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,

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-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.