Colossians
Thursday, June 24, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, I confess today that I WAS once Your enemy, separated from You by my sins. I thank You for the great grace You have shown me through Jesus. I know apart from Him, I would still be dead in my sins and destined to be separated from You for eternity. Thank You for the tremendous gift of eternal life through being born again into Your kingdom! I pray that You will fill me anew with Your Holy Spirit today that I may live boldly and confidently as a witness of the Good News that Jesus has poured into my life. I ask this pray in His name, and for the sake of His ever expanding Kingdom. Amen.
God's Word For Me Today
Colossians 1:15-23
15Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. 16Christ 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. 17He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.
18Christ 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 first in everything. 19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and 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. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet 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. 23But 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.
Reflecting on God’s Word
What does it mean to you to be “far away from God”?
A Deeper Exploration of God’s Word
What does Paul tells us is our condition apart from Jesus? (1:21)
What benefits has Jesus given us? (1:22)
Understanding God’s Word
What does today’s Scripture tell us about the nature and reality of sin?
What is the significance of the cross according to today’s Scripture?
Applying God’s Word to Our Lives
What is the one action today’s Scripture is calling you to take?
Thoughts...Into the Presence of God...
The Good News of Jesus is put so clearly in today’s focus Scripture —we were once ENEMIES of God, but now because of Jesus’ death on the cross we have been brought back as FRIENDS, and Jesus has brought us into the very presence of God! That is not just Good News. That is INCREDIBLE News! How is it that we don’t go around telling everyone we know about Jesus’ incredible news? We tell folks about good family news—the birth of a child, the child’s graduation, or the anniversary of some special moment in our lives. We tell folks good news about our work—if we got a promotion, or if the company is being recognized for some accomplishment either in the business arena or for doing some good deed. We even tell others the good news about the sporting events in which we or our children are engaged. What about the INCREDIBLE news that we were once God’s enemies, but now we’re His friends? Where does that rate on the scale of Good News? Where does it rate in worthiness to be shared? We know the answer is that it rates at the top. Then let’s use TODAY to tell at least one person this incredible news!