Colossians 4:12-18

Colossians 4:12-18

English Standard Version 

  Remember my chains, Paul says.  Remember his chains.  

  This could mean any number of different things.  I think it means that Paul finds the Gospel of such surpassing value that the suffering he has endured in jail is worth it, because the beauty of the Gospel has grabbed his heart and life so completely that there can be no diminishment of the life within him.  In Christ, he has found true life, and so what can a jailor do to him?  What are chains when you're embraced by the God who created the world?  What fool thinks a chain can hold someone who is fed by the Holy Spirit and has consumed the living water?  

  Paul laughs at his chains, for they are nothing but the world's attempt to hold onto something that is much bigger than the world, like a child trying to stop the rising tide with a bucket.  

  Paul embraces the Gospel, and all else falls away due to its beauty.  Remember his chains, and in the thought of those, may we be set free.

Colossians 4:7-11

Colossians 4:7-11 

English Standard Version 

  Remember, the Gospel is rooted in particularity.  It happened among a particular group of people, rooted in a real place and real time.  We were studying Genesis in Sunday School, and it's amazing how so many of the early stories are centered around real people who experienced real things, and then we turn to the New Testament, and it's the same thing -- God working through the lives and events of everyday people.  They weren't any different than you or I -- they had a job to do in the life of the early church, and they did it, spreading the Gospel through their work.  

Colossians 4:2-6

Colossians 4:2-6 

English Standard Version 

  There's always pieces of Paul's letters where the advice is solidly practical.  You could pull this out of his letter and use it as a guide for the week today, thousands of years later, and you wouldn't be led astray.  If we are steadfast in prayer, seeking for the doors God will open where we can discuss the mystery of Christ, then that is what we ought to do.  When we approach outsiders with wisdom and humility, filled with grace, we make the church look desirable.  I'd love for the world to see the church as a place where we seek wisdom.  The biggest question the church has to answer for the world is whether the Gospel is true.  If it is true, and Jesus really did rise from the dead, then everything else is less important than this.  If it is true, then all the questions we have take a different tone, because we have to submit to Jesus Christ, even if there are things we don't fully understand.  If the Gospel is true, then that's the most important thing in the world, so the church should be a place where we pursue the Truth and ask big questions and wrestle with the implications of the truth of Jesus dying and rising from the dead.  

  May we be steadfast in prayer, humble in approach, and wait for the Holy Spirit to provide opportunities to proclaim the Good News.

Psalm 131

Psalm 131 

English Standard Version 

  My prayer for you is that at some point today, you can stop, breathe, and curl up in the lap of Jesus.  Let him hold you, and may you feel completely safe, completely loved, completely treasured, the same way an infant does in its mother's arms.  Let yourself be loved, and rest.

Psalm 103:1-5

Psalm 103:1-5 

English Standard Version 

  I like the way David talks to his soul -- he knows that his soul needs some instruction, needs a pep talk, so he tells his soul to bless God's name.  When you think about it, there's all sorts of other voices whispering to our souls, pulling us this way or that way.  Why shouldn't we talk to our own souls, giving them some guidance in the way we want to go.  Remind our souls who forgives iniquity, who heals diseases, who redeems us, so that our souls will know to worship.  We lead our hearts, we lead our souls, and in so doing, we align closer to the life God calls us into.

Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17 

English Standard Version 

  Augustine says that 'he who sings prays twice'.  I pray that the word of Christ dwells richly in us, that we may grow always towards Christ.  I agree that one of the best ways to do that is to let the Psalms guide our hearts and minds -- the more time we spend there, the more time we learn to pray.  When Jesus was on the cross, he was quoting from the Psalms -- they were that deeply embedded in his heart.  May it be the same for us, so that when we suffer, the Psalms give us the words to pray.  May we study them and learn them, and let them lead us more closely into relationship with God, day by day, that we may develop compassionate hearts to bear with one another.

Colossians 3:5-11

Colossians 3:5-11 

English Standard Version 

  Paul has many of these lists in the New Testament -- and when we read them, we often pick the one that doesn't apply to us and then focus on that, ignoring all the others that we violate frequently!  When we read such lists, may we do so with humility, recognizing that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God, and that each and every one of us needs to be honest about where we're at and what we need to focus on.  May we not lie to one another, and may we not lie to ourselves, but may we let the Holy Spirit lead us into a place of repentance where we pray for God to help us put to death that which is broken within us.  From there, we have the ability to go forth and demonstrate how God has done a mighty work in us.

Colossians 3:1-4

Colossians 3:1-4 

English Standard Version 

  If you're a fan of the Chicago White Sox, you don't secretly root for the Cubs.  Same with the Mets and the Yankees -- once you're a fan, you commit yourself to the team.  To go and cheer for a rival simply doesn't fit.  

  The same is true of our faith -- when we commit ourselves to Christ, our minds and hearts should seek the things that are of Christ's Kingdom.  They don't, because sin is still at work within us, but I think the goal of the Christian life is that we notice the way sin has influence on us, so that when we find ourselves setting our minds on things that are not of Christ's Kingdom, it feels as out of place as cheering for the Cubs would for a White Sox fan.  I believe this is a lifelong effort, but if we can keep Christ's glory set before us in our hearts and in our minds, then we'll keep striving, and what is a lifelong effort becomes an eternity where we seek God dwell with Christ in glory.

Colossians 2:20-23

Colossians 2:20-23 

English Standard Version 

  Jesus focused on the legalism of the Pharisees.  He criticized it because while their actions looked righteous, their hearts were far from God, and the lives they lived weren't ones where the Pharisees were falling in love with God and then being led deeper into love with the people around them.  They were empty.

  Here, Paul is writing to us and reminding us to keep Christ's death in front of our minds.  That is of foremost importance -- our eternal life with Christ has already begun.  We have been joined with Christ through our baptism, and spending all of our time focused on legalism doesn't bring us deeper into union with God -- it instead takes our focus away from God.  So let us focus on how God loves us and also how God calls us to love one another, and may we transform society not with empty acts done out of fear but instead with acts of mercy, justice, and service, each of which is motivated by a love of God and love of God's people.

Colossians 2:16-19

Colossians 2:16-19 

English Standard Version 

  There were so many decisions to make in the early days of the church.  The Jewish law was so structured, and people were trying to figure out what to bring forward and what to let go of.  Think of all that the people had been through for centuries, and they were trying to preserve their culture, which was centered around God, while simultaneously renovating their worship.  Remember -- the first Christians weren't trying to start a new religion, because they were convinced that the thing that everyone had been waiting for had finally happened.  This was simply the next step. 

  In the world today, people have so many different backgrounds.  People are growing up who never went to church.  The church is crossing cultural and geographic borders, and we all come from different angles.  May we remember to have some grace.  We can never let go of the Gospel or the core truths of the faith, but when someone is looking at something through a different lens, it's important to stop and consider what is crucial and central, and what is around the periphery, and how do we engage on issues from a place of grace.  Let us listen to one another, keeping Christ at the head, and letting all else follow from that.

Colossians 2:13-15

Colossians 2:13-15 

English Standard Version 

  We don't like to pay attention to the beginning of verse 13.  We like to think of ourselves as pretty good people, not dead in our sins.  But to God, when we dwelt in sin, we were separated from God, which is the same as dead.  When God created us and brought us to life, God made us in God's image, which we tarnished by introducing sin to it.  We had a debt that we were unable to pay, and we had no collateral to make things right.  

  All of it, our death, our debt -- it's all gone.  The most mundane setting can be transformed into a wintery wonderland by a snow falling over it.  It covers unsightly places and they're pure.  If you've ever been the first one awake on a snowy morning, you can look out in wonder at a world re-created, with all the ugly parts hidden.

  That's how God views us now.  Everything was buried under a sheet of snow, and all God sees when God looks at us is the beauty of Christ's righteousness.  That is the triumph of Christ, performed at great cost, but done because you are absolutely treasured and beloved.

Colossians 2:8-12

Colossians 2:8-12 

English Standard Version 

  Do you ever wonder how far you would make it in a marathon or ultramarathon?  I certainly couldn't run the whole thing, or half the thing.  I could probably run a quarter of it and then would be looking for the shuttle.  Maybe with the crowd urging me on, I could run a little farther.  Finish it?  Not a chance.

  It's easy to think about faith in the same lens.  We think that we'll do everything we can, and Jesus will do the rest.  Maybe some people can get a little closer than others, but Jesus tops off all of us to make sure we're complete.

  That's not the message of the Gospel.  None of us are even close to good enough to justify ourselves before God.  None of us have the power over death that God has.  No, it depends on God, who joins us with Christ's burial in our baptism, and then raises us through faith.  The same God who raised Jesus from the dead can and will raise us from the dead.  We're foolish to believe we can get even close on our own.  

  This is great news -- it depends on God, who has proven to be more merciful than we can ever ask or imagine.  In our baptism, we are buried with Christ (although we don't like to think about this part -- but to be raised indicates that we need to die first), and after our deaths, we are raised with Christ.  What comfort, what joy, what peace can rest in our hearts when we look at death as the completion of our baptism, when we are finally and fully raised to new life in Christ.

Colossians 2:6-7

Colossians 2:6-7 

English Standard Version 

  Looking back on Mother's Day, I think about when we first had kids -- they had to learn how to stand first.  Caleb would pull himself up on things, and only when he grew comfortable with that did he really start to try and walk.  When his legs were strong enough, he could start to venture out.  But we loved him just the same.  

  The same is true of our faith.  We have to develop roots first.  If we try and walk first, then we'll inevitably stumble.  First of all, we must love Christ.  When we have a love for Christ and find ways to daily immerse ourselves in that love, then we're prepared to go forth and share this with the world.  It provides an abundance in our hearts, out of which we speak.  We become like the rooted tree in Psalm 1, grounded and able to withstand the storms and winds that blow.  We abound in thanksgiving, and when we are rooted in Christ's love, we're better able to shake off the world's rejection or cruelty, because when we know that we are unconditionally loved by the One who set the stars in the sky, the cruel words or inaction of another are more easily ignored.

Colossians 2:1-5

Colossians 2:1-5

English Standard Version 

  What do you want for the people you love the most?  Imagine that you could grant them anything... what would it be?  Paul's got a pretty good solution here -- that they may have encouraged hearts, knit together in love, and that they might be completely assured of the knowledge of God's mystery.  

  How would it change your life to grasp the hidden treasures of God's wisdom and knowledge in you?  If we had complete assurance of God's great love for us, everything would be different, changed, transformed -- we wouldn't deal with such anxieties and worries.  We'd go boldly into the world each day, fully confident in God's love for us and God's protective net that is cast around our souls.  We wouldn't worry so much about this world, because we'd have our eyes fixed on the city of God.  We'd be released from trying to compete, and caught up in trying to serve.

  This is Paul's prayer, and may we pray it for ourselves and one another, that we may find assurance in God's mystery.  We seek knowledge -- we engage with our brains when we come to faith.  We think and ask tough questions, and we believe that there are robust answers to those questions, and those help assure us that what we believe is right and good and true.

Colossians 1:24-29

Colossians 1:24-29 

English Standard Version 

  Either Christ is who he says he is, in which case everything, and I mean absolutely everything, is of second order importance, or he isn't, in which case all of it is academic.  I choose to believe that the historical evidence supports that he is who he says he is, and that the church grew as a result of passionate disciples who believed because of what they saw, along with others who also witnessed the risen Lord.  Ever since, the church has been growing, and it truly is a divine mystery, filled with riches.  We don't grasp all of it, but we know enough, and based on what we've seen, it's miraculous, this hope of glory.  Based on what we know to be true, how could we do anything other than proclaim this good news, this mystery that has been revealed to us.  We are compelled to tell the life-changing story of God working in us!!!  Everything else takes a backseat to this glorious good news!  

Colossians 1:21-23

Colossians 1:21-23 

English Standard Version 

  It would be very interesting to see the faces in the crowd when this part was read -- it's not terribly flattering.  Here's Paul, leader of the church, telling the church that they were alienated from God and filled with evil deeds.  That doesn't make you want to stick around for chapter 2, does it?

  But it's something that we all need to hear -- we don't earn the Gospel on the basis of good behavior.  Compared to the standard of behavior that is expected of us, all of us have fallen well short, and we are filled with evil deeds and evil thoughts that would take us far from God.

  Fortunately, that's not the end of the story.  We are reconciled by God so that we are seen as holy and blameless, above reproach.  Do you realize what great news that is?  You who are worthy of God's reproach are above that, and the hope of the Gospel will keep us safe.  Even though we have evil deeds and could be cast off, God comes to us and gives us stable and steadfast faith.  What an amazing gift!

Psalm 91:14-16

Psalm 91:14-16

English Standard Version 

  You've heard the phrase If it bleeds, it leads in reference to the news.  They know that people tune in for bad news, so the worse they can make it, the more viewers they'll draw.  I remember back in the early 2010s when I would go to a nearby gym in mid-day, the cable news channels had all sorts of logos they'd put on the screen to draw your attention to how bad things were, even when they weren't really that bad.  They were constantly trying to stir up anxiety within you so that you'd keep watching.

  We all need this message from Psalm 91 piped into our hearts to offset the world's volume.  We need to hear about God's provision in the midst of the storm.  When we are in trouble, God will be with us, and we will be rescued and honored.  We're all like Peter -- Jesus calls us out onto the water, but we take our eyes off Jesus and stare at the crashing waves, and we begin to sink, crying out in fear.  Just like Peter, God reaches out and delivers us from the storm.  May we rest in the miracle of God's salvation!

Colossians 1:15-20

Colossians 1:15-20 

English Standard Version 

  Do you believe this is true?  

  It's the central question each person on the planet needs to answer for themselves.  I think it's easy to go through life on autopilot, focusing only on whatever urgent issue is before us, dealing with that for the day and then trying again tomorrow.

  If the Gospel isn't true, and Jesus Christ isn't the image of the invisible God, then that's fine, I guess.  If it isn't true, then nothing will really matter in the end, and we are simply random chances that are here for a moment.

  If the Gospel is true, however, and Jesus is who he says that he is... then this matters supremely, right?  If Jesus is truly before all things, and he is the one through whom all things hold together, and the fullness of God dwells in him and he has reconciled all things to himself, then what he says and does should matter more than anything else in our lives.  We shouldn't be able to go through an hour, let alone an entire day, without considering the weight of this, which should be an encouragement and joy to our very souls because of the Good News the Gospel is for us.  If this is true, then everything should be oriented around this, because it's the only thing that will carry on through death. 

  The only thing that can't be true is that it barely matters at all.  The Gospel shouldn't be able to live on periphery of our lives if we consider it to be true, because that would be taking a treasure worth more than billions of dollars, which can't help you live forever, and giving it negligible importance while you worry about some minimal problem.

  So may we think seriously about the truth of the Gospel.  If we believe that the historical evidence is reliable, which I think it is, then how can we elevate the Gospel to a central place in our lives?

Colossians 1:9-14

Colossians 1:9-14 

English Standard Version 

  How would you feel if you knew that someone out there was praying for you unceasingly?  It probably feels pretty good, to know that people are so committed to you that they would pray for you without ceasing, hoping that you'll be filled with a knowledge of God that transforms the way that you live, strengthening you with power.

  So the question for each of us is this:  who can you pray for unceasingly?  How can you commit to the community, so that others might experience this through your prayers?

Colossians 1:1-8

Colossians 1:1-8 

English Standard Version 

  What inspires you?  Maybe it's stories of people who go beyond normal generosity and give to the limit of their means to support certain organizations.  It could be the people who walk or bicycle across the country to raise money or awareness for a cause.  

  We all get inspired by the way certain people live their lives.  They could be examples for us to follow, or maybe the way they live lifts up your spirits whenever you hear an update.  I know of certain people who are simply always happy, always content, and that's an inspiration to me.

  The church that Paul is writing to in Colossians demonstrated such love for others that word was getting out.  The faith in Christ was so deeply rooted that it naturally impacted the way they treated other people, and they did it in such a selfless way that people in other towns were hearing about it.  They learned the Good News of the Gospel, took it into the depths of their hearts, and it changed their world and the lives of those who heard reports of their love.

  I doubt that we can all live like this... but wouldn't it be great if we tried?  Imagine who it is that you'll spend time with today.  How can you show selfless love to them in the style of the early church?