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Colossians 1:24-4:18<\/strong><\/span> I love Paul\u2019s teaching about the Christian life in Colossians chapter 1 verse 27 today! \u201cFor this is the secret: Christ lives in you, and this is your assurance that you will share in his glory.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Were you aware of this secret?\u00a0 Does Christ live in you?\u00a0 Have you accepted Jesus into your life and your heart as your Lord and Savior so that he has your permission \u2013 your submission \u2013 for Him to live within you?\u00a0 Do you want Jesus to live in you?\u00a0 Do you have assurance that you will share in Jesus\u2019 glory for eternity?<\/span> Paul\u2019s teachings in Colossians chapter 2 verses 6 & 7 definitely stood out to me today: \u201cAnd now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to live in obedience to him. Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 I absolutely love the thought of letting our roots grow down into Jesus and draw up nourishment from Jesus!\u00a0 Meditate on this thought for a while\u2026\u00a0 I honestly haven\u2019t really ever thought about \u201chaving roots in Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 I mean, I certainly know Jesus is my Lord and Savior.\u00a0 I know Jesus lives within me. And I know the whole Chapter of John 15 about the vine & the branches has gotten me in the past to think about truly being attached to Jesus.\u00a0 But something about these verses from Paul about letting our roots grow down into Jesus really is profound for me today\u2026\u00a0 How deep are your roots in Jesus today?\u00a0 Is there room for growth in your roots?\u00a0 Let us grow!\u00a0 And let us overflow with thankfulness!<\/span> Bible.org\u2019s commentary on today\u2019s readings in Colossians titled \u201cThe Propagation of Christ\u2019s Work\u201d<\/strong> is <\/span>at this link<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Colossians chapter 2 verse 8 is a teaching from Paul that reminds me so much of our modern world today\u2026 \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone lead you astray with empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the evil powers of this world, and not from Christ.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Have you ever heard anyone in our world today offer you empty philosophy or high-sounding nonsense?\u00a0 I know I have\u2026\u00a0 And perhaps I\u2019ve even preached it on occasion in my past too.\u00a0 Scary stuff.\u00a0 There is stuff out there today that does indeed come from human thinking \u2013 not divine thinking \u2013 and from the evil powers of this world \u2013 not from Christ.\u00a0 I think we need to prayerfully be so vigilant to protect ourselves from these empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense.\u00a0 I almost hesitate to write this\u2026 but I am feeling like I should.\u00a0 I think we need to even watch out for empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense in some churches today too.\u00a0 I really don\u2019t mean to be divisive to the body of Christ, the church, by saying this.\u00a0 But I say this for our own good \u2013 for brothers and sisters in Christ.\u00a0 One thing that I have seen in churches on occasion that has alarmed me is what I\u2019ll call \u201cthe cult of personality\u201d around a pastor.\u00a0 Meaning, I think it can reach a point in a church where there is an unhealthy fixation on a pastor or minister.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0 We\u2019ll all probably have a favorite pastor or minister or priest.\u00a0 But let us be cautious if ever our devotion to a pastor surpasses (or gets anywhere near) our devotion to Jesus.\u00a0 It\u2019s then when the \u201ccult of personality\u201d can lead to empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense invading our hearts and minds.\u00a0 Maybe there is someone out there that needs to hear this\u2026\u00a0 Just pray about it to Jesus if ever you feel that you are paying more attention to a pastor \/ priest \/ anybody than you are paying to Jesus.\u00a0 And ask Jesus what he would have you do.\u00a0 Perhaps it would be to move on to another church\u2026 A church where Jesus is clearly preached, worshiped, and followed.\u00a0 Trust me, there are multitudes of churches out there where Jesus and his work on the cross for your sins is preached.\u00a0 Make sure Christ and Him crucified is preached clearly at your church!<\/span> I absolutely love the imagery Paul uses in verse 11 today: \u201cWhen you came to Christ, you were \u201ccircumcised,\u201d but not by a physical procedure. It was a spiritual procedure\u2013the cutting away of your sinful nature.\u201d<\/em> The cutting away of your sinful nature!\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that profound to think about?\u00a0 It almost makes me feel 100 pounds lighter spiritually just thinking about it\u2026\u00a0 Our old sinful nature was an old beast of a thing that bogged us down.\u00a0 Makes us slow.\u00a0 Makes us groggy.\u00a0 Keeps us foggy.\u00a0 But \u2013 Jesus can take the scissors of spiritual circumcision and cut away that old sinful nature!\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t this make you feel 100 pounds lighter to think about this?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t this thought of cutting away the sinful nature make you want to never want to put on that old musty moldy deadly suit of sin ever again?\u00a0 Let us be free instead!\u00a0 Has Jesus circumcised you spiritually?\u00a0 Has Jesus cut away your sinful nature once and for all?\u00a0 This all makes me think about butterfly coming out of its cocoon about to take flight\u2026\u00a0 Let us fly!<\/span> Colossians 3 verse 4 is so powerful and is really something each of us should reflect upon: \u201cAnd when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Here is the thing that really stops me in my tracks when reading this verse:\u00a0 \u201cChrist, who is your life.\u201d\u00a0 Those are 5 incredibly powerful words when put together!\u00a0 And I\u2019m afraid that sometimes we don\u2019t really live our lives as if Jesus is indeed our life.\u00a0 He is!\u00a0 Or he should be\u2026\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing.\u00a0 I\u2019ve had a lot of conversations over the years with fellow Christians about who Jesus is to them.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve thought a lot about who Jesus is to me.\u00a0 And I think many of us can easily get to the point of saying, \u201cwell, yes, Jesus is my Savior.\u201d\u00a0 We can acknowledge that He died on the cross for our sins.\u00a0 He saved us.\u00a0 We\u2019re into salvation!\u00a0 But, I think sometimes it can get a bit fuzzier for us when we think about Jesus being our Lord \u2013 in addition to Jesus being our Savior.\u00a0 Meaning, if Jesus is our Lord, then we really need to take incredibly seriously and to heart Jesus\u2019 words and teachings in the Bible!\u00a0 And really allow Jesus to lead our lives.\u00a0 Transform our lives.\u00a0 Lord our lives.\u00a0 Well, I think this Colossians verse takes things even a step further.\u00a0 Maybe we\u2019re at the point where yes, Jesus is our Lord and Savior.\u00a0 But now, Paul here teaches us that Jesus is our very life!\u00a0 That\u2019s big\u2026\u00a0 That\u2019s saying our life = Jesus.\u00a0 Jesus = our life.\u00a0 If you really stop to think about this and allow this into your heart you\u2019ll know how huge this is.\u00a0 Jesus is our life\u2026.\u00a0 wow!\u00a0 That\u2019s very good news!\u00a0 Our job isn\u2019t our life.\u00a0 Our money isn\u2019t our life.\u00a0 Our health isn\u2019t our life.\u00a0 Even our family isn\u2019t our life \u2013 those these can all be good gifts.\u00a0 But none of these things are our life.\u00a0 Jesus is our life!\u00a0 Today, can you honestly say Jesus is your life?\u00a0 If not, will you begin to really think about this and pray about this?\u00a0 Is Jesus your life?<\/span><\/p>\n Verses 12 through 14 of Colossians chapter 3 are awesome!\u00a0 \u201cTherefore, as God\u2019s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.\u201d<\/em> How are you doing on each of these virtues in your life today \u2013 Compassion?\u00a0 Kindness?\u00a0 Humility?\u00a0 Gentleness?\u00a0 Patience?\u00a0 Forgiveness?\u00a0 Love?\u00a0 Do you think you can do each of these well using just your own will power? Or, do regularly pray to Jesus to give you these virtues within your heart and to bring them to fruition in your life? Can you allow love to lead within you? Will you allow Jesus to lead you?<\/span><\/p>\n Colossians 4:6 today is fantastic: \u201cLet your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Let your conversation be always full of grace. How often is this true for us? Are there times when our conversation is un-graceful? Judgmental perhaps? Angry? Curt? But Grace\u2026 that\u2019s something to strive for in all of our conversations!\u00a0 If we are grace-full in our conversations, where does that Grace come from?<\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video:<\/strong> Today\u2019s readings in Colossians reminded me of the Jeremy Camp song \u201cJesus Saves.\u201d Here is a great video KLOVE radio and its listeners put together, with signs sharing what Jesus saved them from. What has Jesus saved you from?<\/span>
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