Colossians 1:9-12"For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects - bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the … [Read more...]
Pleasing God (part one)
Have you ever tried to please someone who thought they were perfect? It's a losing proposition. No matter how hard you try, you feel like it is never good enough. Frustration ensues. For some people, complacency sets in. They give up, they quit trying. "Why bother if it never seems to matter?" they ask themselves. Others may have thier frustration lead them to rebellion. "If I can't please them, I might as well do what I … [Read more...]
Colossians 1:21-23
"And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him - if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard."I don't know why I do the things I do. I don't mean to, but I do them. OK, sometimes I mean them. But sometimes I don't. … [Read more...]
Colossians 3:12-13
"Therefore (because of Christ we are), as the elect of God (chosen, called), holy (perfectly, honorably, spiritually pure) and dearly (precious, cherished, a high price, prized, scarce, worthy, honorable) loved (tender, passionate affection, warm personal attachment, taking great pleasure in ), clothe yourself (this is not passive - it suggests that I am actively engaged and choosing to dress myself in these things!) with a heart (the center of the personality, or emotion) of mercy (compassion, … [Read more...]
Captivity
In 2 Chronicles chapter 6, King Solomon offers up a prayer of dedication for the temple he has built for the Lord. Below is a section of verses selected from that prayer:2 Chronicles 6:36-39 "When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their … [Read more...]
