Paul regularly prays what I've called a "full-bodied" prayer for the Colossian Christians. The basic outline of the prayer is: two requests, followed by four characteristics that will develop if those requests are met, ending with a final statement about God and the redemption he accomplished in Jesus that should encourage to see that God can and will answer prayers like this.
The prayer begins first with a request that these Christians would know God's will. How will this happen? Through God growing them in wisdom and understanding. Of course, the way in which God does this is through his Word. Thus, regular reading and meditation upon the word of God is the means by which we can expect God to impart the knowledge of his will to us.
Following from this is a request that their knowledge of God's will will lead to them living out God's will. Or, as Paul puts it, that they would live a life worthy of Jesus, fully pleasing to him (Colossians 1:10). Such a life will have the following characteristics (Colossians 1:10-12):
1. Do lots of good and 2. Know God more and more
Note that these are tied together. As we do good, we will know God more. And knowing God more must lead to doing more good.
3. Be empowered by God
God empowers the life that is worthy of Jesus with ALL his power, so that the Christian can have endurance and patience in facing every type of situation.
4. Be joyfully thankful
A life worthy of Jesus is always joyfully thankful to God the Father. And what sparks this joy and thankfulness is the fact that God has accomplished everything that's needed so that people from all over can share together in an eternal inheritance.
The prayer ends in v.13-14 with the final reminder and encouragement that God has rescued believers out of their dominion of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of Jesus, in whom we are forgiven and thus set free from the power of sin and evil.
I love meditating on prayers like this because I find them to be a great guide to me in how I should pray and what I should pray for. What parts of this "full-bodied" prayer especially stick out to you? How are you trying to develop the things mentioned in this prayer in your own life (even as you pray that God would help you develop them)?
Monday, October 27, 2008
"The Gospel at Work" Colossians 1:3-8
The new teaching that had come into the Colossian church was causing some of the Colossian Christians to stray away from the gospel. And so, right from the start of his letter Paul takes time to remind the Colossians about the gospel message they've received and in which they've believed.
This gospel message is essentially "the grace of God in truth" (Colossians 1:6). It is the good news of how God in his grace commits himself to sinful human beings by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for their sins. When the gospel is heard and understood, it produces a community full of faith, hope and love (Colossians 1:4-5). In fact, wherever the gospel is truly planted, it will naturally produce growth (Colossians 1:5-6). Thus, it is vitally crucial for Christians today to rightly and fully teach the gospel to others so that they might rightly hear and fully understand the gospel, which will result in these people now going out and teaching the gospel to still more people!
I think many people today really don't believe in the gospel. Many have very wrong ideas about what the gospel actually is. Others have a very superficial understanding of the gospel (in contrast to the Colossian Christians, who we are told "understood" the gospel, which means that they became thoroughly competent in it). Others don't think the gospel is quite enough to change lives and so they look to other sources or engage in other initiatives to do "ministry", with the proclamation of the gospel message being an optional add-on.
What do you think are the major obstacles to people really hearing and understanding the gospel? What are you doing to promote the true planting and authentic transformational growth of the gospel within our community?
This gospel message is essentially "the grace of God in truth" (Colossians 1:6). It is the good news of how God in his grace commits himself to sinful human beings by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for their sins. When the gospel is heard and understood, it produces a community full of faith, hope and love (Colossians 1:4-5). In fact, wherever the gospel is truly planted, it will naturally produce growth (Colossians 1:5-6). Thus, it is vitally crucial for Christians today to rightly and fully teach the gospel to others so that they might rightly hear and fully understand the gospel, which will result in these people now going out and teaching the gospel to still more people!
I think many people today really don't believe in the gospel. Many have very wrong ideas about what the gospel actually is. Others have a very superficial understanding of the gospel (in contrast to the Colossian Christians, who we are told "understood" the gospel, which means that they became thoroughly competent in it). Others don't think the gospel is quite enough to change lives and so they look to other sources or engage in other initiatives to do "ministry", with the proclamation of the gospel message being an optional add-on.
What do you think are the major obstacles to people really hearing and understanding the gospel? What are you doing to promote the true planting and authentic transformational growth of the gospel within our community?
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
ESV Study Bible's Finally Out!
Check out these beautiful pictures:
http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/esv-study-bible-2/
I have to admit, I've bought into some of the hype. I can't wait to have this as a resource. I think it will be a great help, especially to people overseas who can't afford to buy a lot of commentaries or reference books.
http://spurgeon.wordpress.com/2008/10/15/esv-study-bible-2/
I have to admit, I've bought into some of the hype. I can't wait to have this as a resource. I think it will be a great help, especially to people overseas who can't afford to buy a lot of commentaries or reference books.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
"Christ Rules: An Introduction to Paul's Letter to the Church at Colossae" Col 1:1-2
Paul writes this letter to the church at Colossae, a church which started off of the ministry of Epaphras and a church that he had never personally visited. Nevertheless, Paul had a great love for Colossian church. He was also very concerned about this church because some people within the church were being drawn away into a "new" teaching. This teaching seems to have been a blend of local folk beliefs and Jewish practices. We could describe this teaching as "Jesus plus." Sure, the Colossian Christians had Jesus, but what this new teaching suggested was that they needed to do a little bit extra, in the form of following special religious rules or appeasing certain supernatural spirits, if they really wanted to have a "full" life.
It's not entirely surprising that this kind of teaching was attractive. All of us battle fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We search for meaning in the face of great, merciless forces - things like unexpected illness, loss of a job, or outright evil powers. We cope and try to find control over all these things in lot of different ways. Some do it through filling their life with lots of religion. Others do it by trying to strip their life of any religion. Many do it through the pursuit of money, or through sex, or through drugs or alcohol.
So what's the answer to all this? It comes through affirming one indisuputable face - that Jesus Christ rules. This fact is at the heart of this letter to the Colossian church. At various point in this letter Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the creator of all things, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, the reconciler of all the things, the Savior through his death on the cross, the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the conqueror of sin and Satan. In short, Christ rules! And because he rules, everything is under his power and control.
This has significant implications for us. It means that the person who is under the rule of Christ doesn't need to fear anything. Every evil and demonic spirit has fallen falt on their faces before King Jesus. The Christian believer then has real power over every demonic enemy they face.
In adddition, the person who is under the rule of Jesus has everything they need in order to live a true, authentic, full life. For in Christ, the believer possess the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9-10). This means then that we don't have to be ruled by so many useless, frustrating, dehumanizing "earthly" things. We don't have to be ruled by sex, by evil desires, by anger, by that addiction, by that chronic illness, by that relationship, by that bank account, by those legalistic religion rules. Instead, we can be ruled by things like compassion, kindness, humility, love, and peace(Colossians 3:12-15).
All of this is possible because through the death and resurrection of Jesus God put the sleeper hold on every sin and every evil and dark power in our world. He pinned them down and has forced them to submit to him in total defeat, so that now, in Christ, we also can claim victory over all sin and evil (Colossians 2:13-15).
Christ rules, and this has direct practical relevance for every Christian life. The rule of Christ is the answer to every basic spiritual need or want. It's the ultimate answer to every social ill and problem. It's the rallying cry that conquers every demon that torments the human soul.
So, what does the rule of Christ mean to you? What are things that you've seen rule people's lives, or may even rule your life, and how might the rule of Christ help free you from these things?
It's not entirely surprising that this kind of teaching was attractive. All of us battle fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We search for meaning in the face of great, merciless forces - things like unexpected illness, loss of a job, or outright evil powers. We cope and try to find control over all these things in lot of different ways. Some do it through filling their life with lots of religion. Others do it by trying to strip their life of any religion. Many do it through the pursuit of money, or through sex, or through drugs or alcohol.
So what's the answer to all this? It comes through affirming one indisuputable face - that Jesus Christ rules. This fact is at the heart of this letter to the Colossian church. At various point in this letter Paul describes Jesus as the image of the invisible God, the creator of all things, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, the reconciler of all the things, the Savior through his death on the cross, the source of all wisdom and knowledge, the conqueror of sin and Satan. In short, Christ rules! And because he rules, everything is under his power and control.
This has significant implications for us. It means that the person who is under the rule of Christ doesn't need to fear anything. Every evil and demonic spirit has fallen falt on their faces before King Jesus. The Christian believer then has real power over every demonic enemy they face.
In adddition, the person who is under the rule of Jesus has everything they need in order to live a true, authentic, full life. For in Christ, the believer possess the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9-10). This means then that we don't have to be ruled by so many useless, frustrating, dehumanizing "earthly" things. We don't have to be ruled by sex, by evil desires, by anger, by that addiction, by that chronic illness, by that relationship, by that bank account, by those legalistic religion rules. Instead, we can be ruled by things like compassion, kindness, humility, love, and peace(Colossians 3:12-15).
All of this is possible because through the death and resurrection of Jesus God put the sleeper hold on every sin and every evil and dark power in our world. He pinned them down and has forced them to submit to him in total defeat, so that now, in Christ, we also can claim victory over all sin and evil (Colossians 2:13-15).
Christ rules, and this has direct practical relevance for every Christian life. The rule of Christ is the answer to every basic spiritual need or want. It's the ultimate answer to every social ill and problem. It's the rallying cry that conquers every demon that torments the human soul.
So, what does the rule of Christ mean to you? What are things that you've seen rule people's lives, or may even rule your life, and how might the rule of Christ help free you from these things?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
"Repentance and Restoration" Hosea 14:1-9
In this last chapter of Hosea the people of God are once again encouraged to repent. They must admit the full reality of their sin so that God might fully cleanse and restore them into a right relationship with him. How can Israel be sure that God will do this? It's because God is a God of mercy (Hosea 14:3). Israel does not deserve any mercy from God. But God freely chooses to show mercy and love towards them (Hosea 14:4). He will be like a tree constantly giving them refreshing, life sustaining fruit.
We find similar themes and wording in the New Testament. Peter describes how through the death of Jesus our sins are taken away, we are healed, and we are restored to God (1 Peter 2:24-25). So we see that God is in the business of not just restoring sinful Israel but a sinful world. He sent Jesus to die on the cross so that this might be possible. Anyone who repents from their sin and turns to God by believing in Jesus will be fully restored and renewed.
Repentance and restoration. What do those words mean to you? How has Jesus and his death on the cross brought about both repentance and restoration in your own life? And what are your final thoughts on the book of Hosea?
We find similar themes and wording in the New Testament. Peter describes how through the death of Jesus our sins are taken away, we are healed, and we are restored to God (1 Peter 2:24-25). So we see that God is in the business of not just restoring sinful Israel but a sinful world. He sent Jesus to die on the cross so that this might be possible. Anyone who repents from their sin and turns to God by believing in Jesus will be fully restored and renewed.
Repentance and restoration. What do those words mean to you? How has Jesus and his death on the cross brought about both repentance and restoration in your own life? And what are your final thoughts on the book of Hosea?
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