and Timothy see these beloved brothers, and I've learned the importance of reading Scripture through the author's lens, not the reader's lens.
I have always loved the greeting, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father." Wouldn't it be great if we always assured people of our love and affection in the first paragraph of every note. I have received many notes without this preamble of love and affection, and sometimes I am nervous to read what someone has to say because I don't know how they feel about me before I read it.
1:3 "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you..."
I'm convicted that all of my prayers do not start with thanksgiving for the one I'm praying for. There are a few people that I struggle to pray for with thanksgiving and faith. I get so bogged down in my own expectations and agendas in prayer, that I forget that God has a plan for their lives that might be different from the "setting them straight" that I want Him to give them. Do you know what I mean?
Of course, there are those other friends (wink, wink) who I can't help but start my prayers with a great affection and gratitude. It seems that these are the prayers that are answered far more quickly by God.
Aside from the struggles I'm having with praying for a few particular people, this passage in Colossians has always been one of my favorite prayers to pray for my friends and loved ones. I would like to pray wholeheartedly this way for those in my life who are more difficult for me to pray for, as well.
1:4 "...because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints..."
Hmmm...perhaps my expectations of myself are too high in wishing I could always pray with this fervor of gratitude. This verse clarifies that his gratitude stems from pleasure and delight at the faithful love these believers show for him and all the saints everywhere. Perhaps there are other times that Paul has prayed out of heaviness of heart and sorrow, as well.
1:5 "...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth..."
More and more I'm getting a sense of this "springing" up from within and that things are stored up for me in heaven, but that doesn't mean I don't have access to them. It just means that they are reserved for me, untainted and safe from the corruption of the world. Faith and love in their truest forms come directly from heaven, and the Colossian believers are being commended here for understanding the source and how to tap in.
1:6 "...the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."
This church is one that I must learn from. They got it right. They understood. If my fruit is not growing in the measurable ways that the church at Colosse's fruit has grown, then I want to make the adjustments I need to make. This past year I have understood that there are things about God's grace and truth that I have not understood. There are some teachings that I've believed that are not true. I've had to let go of some strongholds, teachings that do not line up with God's character, that I have been taught my whole life...things like that God expects me to be perfect in my actions and motivations toward others, that God is waiting to discipline me for my wrongdoings. It's not that it's okay for me to sin or do things with wrong motives. It's that I understand now that He is filled with grace toward me. That when I make a mistake, He is not quick to criticize or jump on me for it. He's not quick to punish me by withholding His love and affection. He is quick to embrace me and tell me that He loves me and remind me that I have new chances every moment with Him. He reminds me that I can just get up and try again. Now, the fruit I have so desperately been longing for that has seemed to elude me (self-control, to name one) is starting to bud in my life. I am eager to see how Paul's view of the Colossians will help me continue to trade false doctrine for truth and grace that comes from the gospel.
1:7-8 "You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."
Sometimes I long for the writings of some of these other faithful disciples. I love Paul's writings, but I wonder how many other writings are out there that would help us fill in some of the gaps. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to do just that. Still, I think it would be amazing to read something Epaphras wrote.
1:9 "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
This is the part that I love to pray for others and for myself. My prayer life has changed so much in the past years with small children. I used to believe that unless I sat down and wrote a prayer out, it didn't reach the ears of God. Now, I realize that many times I don't even formally pray. When I pray for you, for instance, I usually just think of you. I picture your face, and I recall to mind the struggles that you are having and I silently tell Father God that I know He has the solutions and the grace you need. That's usually it. There are times when I get an e-mail or something from you or someone else, and I am inspired to pray a more in-depth prayer in an e-mail or in my journal, but that is a rarer form of prayer for me these days. This is what I believe Paul means by having never stopped praying for them and asking God to fill them with knowledge of His will through wisdom and understanding.
Wisdom and understanding...these are words I have studied long and hard. Orion's middle name is Joseph, which means "God will add" & "wisdom and understanding." When I was pregnant with him, I believed that God would give wisdom and understanding as supernatural gifts to us for raising him in accordance with the truths of Jesus rather than with our parents' faulty models of parenting. I am grateful that God has given us these gifts in spades, but I have been struggling these past few weeks with the depth to which my upbringing is ingrained within my habits. It is hard to do things differently from the way I was raised. I am glad to have you praying for me in this area. I know you understand completely what I'm talking about here.
1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..."
This is one of those passages I have had a completely new revelation about in the past year. I used to read this and feel so much pressure to be better than I was, to do more, to relate to God better, as though I could actually transform myself into a better person all by myself. I now understand that living worthy doesn't mean doing everything right or perfectly and that growing in the knowledge of God is far more than just knowing more facts about God.
I recently looked up a few of these words in the Greek. Here are the highlights:
walk = to tread all around, walk at large (as proof of ability), to live, to follow (as a companion or votary), to be occupied with [I put a link to the thesaurus query for votary that I did]
worthy = appropriately, as becometh
I think this is really important. To me, these definitions reveal that this is just another way of saying that they are praying for the believers to have the gifts they need to follow Jesus, to walk as He walked. We can pray this for each other...that wisdom and understanding, gifts from God, would penetrate through the crust and layers of our strongholds, fears, and deceptions so that we can live as Jesus lived, so that we can see others as Jesus saw them, so that we can love like Jesus loved, so that we can bring healing, hope, and love to those we come into contact with.
knowledge = recognition, full discernment, acknowledgement; the Greek word here is epignosis, which is made up of two root words: epi and ginosko.
epi = a preposition meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution; because of, on behalf of.
ginosko = to know absolutely, to allow, be aware of, feel, have knowledge of, know, perceive, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand
This kind of knowing is the experiential kind of knowing...knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt the true nature and character of God. Being able to see the difference between the hand of God and the hand of the enemy in a situation that others might not be able to determine. Knowing how He would respond at every level for each person. This is a knowledge based on His knowing and loving us first. This understanding and knowledge must be born out of an intimate friendship, like Moses and David had, not out of a clinical knowledge, like the Pharisees and Sadducees had.
So, this is my prayer:
Father, infuse us with your wisdom and understanding. Shower us with your affection and your love. Let your acceptance and affection for us saturate the marrow of our bones and the pathways in our brains, giving us Your lens with which to perceive the outside world. Give us your perspective on our situations, our children, our husbands, our friends, and our adversaries. Give us your perspective on the work we do each day, seen and unseen, rewarded and unrewarded. Draw us near to you. Give us a clear sense of your hand at work even in the darkness of the unknown and the mystery of unanswered questions about our situations and about the future. I pray that we would be so deeply rooted in Your presence and affection that we would be able to smile at the future. ~Amen
~Amen
1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.."
Paul and Timothy write this letter together. Paul calls Timothy "our brother." Paul declares his role as apostle, not just disciple. He declares that his assignment of apostle came by God's will/choice.
1:2 "To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father."
Holy and faithful. I want to remember this flavor for the whole book. I see this as the lens through which Paul and Timothy see these beloved brothers, and I've learned the importance of reading Scripture through the author's lens, not the reader's lens.
I have always loved the greeting, "Grace and peace to you from God our Father." Wouldn't it be great if we always assured people of our love and affection in the first paragraph of every note. I have received many notes without this preamble of love and affection, and sometimes I am nervous to read what someone has to say because I don't know how they feel about me before I read it.
1:3 "We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you..."
I'm convicted that all of my prayers do not start with thanksgiving for the one I'm praying for. There are a few people that I struggle to pray for with thanksgiving and faith. I get so bogged down in my own expectations and agendas in prayer, that I forget that God has a plan for their lives that might be different from the "setting them straight" that I want Him to give them. Do you know what I mean?
Of course, there are those other friends (wink, wink) who I can't help but start my prayers with a great affection and gratitude. It seems that these are the prayers that are answered far more quickly by God.
Aside from the struggles I'm having with praying for a few particular people, this passage in Colossians has always been one of my favorite prayers to pray for my friends and loved ones. I would like to pray wholeheartedly this way for those in my life who are more difficult for me to pray for, as well.
1:4 "...because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints..."
Hmmm...perhaps my expectations of myself are too high in wishing I could always pray with this fervor of gratitude. This verse clarifies that his gratitude stems from pleasure and delight at the faithful love these believers show for him and all the saints everywhere. Perhaps there are other times that Paul has prayed out of heaviness of heart and sorrow, as well.
1:5 "...the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth..."
More and more I'm getting a sense of this "springing" up from within and that things are stored up for me in heaven, but that doesn't mean I don't have access to them. It just means that they are reserved for me, untainted and safe from the corruption of the world. Faith and love in their truest forms come directly from heaven, and the Colossian believers are being commended here for understanding the source and how to tap in.
1:6 "...the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth."
This church is one that I must learn from. They got it right. They understood. If my fruit is not growing in the measurable ways that the church at Colosse's fruit has grown, then I want to make the adjustments I need to make. This past year I have understood that there are things about God's grace and truth that I have not understood. There are some teachings that I've believed that are not true. I've had to let go of some strongholds, teachings that do not line up with God's character, that I have been taught my whole life...things like that God expects me to be perfect in my actions and motivations toward others, that God is waiting to discipline me for my wrongdoings. It's not that it's okay for me to sin or do things with wrong motives. It's that I understand now that He is filled with grace toward me. That when I make a mistake, He is not quick to criticize or jump on me for it. He's not quick to punish me by withholding His love and affection. He is quick to embrace me and tell me that He loves me and remind me that I have new chances every moment with Him. He reminds me that I can just get up and try again. Now, the fruit I have so desperately been longing for that has seemed to elude me (self-control, to name one) is starting to bud in my life. I am eager to see how Paul's view of the Colossians will help me continue to trade false doctrine for truth and grace that comes from the gospel.
1:7-8 "You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit."
Sometimes I long for the writings of some of these other faithful disciples. I love Paul's writings, but I wonder how many other writings are out there that would help us fill in some of the gaps. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to do just that. Still, I think it would be amazing to read something Epaphras wrote.
1:9 "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding."
This is the part that I love to pray for others and for myself. My prayer life has changed so much in the past years with small children. I used to believe that unless I sat down and wrote a prayer out, it didn't reach the ears of God. Now, I realize that many times I don't even formally pray. When I pray for you, for instance, I usually just think of you. I picture your face, and I recall to mind the struggles that you are having and I silently tell Father God that I know He has the solutions and the grace you need. That's usually it. There are times when I get an e-mail or something from you or someone else, and I am inspired to pray a more in-depth prayer in an e-mail or in my journal, but that is a rarer form of prayer for me these days. This is what I believe Paul means by having never stopped praying for them and asking God to fill them with knowledge of His will through wisdom and understanding.
Wisdom and understanding...these are words I have studied long and hard. Orion's middle name is Joseph, which means "God will add" & "wisdom and understanding." When I was pregnant with him, I believed that God would give wisdom and understanding as supernatural gifts to us for raising him in accordance with the truths of Jesus rather than with our parents' faulty models of parenting. I am grateful that God has given us these gifts in spades, but I have been struggling these past few weeks with the depth to which my upbringing is ingrained within my habits. It is hard to do things differently from the way I was raised. I am glad to have you praying for me in this area. I know you understand completely what I'm talking about here.
1:10 "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God..."
This is one of those passages I have had a completely new revelation about in the past year. I used to read this and feel so much pressure to be better than I was, to do more, to relate to God better, as though I could actually transform myself into a better person all by myself. I now understand that living worthy doesn't mean doing everything right or perfectly and that growing in the knowledge of God is far more than just knowing more facts about God.
I recently looked up a few of these words in the Greek. Here are the highlights:
walk = to tread all around, walk at large (as proof of ability), to live, to follow (as a companion or votary), to be occupied with [I put a link to the thesaurus query for votary that I did]
worthy = appropriately, as becometh
I think this is really important. To me, these definitions reveal that this is just another way of saying that they are praying for the believers to have the gifts they need to follow Jesus, to walk as He walked. We can pray this for each other...that wisdom and understanding, gifts from God, would penetrate through the crust and layers of our strongholds, fears, and deceptions so that we can live as Jesus lived, so that we can see others as Jesus saw them, so that we can love like Jesus loved, so that we can bring healing, hope, and love to those we come into contact with.
knowledge = recognition, full discernment, acknowledgement; the Greek word here is epignosis, which is made up of two root words: epi and ginosko.
epi = a preposition meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution; because of, on behalf of.
ginosko = to know absolutely, to allow, be aware of, feel, have knowledge of, know, perceive, be resolved, can speak, be sure, understand
This kind of knowing is the experiential kind of knowing...knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt the true nature and character of God. Being able to see the difference between the hand of God and the hand of the enemy in a situation that others might not be able to determine. Knowing how He would respond at every level for each person. This is a knowledge based on His knowing and loving us first. This understanding and knowledge must be born out of an intimate friendship, like Moses and David had, not out of a clinical knowledge, like the Pharisees and Sadducees had.
So, this is my prayer:
Father, infuse us with your wisdom and understanding. Shower us with your affection and your love. Let your acceptance and affection for us saturate the marrow of our bones and the pathways in our brains, giving us Your lens with which to perceive the outside world. Give us your perspective on our situations, our children, our husbands, our friends, and our adversaries. Give us your perspective on the work we do each day, seen and unseen, rewarded and unrewarded. Draw us near to you. Give us a clear sense of your hand at work even in the darkness of the unknown and the mystery of unanswered questions about our situations and about the future. I pray that we would be so deeply rooted in Your presence and affection that we would be able to smile at the future. ~Amen
Colassians Chapter 1 1-10 Tina
Dear God,
I thank you so much for your word and for the gift of friendship you have bestowed upon Angela and myself. I ask that you give us the gift of complete understanding, knowledge and life changing motion from you. Bless our time together.
Amen
1. This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
Paul is stating his authority given to him by Jesus and God the Father. We can trust his word because he is "chosen" by God to take his place as a apostle. An apostle is a prime-minister in the kingdom of Christ, immediately called by Christ, and extraordinarily qualified; his work was to plant the Christian Church, and confirm the word of God. He attributes this not to his own merit, strength, or sufficiency; but to the free grace and good-will of God. He thought himself engaged to do his utmost, as an apostle, because he was made so by the will of God.
2. It is written to God's holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
I love that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Through Jesus we are all one family and my dysfunctional human family is replaced by loving brothers and sisters in Christ's family. This truth is something I need to grasp hold of when life brings it's struggles and hard times. I have many sisters and brothers who are willing to lift me up in prayer and love me through the darkness of this world.
3. We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4. for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God's people.
Other translations of bible call these believers saints which I think gives more of the picture. Websters dictionary describes saints as: one officially recognized especially through canonization as preeminent for holiness, one of the spirits of the departed in heaven or an angel, one of God's chosen and usually Christian people, a member of any of various Christian bodies, one eminent for piety or virtue, an illustrious predecessor. I love the picture the definition paints, a saint, chosen by God, recognized as holy by God. These people were faithful, loving, chosen, holy, and God can see all of this!!
5. You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven-as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
The happiness of heaven is called their hope, because it is the thing hoped for, looking for the blessed hope, Tit. 2:13. Things of this world are great but the things of heaven outnumber, out imagine, out shine the temporary things on earth.
6. This same Good news that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed your that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God's great kindness to sinners.
The bible or Good News is the life breathing word of God. It has the power to heal, to convince, to change one's heart and mind. Now that word is going throughout the ancient world and it is changing peoples lives everywhere. Now everyone is learning and growing in faith in Jesus. This word came to the believers at Colosse and they have been changed through spirit of Christ which has come to them also.
7. Epaphras, our much loved co-worker was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place.
I love that he is giving Epaphras credit for going before and telling the people the Good News, he exalts him for being a servant of Christ and for ministering to the people.
8. He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
Here I think is the evidence of the people's sainthood, their fruit from the spirit. They have great love for others! A simple fruit but yet it is impossible without the spirit and life changing power of the Gospel.
9. So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he want to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.
Oh Lord I pray that same prayer!! I love the vision of believer's somewhere all praying for another group of believer's somewhere else, people they don't know, yet they love them spiritually by lifting them up to God. The words "complete understanding" draw my eye, not a knowledge of what God wants but a complete understanding, a clear view, a plan.
10. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.
Now changed by the Spirit these believers are living changed lives, doing good things, kind things, loving others. Through this change they come to know God more and more, they become more Christ like. This verse reminds us the only good comes from God:
Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. James 1:17
I thank you so much for your word and for the gift of friendship you have bestowed upon Angela and myself. I ask that you give us the gift of complete understanding, knowledge and life changing motion from you. Bless our time together.
Amen
1. This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy.
Paul is stating his authority given to him by Jesus and God the Father. We can trust his word because he is "chosen" by God to take his place as a apostle. An apostle is a prime-minister in the kingdom of Christ, immediately called by Christ, and extraordinarily qualified; his work was to plant the Christian Church, and confirm the word of God. He attributes this not to his own merit, strength, or sufficiency; but to the free grace and good-will of God. He thought himself engaged to do his utmost, as an apostle, because he was made so by the will of God.
2. It is written to God's holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
I love that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Through Jesus we are all one family and my dysfunctional human family is replaced by loving brothers and sisters in Christ's family. This truth is something I need to grasp hold of when life brings it's struggles and hard times. I have many sisters and brothers who are willing to lift me up in prayer and love me through the darkness of this world.
3. We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4. for we have heard that you trust in Christ Jesus and that you love all of God's people.
Other translations of bible call these believers saints which I think gives more of the picture. Websters dictionary describes saints as: one officially recognized especially through canonization as preeminent for holiness, one of the spirits of the departed in heaven or an angel, one of God's chosen and usually Christian people, a member of any of various Christian bodies, one eminent for piety or virtue, an illustrious predecessor. I love the picture the definition paints, a saint, chosen by God, recognized as holy by God. These people were faithful, loving, chosen, holy, and God can see all of this!!
5. You do this because you are looking forward to the joys of heaven-as you have been ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.
The happiness of heaven is called their hope, because it is the thing hoped for, looking for the blessed hope, Tit. 2:13. Things of this world are great but the things of heaven outnumber, out imagine, out shine the temporary things on earth.
6. This same Good news that came to you is going out all over the world. It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed your that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God's great kindness to sinners.
The bible or Good News is the life breathing word of God. It has the power to heal, to convince, to change one's heart and mind. Now that word is going throughout the ancient world and it is changing peoples lives everywhere. Now everyone is learning and growing in faith in Jesus. This word came to the believers at Colosse and they have been changed through spirit of Christ which has come to them also.
7. Epaphras, our much loved co-worker was the one who brought you the Good News. He is Christ's faithful servant, and he is helping us in your place.
I love that he is giving Epaphras credit for going before and telling the people the Good News, he exalts him for being a servant of Christ and for ministering to the people.
8. He is the one who told us about the great love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
Here I think is the evidence of the people's sainthood, their fruit from the spirit. They have great love for others! A simple fruit but yet it is impossible without the spirit and life changing power of the Gospel.
9. So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he want to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.
Oh Lord I pray that same prayer!! I love the vision of believer's somewhere all praying for another group of believer's somewhere else, people they don't know, yet they love them spiritually by lifting them up to God. The words "complete understanding" draw my eye, not a knowledge of what God wants but a complete understanding, a clear view, a plan.
10. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better.
Now changed by the Spirit these believers are living changed lives, doing good things, kind things, loving others. Through this change they come to know God more and more, they become more Christ like. This verse reminds us the only good comes from God:
Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow. James 1:17
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A New Day
"Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight."
~Psalm 119:77 (NLT)
We come to the table together to study and pray. This is a safe place for each of us to share our thoughts about the verses we are studying and to make our requests known before God and each other. This is a place where we will record our verse-by-verse study and pray for each other in earnest.
"Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living."
~Psalm 27:13 (NLT)
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