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Hearing God Speak through His Word

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
-- Luke 8:15 (NASB)

Archive for the '51: Colossians' Category

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Colossians 4:12-13 • Perfect and Fully Assured

Saturday, April 19th, 2008
“Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God. For I testify for him that he has a deep concern for you and for those who are in Laodicea and Hierapolis.”
    —Colossians 4:12-13 (NASB)

If you want to kick over the beehive, metaphorically speaking, just be “rude” enough to raise the question, “Is this God’s will?” In my experience, the answers reveal a lot, if not all, about the people involved. The more emotion-based their motives truly are, the more irrational their response tends to be. But beware of those individuals, no matter how passionate they may or may not be, who respond within the context of God’s Word because they’re most likely providing the right, spiritual response for which you’ll be responsible to heed.
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Colossians 4:2-4 • The Example of Prayer

Friday, April 18th, 2008
“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.”
    —Colossians 4:2-4 (NASB)

One of the most enlightening studies any Christian can do is to look at all the prayers in the Bible with an eye toward understanding the degree to which they reflect or deviate from one’s own approach to prayer. I’ve never met a Christian who thought prayer unimportant, and yet so often it’s given but token attention in our gatherings. It seems to me that the least we can do is make sure we’re at least praying for the things mentioned in the Bible in a manner consistent with those same examples of prayer.
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Colossians 3:23-25 • The Reward of the Inheritance

Thursday, April 17th, 2008
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”
    —Colossians 3:23-25 (NASB)

One of the hallmarks proving the attainment of spiritual maturity is a changed perspective when it comes to the timing of rewards and consequences. The mature believer knows that the events and conditions of this present life do not automatically reflect what is coming to them in eternity. In fact, they’re often quite contrary to each other. What is most important to come our way is promised as an “inheritance” that comes “from the Lord“, and what is most likely to be experienced in this present life are “the consequences” of our bad behavior. It’s the ultimate expression of whether we’d rather live for Christ than ourselves.
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Colossians 3:15-17 • So Many Sermons, Too Little Time

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
    —Colossians 3:15-17 (NASB)

There are so many studies and even entire sermons which could be derived from these three verses that’s it’s hard to know where to begin. There’s an entire three-point sermon that can be developed around Paul’s highlighting the importance of “the peace of Christ“, “the word of Christ“, and “whatever…in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus“. It’s not seeking peace as the world defines it, or living according to the dictates of the world, or measuring one’s activities against the world’s standard of measure, but always striving for Christ’s greater definition of each to take over from the heart so that the world is effectively neutralized in its influence upon and through us.
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Colossians 3:12-14 • The Perfect Bond of Unity

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”
    —Colossians 3:12-14 (NASB)

One of the biggest and most obvious distinctions between a mature and still developing Christian is their vocabulary. Christian maturity is achieved by consistent immersion in God’s Word so that one’s own words begin to conform to His definitions rather than the world’s corrupted meaning. One does not have to spend much time in God’s Word to learn that the biblical definition of words like “faith”, “hope”, and “love” are actually quite different than how we’ve been using them in everyday life. At the heart of the biblical definition of “love” is an assumption of personal sacrifice and service that doesn’t quite fit the world’s notion of same.
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Colossians 3:5-7 • Assumptions of Change

Monday, April 14th, 2008
“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.”
    —Colossians 3:5-7 (NASB)

It’s interesting how the translators chose to render this first phrase in English, because it could literally be translated, “Therefore put to death the members which are upon the earth”. Using the word “consider” makes it sound more like an intellectual topic needing further study, whereas “put to death” attaches a proactive direction of what to specifically do about something which has already been decided. We’re supposed to take an active stance against the very behaviors that not only enslaved us, but caused us to set someone else other than the One True God on the throne of our heart. That’s exactly what idolatry is.
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Colossians 3:1-4 • Hidden with Christ

Sunday, April 13th, 2008
“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
    —Colossians 3:1-4 (NASB)

Hmmm…I guess this gives new meaning to the phrase, “Living with your head in the clouds”. But in reading this I am thinking that I’d love to know what Lazarus thought of what Paul is expressing here. After all, this literally happened to Lazarus in this present, physical life and repeated itself spiritually upon his second departure from earth. He was dead and brought to life, hidden and yet revealed, and his restored life was not beholden to the past but dedicated to the glory of Christ who gave it back to him.
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